Geospatial Analysis and Environmental Impact Assessment of a Holistic and Interdisciplinary Approach to the Biogas Sector

Abstract

Crop-based biogas energy production, in combination with electricity generation under subsidy schemes, is no longer considered a favourable business model for biogas plants. Switching to low-cost or gate fee feedstocks and utilising biogas via alternative pathways could contribute to making existing plants fit for future operations and could open up new space for further expansion of the biogas sector. The aim of this study was to combine a holistic and interdisciplinary approach for both the biogas production side and the utilisation side to evaluate the impact of integrating the biogas sector with waste management systems and energy systems operating with a high share of renewable energy sources. The geospatial availability of residue materials from agriculture, industry and municipalities was assessed using QGIS software for the case of Northern Croatia with the goal of replacing maize silage in the operation of existing biogas plants. Furthermore, the analysis included positioning new biogas plants, which would produce renewable gas. The overall approach was evaluated through life cycle assessment using SimaPro software to quantify the environmental benefits and identify the bottlenecks of the implemented actions. The results showed that the given feedstocks could replace 212 GWh of biogas from maize silage in the relevant region and create an additional 191 GWh of biomethane in new plants. The LCA revealed that the proposed measures would contribute to the decarbonisation of natural gas by creating environmental benefits that are 36 times greater compared to a business-as-usual concept. The presented approach could be of interest to stakeholders in the biogas sector anywhere in the world to encourage further integration of biogas technologies into energy and environmental transitions.

Effect of the Substrate to Inoculum Ratios on the Kinetics of Biogas Production during the Mesophilic Anaerobic Digestion of Food Waste

“…Assuming first-order kinetics for the hydrolysis of particulate organic matter, the cumulative methane production was described through Equation (1).…”

“…Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a mature technology with substantial application in sludge and organic waste management [1]. AD of organic waste could yield renewable energy (as methane) and biofertilizers (as digestate).…”

“…AD of organic waste could yield renewable energy (as methane) and biofertilizers (as digestate). AD is vital for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from waste sectors, combating climate change, and sustaining life on earth [1,2]. AD also plays an integral role in managing organic waste.…”

A framework for informing context-sensitive sustainable management of organic waste in rural agricultural regions

“…Previously, many studies utilized various geographic information system (GIS) techniques to quantify the mass of organic waste streams and applied life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA) to analyze the environmental and economic benefits of transforming such wastes into valuable resources (table S1). These studies incorporated nationally available datasets into GIS to quantify mass of organic waste streams at both regional [25][26][27][28][29] and national-scales [30][31][32]. Additionally, these studies included separate applications of LCA [26,29,33] and TEA [25,28,30,34] as well as their integrated applications [27,31,32] for assessing the feasibility of implementing commercially-available RRCC technologies such as anaerobic digestion.…”

Development of Anaerobic Biodigester for the Production of Biogas Used in Semi-Continuous System Bioprocesses: An Efficient Alternative for Co-Digestion of Low Biodegradability Biomass

“…One of the main environmental problems of today's society is the continuous increase in the production of solid organic waste and sewage and their disposal. In many countries, sustainable waste management, as well as waste prevention and reduction, have become important policy priorities, representing an important part of common efforts to reduce pollution and mitigate global climate change [1,2]. Intelligent management of organic waste enables energy recovery, whether carried out by the still traditional incineration or by composting and anaerobic digestion [3,4].…”