biogas

noun

bio·​gas ˈbī-ō-ˌgas How to pronounce biogas (audio)
: a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide produced by the bacterial decomposition of organic wastes and used as a fuel

Examples of biogas in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The biogas can be further upgraded into biomethane, a carbon neutral fuel chemically identical to its fossil counterpart, natural gas. Wood MacKenzie, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 The Menlo Park, Calif., company, which was founded in 2010 by three Stanford grads, is producing a machine that generates 230 to 430 kilowatts using almost any kind of fuel, including ammonia, hydrogen, biogas, or natural gas. IEEE Spectrum, 31 Dec. 2023 Roughly 75 percent of that onion will be transformed into biogas — all used to heat the plant and nearby homes. Robin Shulman Agüeros, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2023 This is because in Global North countries, many municipalities divert food scraps, yard trimmings and other organics from landfill into a separate waste stream that can be processed into compost, biogas or other products. Jamie Hailstone, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023 The wood waste is heated in an oxygen-free environment, yielding black pigment and just a few benign byproducts: wood vinegar, which can be sold on to the acetic acid industry; steam, which can be used to power parts of the equipment; and a biogas, which can also be used to power the equipment. Alden Wicker, WIRED, 20 Nov. 2023 The biogas that this process yields is then captured and sold to a local utility, which will use it to heat the area’s homes. Max Kim, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2023 Over the past few years, the industry has helped spread claims that cows can be made low-carbon, with suggestions ranging from cutting emissions by converting manure into biogas to adding methane-inhibiting seaweed additives to cows’ feed, to simply raising and killing them faster. Jan Dutkiewicz, The New Republic, 5 Sep. 2023 The biogas is sold to a local utility, which says it’s used to heat 3,000 homes in Goyang. John Yoon Chang W. Lee, New York Times, 14 June 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'biogas.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1971, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of biogas was in 1971

Dictionary Entries Near biogas

Cite this Entry

“Biogas.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biogas. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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