Project scheduling for constructing biogas plant using critical path method

Population growth and technological progress have led to increased energy demand. While fossil fuels are currently the main energy resources, they are limited and their combustion causes environmental pollution. Therefore, alternative energy sources should be considered. For this purpose, biogas can be a convenient renewable energy option, which can be produced from organic wastes, e.g. livestock manure and rural wastes which are widely available and accessible. Furthermore, it is considered as a convenient option for rural areas that do not have access to any gas networks. However, managing a large-scale biogas plant construction project demands many coordinated activities with varying durations and involves numerous dependencies. Therefore, this study focuses on application of planning and scheduling for analysis of biogas plant construction project using critical path method (CPM). The results revealed that the minimum completion time of constructing a 50 m(3) biogas plant with fixed dome in Iran would be 38 weeks if no delays postpone the project steps. Also, a project network is proposed to show the relationships between the activities and monitor the progress of the project.