Finally, there is a double greenhouse gas emission benefit through the use of AD systems. Firstly, methane is captured and eventually converted to heat and carbon dioxide instead of being allowed to escape tothe atmosphere as itdoes inthe simpleopenlagoonstorage of manure.Methane’s globalwarming potential is 21 times that of carbon dioxide and thus the conversion ofmethane to carbon dioxide reduces the globalwarmingpotential [5]. Secondly, if theADbiogasplant offsets
fossil fuel-based electricity (such as natural gas fired power plants), there is a reduction in fossil fuel-related carbon dioxide emissions [5].