Microanalysis of the benefits of China's family-size bio-digesters

Groenendaal, W.J.H. van; Wang, Gehua

doi:10.1016/j.energy.2009.05.028

Cited by 39 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…However, the adoption for biogas technology decreased with an increase in remote location and area of the household. Van Groenendaal and Gehua [188] analyzed the internal benefits which revealed that 58.5% of people who used a biogas digester could cook three meals a day and most of the people had improved health conditions. Feng et al [189] calculated the efficiency of energy use for the rural households in Tibet.…”

Section: Economics and Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Household Biogas Digesters—A Review

2012

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This review is a summary of different aspects of the design and operation of small-scale, household, biogas digesters. It covers different digester designs and materials used for construction, important operating parameters such as pH, temperature, substrate, and loading rate, applications of the biogas, the government policies concerning the use of household digesters, and the social and environmental effects of the digesters. Biogas is a value-added product of anaerobic digestion of organic compounds. Biogas production depends on different factors including: pH, temperature, substrate, loading rate, hydraulic retention time (HRT), C/N ratio, and mixing. Household digesters are cheap, easy to handle, and reduce the amount of organic household waste. The size of these digesters varies between 1 and 150 m 3 . The common designs include fixed dome, floating drum, and plug flow type. Biogas and fertilizer obtained at the end of anaerobic digestion could be used for cooking, lighting, and electricity.

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Section: Economics and Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Household Biogas Digesters—A Review

2012

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“…Nevertheless, user households reduced their monthly consumption of firewood by 10 kg. Based on data from three villages in Western China in 2006 (239 households; 183 users and 56 nonusers), Groenendaal and Gehua (2010) concluded that despite working with a sample of relatively long-term digester users the many benefits attributed to the use of digesters had only partly been realized, if at all. For most of the outcomes there were no statistically significant differences between users and non-users.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of a household biogas programme on energy use and expenditure in East Java

2017

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a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f oBiogas has been promoted as a renewable, cleaner and cheaper energy source. While there are several initiatives promoting the use of biogas, credible analyses of its effects on the use of alternative energy sources and energy related expenditure are limited. This study uses panel data from households engaged in dairy farming in rural East Java to assess the impact of a household level programme, which promotes the construction of digesters that produce biogas, on energy use and expenditures. Both a difference-in-difference analysis and a pipeline comparison show that the use of digesters leads to a sharp reduction in energy related expenditures and a reduction in the use of firewood and liquefied petroleum gas. However, without subsidies, the payback period of between 11 and 14 years, albeit based only on reductions in energy costs accruing from investing in a digester, is perhaps too long to justify the investment.

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“…Lack of effective operational management and maintenance, and insufficient gas storage facilities, contribute to unstable operation and leakage of biogas-containing methane (CH 4 ) with a high global warming potential (GWP)-increasing net GHG emission [12]. Groenendaal et al [13] pointed out RHB neither reduced fossil energy consumption, nor lowered fertilizer application in a number of typical Chinese villages studied. Sun et al [14] considered that governmental subsidies were not well targeted to promote development of RHB in China, mainly because most investment was directed towards construction rather than operation and maintenance of new systems.…”

Section: Environmental Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Greenhouse Gas Mitigation of Rural Household Biogas Systems in China: A Life Cycle Assessment

et al. 2017

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Rural household biogas (RHB) systems are at a crossroads in China, yet there has been a lack of holistic evaluation of their energy and climate (greenhouse gas mitigation) efficiency under typical operating conditions. We combined data from monitoring projects and questionnaire surveys across hundreds of households from two typical Chinese villages within a consequential life cycle assessment (LCA) framework to assess net GHG (greenhouse gas) mitigation by RHB systems operated in different contexts. We modelled biogas production, measured biogas losses and used survey data from biogas and non-biogas households to derive empirical RHB system substitution rates for energy and fertilizers. Our results indicate that poorly designed and operated RHB systems in northern regions of China may in fact increase farm household GHG emissions by an average of 2668 kg·CO 2 -eq·year −1 , compared with a net mitigation effect of 6336 kg·CO 2 -eq per household and year in southern regions. Manure treatment (104 and 8513 kg·CO 2 -eq mitigation) and biogas leakage (−533 and −2489 kg·CO 2 -eq emission) are the two most important factors affecting net GHG mitigation by RHB systems in northern and southern China, respectively. In contrast, construction (−173 and −305 kg·CO 2 -eq emission), energy substitution (−522 emission and 653 kg·CO 2 -eq mitigation) and nutrient substitution (−1544 and −37 kg·CO 2 -eq emission) made small contributions across the studied systems. In fact, survey data indicated that biogas households had higher energy and fertilizer use, implying no net substitution effect. Low biogas yields in the cold northern climate and poor maintenance services were cited as major reasons for RHB abandonment by farmers. We conclude that the design and management of RHB systems needs to be revised and better adapted to local climate (e.g., digester insulation) and household energy demand (biogas storage and micro power generators to avoid discharge of unburned biogas). More precise nutrient management planning could ensure that digestate nutrients are more effectively utilized to substitute synthetic fertilizers.

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Microanalysis of the benefits of China's family-size bio-digesters

Cited by 39 publications

References 9 publications

Household Biogas Digesters—A Review

Household Biogas Digesters—A Review

The impact of a household biogas programme on energy use and expenditure in East Java

Greenhouse Gas Mitigation of Rural Household Biogas Systems in China: A Life Cycle Assessment

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