scholarly journals Towards a Full Circular Economy in Biogas Plants: Sustainable Management of Digestate for Growing Biomass Feedstocks and Use as Biofertilizer

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 4272
Author(s):  
Linas Jurgutis ◽  
Alvyra Šlepetienė ◽  
Jonas Šlepetys ◽  
Jurgita Cesevičienė

The digestate is a prospective biofertilizer and potential source of income for many biogas plants worldwide. However, its actual impact on the soil properties and biomass yield is still unexploited. The different digestates from eight agricultural biogas plants were researched in terms of their chemical composition and the fertilizing potential. The results obtained from digestate chemical analysis indicate that the digestate biomass had large amount of nitrogen (up to 73 g kg−1 fresh mass) and potassium (up to 25 g kg−1 fresh mass). The value of the digestate was estimated in the range of 2.88–7.89 EUR Mg−1 for liquid digestate and 7.62–13.61 EUR Mg−1 for solid digestate based on the commercial fertilizer market price of nitrogen, potassium phosphorus, organic carbon, Cu, Zn, Fe and Mg. The digestate produced at the 1 MW biogas plant is worth EUR 941–2095 per day in addition to energy sales income. The application of digestate on low-fertility land in areas close to the biogas plant allows the production of up to three-fold more biomass suitable for biogas production. The digestate’s application on semi-natural grass biomass production in the low-fertility soils near the biogas plants could be an alternative strategy for the biogas plant feedstock portfolio diversification.

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 2424
Author(s):  
Jan Martin Zepter ◽  
Jan Engelhardt ◽  
Tatiana Gabderakhmanova ◽  
Mattia Marinelli

Biogas plants may support the transformation towards renewable-based and integrated energy systems by providing dispatchable co-generation as well as opportunities for biogas upgrading or power-to-X conversion. In this paper, a simulation model that comprises the main dynamics of the internal processes of a biogas plant is developed. Based on first-order kinetics of the anaerobic digestion process, the biogas production of an input feeding schedule of raw material can be estimated. The output of the plant in terms of electrical and thermal energy is validated against empirical data from a 3-MW biogas plant on the Danish island of Bornholm. The results show that the model provides an accurate representation of the processes within a biogas plant. The paper further provides insights on the functioning of the biogas plant on Bornholm as well as discusses upgrading potentials of biogas to biomethane at the plant from an energy perspective.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 2083 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Muradin ◽  
Katarzyna Joachimiak-Lechman ◽  
Zenon Foltynowicz

Implementation of the circular economy is one of the priorities of the European Union, and energy efficiency is one of its pillars. This article discusses an effective use of agri-food industry waste for the purposes of waste-to-energy in biogas plants. Its basic objective is the comparative assessment of the eco-efficiency of biogas production depending on the type of feedstock used, its transport and possibility to use generated heat. The environmental impact of the analysed installations was assessed with the application of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. Cost calculation was performed using the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) method. The LCA analysis indicated that a biogas plant with a lower level of waste heat use where substrates were delivered by wheeled transport has a negative impact on the environment. The structure of distributed energy production cost indicates a substantial share of feedstock supply costs in the total value of the LCOE ratio. Thus, the factor affecting the achievement of high eco-efficiency is the location of a biogas plant in the vicinity of an agri-food processing plant, from which the basic feedstock for biogas production is supplied with the transmission pipeline, whereas heat is transferred for the needs of production processes in a processing plant or farm.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 3761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah Nsair ◽  
Senem Onen Cinar ◽  
Ayah Alassali ◽  
Hani Abu Qdais ◽  
Kerstin Kuchta

The biogas production technology has improved over the last years for the aim of reducing the costs of the process, increasing the biogas yields, and minimizing the greenhouse gas emissions. To obtain a stable and efficient biogas production, there are several design considerations and operational parameters to be taken into account. Besides, adapting the process to unanticipated conditions can be achieved by adequate monitoring of various operational parameters. This paper reviews the research that has been conducted over the last years. This review paper summarizes the developments in biogas design and operation, while highlighting the main factors that affect the efficiency of the anaerobic digestion process. The study’s outcomes revealed that the optimum operational values of the main parameters may vary from one biogas plant to another. Additionally, the negative conditions that should be avoided while operating a biogas plant were identified.


2020 ◽  
Vol 180 ◽  
pp. 02019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marzhan Temirbekova ◽  
Madina Aliyarova ◽  
Iliya Iliev ◽  
Aliya Yelemanova ◽  
Saule Sagintayeva

This paper justifies the efficiency of the biogas collection and utilization at the MSW (municipal solid waste) landfill in Almaty with the installation of several modern biogas plants. The optimal mode of processes occurring in a biogas plant is determined by computer generated simulations. Mathematical model parameters were identified to describe biochemical processes occurring in a biogas plant. Two approaches are used to resolve the mathematical model: the finite-difference method for solving the system of differential equations and simulation modeling by using the Any Logic package. A program is written in the algorithmic language C ++. Numerous calculations were carried out, the results of which are presented in curves and their qualitative picture is consistent with the ongoing processes. The created computer program allows to make a preliminary forecast of anaerobic fermentation occurring in the bioreactor depending on volume of the substrate, methane microorganisms and temperature conditions.


2021 ◽  
pp. 0958305X2110417
Author(s):  
Mahmood Mahmoodi-Eshkaftaki ◽  
Hossein Rahmanian-Koushkaki ◽  
Mohammad Rafie Rafiee

The improved systems of biogas production usually increase the energy consumption of biogas plants. Therefore, it is very important to determine an appropriate improvement system to increase plant efficiency. For this purpose, a biogas plant with a biological self-purification system was energetically and exergetically analyzed, and its performance was compared with that of a base plant. To keep the temperature of digesters up to 310.2 K, a solar water heater was used. It was able to maintain a high level of efficiency for both plants. The energy analysis of the plants indicated that the overall energetic efficiency of both plants was very close. The exergy analysis of the plants showed that the overall exergetic efficiency of the self-purification biogas plant (76.24%) was higher than that of the base plant (66.78%). This is due to the fact that the total exergy destruction rate of the self-purification plant was lower than that of the base plant and the exergy rate of biogas output of the self-purification plant was higher than that of the base plant. The exergy analyses of both plant components showed that although the highest exergy destruction rates were attributed to the principle digester and separation unit, they showed the highest exergetic improvement potential rates. These results confirm that the digesters in biogas plants have a great potential to be improved exergetically, and the self-purification system is a suitable improvement system to increase the plant efficiency exergetically.


2013 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 889-895 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. G. Kougias ◽  
K. Boe ◽  
S. O-Thong ◽  
L. A. Kristensen ◽  
I. Angelidaki

Anaerobic digestion foaming is a common operation problem in biogas plants with negative impacts on the biogas plants economy and environment. A survey of 16 Danish full-scale biogas plants on foaming problems revealed that most of them had experienced foaming in their processes up to three times per year. Foaming incidents often lasted from one day to three weeks, causing 20–50% biogas production loss. One foaming case at Lemvig biogas plant has been investigated and the results indicated that the combination of feedstock composition and mixing pattern of the reactor was the main cause of foaming in this case. Moreover, no difference in bacterial communities between the foaming and non-foaming reactors was observed, showing that filamentous bacteria were not the main reason for foaming in this case.


2019 ◽  
pp. 52-62
Author(s):  
Natalia Iwaszczuk ◽  
Marta Szyba ◽  
Aleksander Iwaszczuk ◽  
Valentyna Yakubiv

The agricultural and food sector accounts for substantial volumes of organic waste (such as livestock excreta, meat offals) considered as onerous on the environment. The above decomposes formulating methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide in anaerobic conditions. Methane produced in digester chambers of a biomass plant (called biogas) may be applied for the production of electricity and heat, powering of vehicles as well as injections into gas networks. Biogas is one of the renewable sources of energy. In the light of the EU's sustainable development and climate neutrality policies, increasing the share of renewable sources in overall energy consumption is a priority for the Member States. For this reason, the article examines one of the renewable energy sectors in Poland, which is agricultural biogas production. The main attention was focused on agricultural biogas plants. Most often used substrates for biogas production, the dependence of biogas plant location on the population living in particular regions (voivodships) and the development of agriculture in their territories were analysed. The main purpose of the article was to indicate the reasons for the failure of the agricultural biogas plant construction program in Poland. Literature and document analysis were performed, interviews with waste producers as well as owners of agricultural biogas plants were carried out, and SWOT analysis was prepared.


Author(s):  
Luděk Kamarád ◽  
Stefan Pohn ◽  
Günther Bochmann ◽  
Michael Harasek

The total electricity demand of investigated biogas plants (BGP) makes up 7–8 % of the total electricity produced. Nearly 40 % of this energy is consumed just for mixing in digesters and the energy demand for mixing in some biogas plants can be even higher. Therefore, optimal mixing in anaerobic digesters is a basic condition for efficient plant operation and biogas production. The use of problematic substrates (e.g. grass silage or other fibrous substrates), installation of unsuitable mixing systems or inconvenient mixing intervals may lead to mixing problems. Knowledge about mixing in biogas digesters is still insufficient, so the objective of this study was to fill the information gaps in the literature by determining the minimal retention time of substrates fed into anaerobic digesters and to describe substrate distribution and washing out rates from investigated digesters. Two full-scale biogas plant digesters (2000 m3 and 1500 m3) using different mixing systems and substrates were investigated. To characterize the substrate distribution, lithium hydroxide monohydrate solutions were used for tracer tests at concentrations of 47.1 mg Li+ / kg TS and 46.6 mg Li+ / kg TS in digester. The tracer concentration in the digester effluents was measured during two hydraulic retention times and compared. Although the tracer was detected in the digester effluent at nearly the same time in both cases, the tracer tests showed very different distribution curves. The tracer concentration in effluent B grew much slower than in effluent A and no significant short circuiting streams were detected. Although the data calculated by computational fluid dynamics methods (CFD) showed a very good agreement with the full scale results, full comparison was not possible.


2019 ◽  
Vol 86 ◽  
pp. 00036 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alina Kowalczyk-Juśko ◽  
Agnieszka Listosz ◽  
Monika Flisiak

Biogas production in Poland is controversial. There is a lot of interest in the construction of installations of various scale, and protests of local communities take place at the same time. Residents do not agree to the construction of biogas plants due to the fear of nuisance related to its functioning. This work is a case study of the area of Kamionka – the rural commune in Poland, in terms of the possibility of locating an agricultural biogas plant. The main sources of substrates for biogas production in the commune were determined. When selecting the appropriate location for an agricultural biogas plant, the focus was on the areas designated in the “Study of conditions and directions for spatial development” as areas with the approval of locating devices generating energy from renewable sources. These properties were analyzed in terms of substrate availability (which are waste from animal production, fruit pomace, waste from processing, biomass of plants grown intentionally), plot size, infrastructure status and distance from protected areas. On this basis, one location was chosen that meets all those criteria. Surveys have shown that residents are afraid of unpleasant smell, noise, emerging waste and explosion risk. Nevertheless, the majority of respondents declared willingness to cooperate with the biogas plant.


Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 85
Author(s):  
Samet Cinar ◽  
Senem Onen Cinar ◽  
Nils Wieczorek ◽  
Ihsanullah Sohoo ◽  
Kerstin Kuchta

In the biogas plants, organic material is converted to biogas under anaerobic conditions through physical and biochemical processes. From supply of the raw material to the arrival of the products to customers, there are serial processes which should be sufficiently monitored for optimizing the efficiency of the whole process. In particular, the anaerobic digestion process, which consists of sequential complex biological reactions, requires improved monitoring to prevent inhibition. Conventional implemented methods at the biogas plants are not adequate for monitoring the operational parameters and finding the correlation between them. As Artificial Intelligence has been integrated in different areas of life, the integration of it into the biogas production process will be inevitable for the future of the biogas plant operation. This review paper first examines the need for monitoring at the biogas plants with giving details about the process and process monitoring as well. In the following sections, the current situation of implementations of Artificial Intelligence in the biogas plant operation and in the similar industries will be represented. Moreover, considering that all the information gathered from literature and operational needs, an implementation model will be presented.


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