The rising number of operational biogas plants in the UK brings a new emissions category to consider for methane monitoring, quantification and reduction. Minimising methane losses from biogas plants to the atmosphere is critical not only because of their contribution of methane to global warming but also with respect to the sustainability of renewable energy production. Mobile greenhouse gas surveys were conducted to detect plumes of methane emissions from the biogas plants in southern England that varied in their size, waste feed input materials and biogas utilization. Gaussian plume modelling was used to estimate total emissions of methane from ten biogas plants based on repeat passes through the plumes. Methane emission rates ranged from 0.1 to 58.7 kg CH₄ hr^-1, and the percentage of losses relative to the calculated production rate varied between 0.02 and 8.1%. The average emission rate was 15.9 kg CH₄ hr^-1, and the average loss was 3.7%. In general, methane emission rates from smaller farm biogas plants were higher than from larger food waste biogas plants. We also suggest that biogas methane emissions may account for between 0.4 and 3.8%, with an average being 1.9% of the total methane emissions in the UK excluding the sewage sludge biogas plants.

英国可运行的沼气厂数量不断增加，为甲烷监测，量化和减少带来了新的排放类别。最大限度地减少沼气厂向大气排放的甲烷至关重要，这不仅是因为甲烷对全球变暖的贡献，而且对于可再生能源生产的可持续性也是如此。进行了移动式温室气体调查，以检测英格兰南部沼气厂甲烷排放的烟流，烟气的大小，废物进料和沼气利用率各不相同。高斯羽流模型用于基于重复穿过羽流的过程来估算十家沼气厂的甲烷总排放量。甲烷排放速率范围从0.1到58.7 kg CH ₄ hr ^-1，相对于计算的生产率的损失百分比在0.02％至8.1％之间变化。平均排放率为15.9 kg CH ₄ hr ^-1，平均损失为3.7％。通常，较小的农场沼气厂的甲烷排放率高于较大的食物垃圾沼气厂。我们还建议，沼气甲烷排放量可能占英国的0.4％至3.8％，不包括污水污泥沼气厂的英国平均甲烷排放总量的1.9％。