Cycles - Decay and Biogas (GCSE Biology)

Decay and Biogas

Applications of Decay

Decay and the Production of Biogas

• Decomposition can be harnessed by farmers. Farmers can use decomposition to provide conditions for the best possible crop yield. Compost is the product of dead plants. Farmers provide strong conditions for decomposition, then apply compost to their crops, in order to allow decomposition to occur and provide new mineral ions for the crops to use. Adding worms to the compost increases the rate of decomposition. This compost therefore acts as a natural fertiliser. The most important element recycled is nitrogen. This is conversed into nitrate ions, which are required fo protein building in plants.
• Anaerobic decay can be used to produce methane, a fuel. When decomposers act in the absence of oxygen, they produce carbon dioxide and methane. This is biogas – renewable fuel made from the decomposition of organic matter.
• Biogas containers harness this system to produce methane as fuel. Manure is placed in a biogas generator. Specific crops have been developed to form the organic material for this process. The anaerobic decomposition then is used to form methane, which can be combusted as an energy source.