Multi-Indicator Assessment of Innovative Small-Scale Biomethane Technologies in Europe

Innovative small-scale biogas plants, including upgrading solutions to affordable biomethane, are necessary to tap into the spatially distributed potentials of organic waste. This research identified and assessed novel small-scale technologies before market-entry maturity in the key process steps of the biomethane chain. We assessed technical, economic, and ecological indicators, and compared them to larger-scale references. The assessment included 7 pre-treatment, 13 digester, and 11 upgrading systems all at the small scale. We collected recently available data for Europe (2016–2018) for small-scale technologies (<200 m3; raw biogas per hour). In the literature we did not find such a comprehensive assessment of actual European small-scale innovative non-market-ready technologies for the production of biomethane. Several conclusions were drawn for each of the individual process steps in the biomethane chain, e.g., the economic indicator calculated for the upgrading technologies shows that the upgrading costs, for some of them, are already close to the larger-scale reference (about 1.5 €ct/kWh raw biogas). Furthermore, biomethane production is absolutely context-specific, which dramatically limits the traditional way to evaluate technologies. Hence, new ways of integration of the technologies plays a major role on their future R&D.

Download Full-text

Improvement of Biogas Quality and Quantity for Small-Scale Biogas-Electricity Generation Application in off-Grid Settings: A Field-Based Study

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14113088 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (11) ◽

pp. 3088

Author(s):

Henry Wasajja ◽

Saqr A. A. Al-Muraisy ◽

Antonella L. Piaggio ◽

Pamela Ceron-Chafla ◽

Purushothaman Vellayani Aravind ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Electricity Generation ◽

Relevant Literature ◽

Electrical Power ◽

Process Efficiency ◽

Electricity Production ◽

Small Scale ◽

Buffer System ◽

Biogas Plants ◽

Operational Practices ◽

Pre Treatment

Small-scale electrical power generation (<100 kW) from biogas plants to provide off-grid electricity is of growing interest. Currently, gas engines are used to meet this demand. Alternatively, more efficient small-scale solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) can be used to enhance electricity generation from small-scale biogas plants. Most electricity generators require a constant gas supply and high gas quality in terms of absence of impurities like H2S. Therefore, to efficiently use the biogas from existing decentralized anaerobic digesters for electricity production, higher quality and stable biogas flow must be guaranteed. The installation of a biogas upgrading and buffer system could be considered; however, the cost implication could be high at a small scale as compared to locally available alternatives such as co-digestion and improved digester operation. Therefore, this study initially describes relevant literature related to feedstock pre-treatment, co-digestion and user operational practices of small-scale digesters, which theoretically could lead to major improvements of anaerobic digestion process efficiency. The theoretical preamble is then coupled to the results of a field study, which demonstrated that many locally available resources and user practices constitute frugal innovations with potential to improve biogas quality and digester performance in off-grid settings.

Download Full-text

CURRENT STATE AND PROSPECTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF BIOGAS ENERGY IN UZBEKISTAN

EKONOMIKA I UPRAVLENIE: PROBLEMY, RESHENIYA ◽

10.36871/ek.up.pr2020.07.02.021 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 (7) ◽

pp. 171-184

Author(s):

Z. U. SAIPOV ◽

◽

G. A. ARIFDZHANOV ◽

Keyword(s):

Renewable Energy ◽

Organic Waste ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

Energy Resources ◽

Agricultural Producers ◽

Biogas Plants ◽

The Republic ◽

Rural Producers ◽

Agricultural Regions

Energy is one of the main pillars of the state’s economy, which is currently facing serious problems due to depletion of mineral energy resources and the threatening environment. As a result, presently around the world there is a rapid growth and development of energy-efficient technologies and the use of renewable energy sources (RES), providing an increase in energy resources, as well as environmental and social effects. One of the most relevant and promising areas of renewable energy development is the disposal and processing of organic waste in biogas plants, and this is particularly relevant in agricultural regions. In this regard, this paper considers the state and prospects for the development of bioenergy in agricultural regions of Uzbekistan, where half of the population of the republic lives. The potential of organic waste from livestock and poultry farming of the agricultural sector was determined, and it was revealed that the use of biogas plants for the disposal of manure and litter is clearly a profitable production and requires close attention from rural producers. The introduction of biogas technologies for the bulk of agricultural producers is an urgent task, that will ensure not only a solution to the waste problem, but it will also provide a solution to energy, agricultural, environmental and social problems in rural regions of the republic.

Download Full-text

A rapid small scale evaluation of ultrafiltration performance for surface water treatment at Alcantarilha's water treatment works (Algarve, Portugal)

Water Science & Technology Water Supply ◽

10.2166/ws.2004.0109 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 4 (5-6) ◽

pp. 199-206

Author(s):

M. Ribau Teixeira ◽

H. Lucas ◽

M.J. Rosa

Keyword(s):

Water Treatment ◽

Membrane Fouling ◽

Conventional Treatment ◽

Apparent Molecular Weight ◽

Small Scale ◽

Hydraulic Permeability ◽

Scale Evaluation ◽

Surface Water Treatment ◽

Drinking Water Production ◽

Pre Treatment

A rapid small-scale evaluation of ultrafiltration (UF) performance with and without physical–chemical pre-treatment was performed to up-grade the conventional treatment used for drinking water production in Alcantarilha's water treatment works, Algarve, Portugal. Direct UF and pre-ozonation/coagulation/flocculation/sedimentation/UF (O/C/F/S/UF) were evaluated using polysulphone membranes of different apparent molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) (15–47 kDa). The results indicated that (i) UF is an effective barrier against microorganisms, including virus larger than 80 nm; (ii) for surface waters with low to moderate SUVA values, direct UF performance is equivalent or better than the conventional treatment in terms of residual turbidity, while UV254 nm and TOC residuals require the use of O/C/F/S/UF; (iii) the permeate quality improves with the membrane apparent MWCO decrease, especially for the direct UF, although the conventional treatment performance is never reached using UF; (iv) membrane fouling and adsorption phenomena are more severe in direct UF than in O/C/F/S/UF sequence (pre-ozonation decreases the membrane foulants by decreasing their hydrophobicity) and these phenomena increase with the membrane hydraulic permeability and, particularly, with the membrane apparent MWCO.

Download Full-text

A framework for quantifying hydrologic effects of soil structure across scales

Communications Earth & Environment ◽

10.1038/s43247-021-00180-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sara Bonetti ◽

Zhongwang Wei ◽

Dani Or

Keyword(s):

Soil Texture ◽

Land Surface ◽

Soil Structure ◽

Pedotransfer Functions ◽

Small Scale ◽

Spatial Correlations ◽

Surface Parameterization ◽

Exchange Processes ◽

Local Soil ◽

Spatially Distributed

AbstractEarth system models use soil information to parameterize hard-to-measure soil hydraulic properties based on pedotransfer functions. However, current parameterizations rely on sample-scale information which often does not account for biologically-promoted soil structure and heterogeneities in natural landscapes, which may significantly alter infiltration-runoff and other exchange processes at larger scales. Here we propose a systematic framework to incorporate soil structure corrections into pedotransfer functions, informed by remote-sensing vegetation metrics and local soil texture, and use numerical simulations to investigate their effects on spatially distributed and areal averaged infiltration-runoff partitioning. We demonstrate that small scale soil structure features prominently alter the hydrologic response emerging at larger scales and that upscaled parameterizations must consider spatial correlations between vegetation and soil texture. The proposed framework allows the incorporation of hydrological effects of soil structure with appropriate scale considerations into contemporary pedotransfer functions used for land surface parameterization.

Download Full-text

Feeding strategies for small-scale rearing black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) as organic waste recycler

SN Applied Sciences ◽

10.1007/s42452-020-04039-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Daniel Dzepe ◽

Paulin Nana ◽

Hervé Mube Kuietche ◽

Janaina Mitsue Kimpara ◽

Ornela Magatsing ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Waste Management ◽

Organic Waste ◽

Chicken Manure ◽

Small Scale ◽

Feeding Strategies ◽

Black Soldier Fly ◽

Commercial Chicken ◽

Continuous Feeding ◽

Organic Waste Management ◽

Feeding Diets

AbstractProcessing organic waste using black soldier fly (BSF)-based technology offers a promising alternative for sustainable organic waste management and urban sanitation. This study was conducted to assess the influence of feeding strategies on the efficacy of BSF larvae to recycle organic wastes into value products. Fruit waste and chicken manure were used as organic waste samples while commercial chicken feed was used as a control, and were processed for 15 days in circular plastic containers (Ø 30 × 12 cm) with 50; 100; 150; and 200 mg/larva/day continuous and batch feeding diets, using 500 four-day-old larvae per diet, repeated four times. Larval survival rates were not significantly affected by the feeding strategies. However, average larval biomass of 83.69 ± 13.04 g and 82.46 ± 08.52 g was achieved for the continuous and batch feeding strategies, respectively, under favorable conditions. Larval feed reduction rates ranged from 24.65 ± 03.48% to 72.78 ± 01.48% and 24.52 ± 0.27% to 72.25 ± 12.13% with continuous and batch feeding strategies, respectively, and were significantly affected by the different daily diets. On the other hand, the bioconversion rates ranged from 13.34 ± 0.26% to 50.82 ± 02.27%, and the highest values were observed with the continuous feeding diets. This study confirms the efficacy of BSF larvae to thrive in different organic substrates and shows that the continuous feeding strategy can be better and enhance a sustainable small-scale organic waste management.

Download Full-text

A highly efficient multi-step methodology for the quantification of micro-(bio)plastics in sludge

Waste Management & Research ◽

10.1177/0734242x20974094 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 0734242X2097409

Author(s):

Federica Ruggero ◽

Alexandra E. Porter ◽

Nikolaos Voulvoulis ◽

Emiliano Carretti ◽

Tommaso Lotti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Waste ◽

Degradation Process ◽

Organic Fertilizers ◽

Critical Conditions ◽

Organic Fraction ◽

Initial Oxidation ◽

Threshold Size ◽

End Products ◽

Biological Treatments ◽

Pre Treatment

The present study develops a multi-step methodology for identification and quantification of microplastics and micro-bioplastics (together called in the current work micro-(bio)plastics) in sludge. In previous studies, different methods for the extraction of microplastics were devised for traditional plastics, while the current research tested the methodology on starch-based micro-bioplastics of 0.1–2 mm size. Compostable bioplastics are expected to enter the anaerobic or aerobic biological treatments that lead to end-products applicable in agriculture; some critical conditions of treatments (e.g. low temperature and moisture) can slow down the degradation process and be responsible for the presence of microplastics in the end-product. The methodology consists of an initial oxidation step, with hydrogen peroxide 35% concentrated to clear the sludge and remove the organic fraction, followed by a combination of flotation with sodium chloride and observation of the residues under a fluorescence microscope using a green filter. The workflow revealed an efficacy of removal from 94% to 100% and from 92% to 96% for plastic fragments, 0.5–2 mm and 0.1–0.5 mm size, respectively. The methodology was then applied to samples of food waste pulp harvested after a shredding pre-treatment in an anaerobic digestion (AD) plant in Italy, where polyethylene, starch-based Mater-Bi® and cellophane microplastics were recovered in amounts of 9 ± 1.3/10 g <2 mm and 4.8 ± 1.2/10 g ⩾2 mm. The study highlights the need to lower the threshold size for the quantification of plastics in organic fertilizers, which is currently set by legislations at 2 mm, by improving the background knowledge about the fate of the micro-(bio)plastics in biological treatments for the organic waste.

Download Full-text

Embeddedness and entrepreneurial traditions

Journal of Family Business Management ◽

10.1108/jfbm-03-2019-0016 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Maria Elo ◽

Leo-Paul Dana

Keyword(s):

Social Ties ◽

Extended Family ◽

Business Environment ◽

Content Type ◽

Original Culture ◽

New Locations ◽

Business Entities ◽

Time Changes ◽

The Individual ◽

Context Specific

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how entrepreneurship traditions evolve in diaspora. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative multiple case study examining the role of diaspora embeddedness, extended family, ethno-religious-, cultural- and social ties and relevant structures shaping diaspora entrepreneurship. Findings The authors found that social ties and diaspora embeddedness create dynamism fostering entrepreneurial identity as a part of the Bukharian culture, and as a preferred career option in the context of Bukharian Jews in diaspora. Diasporic family businesses are products of culture and tradition that migrate to new locations with families and communities, not as disconnected business entities. Research limitations/implications The ways in which families nurture a highly entrepreneurial culture that transfers across generations and contexts are context-specific and not per se generalizable to other diasporas. Practical implications Diasporans often continue their traditions and become again entrepreneurs after their settlement, or they may generate hybrid, circular solutions that allow them to employ their competences in the new contexts or connecting various contexts. This calls for transnational entrepreneurship-policymaking. Social implications Time changes diasporas. A long-term commitment to the business environment evolves and reduces the mobility of the individual diasporan; typically the children of these migrants become more integrated and develop divergent career paths. Hence, their plans are not necessarily including family entrepreneurship creating a challenge for continuation of the original culture of entrepreneurship. Originality/value Despite a notable tradition in Jewish studies, there is limited research on Jewish entrepreneurial diaspora and its contemporary entrepreneurial identity and tradition. Furthermore, the population of Bukharian Jews is an unknown and under-explored highly entrepreneurial group that may offer instrumental views to larger diasporic audiences being concerned about maintaining notions of ethnic heritage and identity.

Download Full-text

How can we improve biomethane production per unit of feedstock in biogas plants?

Applied Energy ◽

10.1016/j.apenergy.2010.12.036 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 88 (6) ◽

pp. 2013-2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 117

Author(s):

Zaki-ul-Zaman Asam ◽

Tjalfe Gorm Poulsen ◽

Abdul-Sattar Nizami ◽

Rashad Rafique ◽

Ger Kiely ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Biogas Plants ◽

Biomethane Production

Download Full-text

Early career development in the public sector: Lessons from a social constructionist perspective

Australian Journal of Career Development ◽

10.1177/1038416217718544 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 26 (2) ◽

pp. 43-51

Author(s):

Todd Bridgman ◽

Annie De’ath

Keyword(s):

Social Constructionism ◽

Meaning Making ◽

Research Process ◽

Early Career ◽

Social Constructionist ◽

Small Scale ◽

State Sector ◽

Recent Graduates ◽

Context Specific ◽

Collective Construction

This article explores the contribution a social constructionist paradigm can make to the study of career, through a small-scale empirical study of recent graduates employed in New Zealand’s state sector. A social constructionist lens denies the possibility of an individualised, generalised understanding of ‘career’, highlighting instead its local, contingent character as the product of social interaction. Our respondents’ collective construction of career was heavily shaped by a range of context-specific interactions and influences, such as the perception of a distinctive national identity, as well as by their young age and state sector location. It was also shaped by the research process, with us as researchers implicated in these meaning-making processes. Social constructionism shines a light on aspects of the field that are underplayed by mainstream, scientific approaches to the study of career, and therefore has valuable implications for practitioners, as well as scholars.

Download Full-text

Control of chironomid midge larvae in wastewater stabilisation ponds: comparison of five compounds

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2005.0460 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 51 (12) ◽

pp. 191-199 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

R. Craggs ◽

L. Golding ◽

S. Clearwater ◽

L. Susarla ◽

W. Donovan

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Bacillus Thuringiensis ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Large Scale ◽

Adult Emergence ◽

Small Scale ◽

Slight Reduction ◽

Organic Loading ◽

Valuable Component ◽

Pre Treatment

Chironomid midge larvae are a valuable component of wastewater stabilisation pond (WSP) ecology. However, in high numbers, adult midge swarms can be a nuisance to near-by urban areas. Improving WSP treatment by incorporating aerobic or maturation ponds or by the addition of pre-treatment to reduce organic loading also increases the availability of aerobic sediment (midge larva habitat) in the pond system and the potential for midge nuisance problems. The efficacy of Maldison, an organophosphate traditionally used to control midge larvae in New Zealand WSPs, was compared to Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti), Methoprene, Pyriproxyfen and Diflubenzuron which are all more specific to insects and have fewer adverse environmental effects. Initial laboratory trials established the concentration of each compound required to achieve 95% control of the midge population. During 21-day small-scale trials within the WSP, Bti, Diflubenzuron and Maldison reduced live larvae numbers substantially (80–89%) compared to controls and adult midge emergence was markedly reduced by all compounds (72–96%). Large-scale trials with Bti (Vectobac® WG) powder (1000 μg/L) only caused a slight reduction in midge larvae numbers compared to controls and had little effect on adult emergence, however, Methoprene (Prolink XRG granules) (50 μgAI/L) reduced midge adult emergence by ∼80% over 25 days and has been used successfully to control several midge nuisance outbreaks.

Download Full-text