New concept for the evaluation of rural biogas management in developing countries

In rural sectors of developing countries, the development and management of biogas technology have not been entirely satisfactory in recent years. The usual economic analyses cannot give an appropriate assessment of this phenomenon. The present work develops a new concept, the Biogas Producer-Consumer Combination Problem (BPCCP), that gives an integrated explanation of the nature of this particular situation. The key role played in the real acceptance of the rural digester is the adopter's motivation which is influenced by different kinds of factors: The BPCCP concept further entails some suggestions and recommendations for future development and management of biogas technology. (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.