Assessment Of Suitability Of The Rural Household Biogas System In The Yellow River Basin Based On A Questionnaire Method

Currently, it has been widely recognized that the world must confront with the double pressures of energy shortages and environmental pollution, so it becomes a research focus in the exploitation of energy sources to find new renewable clean energy. As the biggest development country in the world, greatly developing rural household biogas is not only to remit the situation of energy shortages, but also to shrink the energy gap with the rapid economic development in China. According to the condition of the big rural population, scattered, abundant straw and crop residues of our country, it is hoped that living waste and agricultural wastes are made full use and transformed into clean energy and organic fertilizer to help fundamentally to solve universal existence questions of crop surplus straw and animal husbandry pollution, to improve the agriculture ecological environment and the situation of the rural health, to obtain a virtuous cycle between matter and energy in agricultural ecosystem, and finally to strengthen the sustainable development capacity of agriculture, with the final objective of agricultural increase production, increasing peasants income, rural economic development, improving farmers living standard. Assessment of suitability on household biogas region is generally accepted to be one of weak links in biogas construction, especially no enough research on how to evaluate the suitability of rural household biogas, which index should be taken, and how to use the indexs to evaluate the suitability of household biogas in region scale. Many regions could not make scientific judgments on its suitability of household biogas, lacking reasonable basis for biogas construction, comprehensive utilization and rational planning, due to lacking quantitative indicators and methods. Thus, it has deeply affected scientific decision-making, seriously hampering the formulation and implementation of rural household biogas strategy. Based on the meteorological data from 1981 to 2009, statistical data in recent 5 years and date from surveys to households in four areas in Yellow River Basin (YRB), including Yichuan in Henan province, Shouyang in Shanxi province, Tongchuan in Shanxi province and Xiji in Ningxia province, a suitability assessment system of rural household biogas has been constructed according to certain principles. Assessment of suitability assessment of rural household biogas was investigated in these four areas in Yellow River Basin. We can conclud that:(1) According recent correlational research on suitability assessment of rural household biogas, total 13 evaluation index have been screened, such as average temperature,≥10℃cumulated temperature, average solar radiation, main crop planted area, the percentage of crop straw for generating biogas, livestock, the percentage of human and livestock waste for generating biogas, per capita income, local finance income, the percentage of planting income in financial gain, total rural population, population natural growth rate, and the cultural level of rural left-behind population, using Delphi method following more scientific, objective, comprehensiveness, hierarchical, and operability principle of choosing evaluation index.(2) The weight of these 13 evaluation indexes are conducted using analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The result is that the weight of average temperature is highest and the weight of average solar radiation is lowest in three climate indexes. The weight of the percentage of human and livestock waste for generating biogas is highest and the weight of main crop planted area is lowest in four materials indexes. The weight of per capita income is highest and the weight of local finance income is lowest in three economy indexes. Moreover, the weight of the cultural level of rural left-behind population is highest and the weight of total rural population is lowest in three society indexes.(3) The climate suitability degree in Yichuan is highest, followed by Shouyang, Tongchuang and Xiji county. The degree of materials suitability in Yichuan is highest, followed by Tongchuan, Xiji and Shouyang county. Shouyang showed highest degree in the economy suitability, followed by Yichuan, Xiji and Tongchuan county. For the society suitability, the most appropriate place is Yichuan, followed by Tongchan, Xiji and Shouyang county. Considering all factors involved, Yichuan takes the first place in the degree of general suitability, Shouyang followed, Tongchuan taking the third place, and Xiji being the last.In conclusion, the paper has managed to collect meteorological data, statistical data and questionnaires data which are applicable to build database for suitability assessment of rural household biogas in YRB, constructed evaluation index system using Delphi method, conducted the weight of evaluation index using analytic hierarchy process, and completed the suitability assessment of rural household biogas in YRB finally. Most important of all, this paper has given an efficient technique process and working method for suitability assessment of Northern rural household biogas mainly based on questionnaires method.