Although cow manure is a valuable natural fertilizer, it is also a source of extreme greenhouse gas emissions, mainly methane. For this reason, this study aims to determine the impact of investments in a biogas plant on the energy and economic aspects of the operation of a dairy farm. A farm with a breeding size of 600 livestock units (LSU) was adopted for the analysis. In order to reach the paper’s aim, the analysis of two different scenarios of dairy farm functioning (conventional–only milk production, and modern–with biogas plant exploitation) was conducted. The analysis showed that the investment in biogas plant operations at a dairy farm and in using cow manure as one of the main substrates is a more profitable scenario compared to traditional dairy farming. Taking into account the actual Polish subsidies for electricity produced by small biogas plants, the scenario with a functioning biogas plant with a capacity of 500 kW brings €332,000/a more profit compared to the conventional scenario, even when taking into account additional costs, including the purchase of straw to ensure a continuous operation of the installation. Besides, in the traditional scenario, building a biogas plant allows for an almost complete reduction of greenhouse gas emissions during manure storage.
Animal biomass is an important substrate in the anaerobic digestion process. The implementation of a waste technology for energy production, such as the production of biogas from animal waste, has been recognized in many countries as one of the best ways to achieve the Sustainable Energy Development Goals. Without a systematic review of resources and accurate estimation of available sources in terms of the amount of potential electricity, it is impossible to manage biomass rationally. The main aim of the article was to present a new tool for assessing the biomass of animal origin and estimating its potential energy through a computer database, which will be widely available in the end of 2020 to show results from the calculation using the database. This tool is configured to enter the data on the developed and undeveloped biomass resources in production of farm animals in rural areas in Poland. Calculations from the database show the biogas potential of swine and cattle manure and slurry in Poland, which is approximately 5.04 billion m 3 , with a 60% share of methane in biogas. It is the value of approximately 3.03 billion m 3 of methane. It is worth underlining that slurry and manure are not high-energy substrates; therefore, it is necessary to introduce more energetic substrate streams to improve the biogas plant efficiency.
The volume of sewage sludge generated in Poland has increased significantly in the last two decades due to the construction of new wastewater treatment plants and the upgrading of the existing facilities. Composting is a highly effective method of managing sewage sludge. Sewage sludge has specific physicochemical properties, and it has to be combined with bulking agents to improve the porosity and the C: N ratio of the composted substrate. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between heat generation during composting and the C: N ratio of substrates composted under identical aeration conditions. The experiment was performed on four batches of sewage sludge combined in different proportions with wheat straw and sawdust with different C: N ratios. Gas emissions (CH 4 , CO 2 , NH 3 , H 2 S) were registered during the composting process, and the amount of heat generated by the composted substrates was calculated. The experiment was conducted in a laboratory system which supported the determination of the amount of generated heat. Heat generation was correlated with the C: N ratio of the composted substrate.
More than 95% of electric power in Polish power plants is produced from coal. This results in the emissions of large volumes of CO2 into the atmosphere, hence in some power plant alternative methods of electric power generation are being implemented. One of the many possible solutions is to produce electric power from biomass. There are two biomass options available for the power plants. One is the cogeneration of electricity from biomass and coal, and the second is firing only the biomass in the boilers.Those solutions may be effectively applied to the production of electric power in north-western Poland, as it is a region with large forest areas and strong agricultural production. One example is the power plant in Białystok which includes a power block that produces energy only from biomass (wood), and the power plant in Ostrołęka with a cogeneration power block. This report compares those solutions from various perspectives.The material presents a new strategy of use of different energy sources in order to optimise the energy management in the electric power system. The objective of the energy management optimisation strategy in the electric power system is to balance the capacity for the electric power production from biomass with the consumers' demand.
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