Potentials and status of biogas as energy source in the Republic of Serbia

Biogas is a sustainable and renewable energy source that can provide green energy, a better environment and new jobs. The aim of this paper is to present potentials for biogas production in the Republic of Serbia from different sources (agricultural crops directly provided for energy, livestock residues, municipal solid waste, slaughterhouse waste and wastewater from milk processing industry) and to analyze the current situation in this sector in Serbia. The barriers that limit the wider production of biogas are considered. Results have shown that there is a great potential for biogas production in Serbia. The yearly potentials were calculated as follows: biogas production potential from agricultural crops directly cultivated for energy is 0.85 Mega tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe); potential from livestock residues amounts to 94.13 ktoe; potential from municipal solid waste (MSW) is 49.72 ktoe; potential from slaughterhouse waste is 9.94 ktoe and potential from milk processing industry is 3.21 ktoe. The analysis of incentives, barriers and status of biogas technologies presented in this paper represents a contribution for the further improvement and analysis of the biogas sector in the Republic of Serbia.