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1 Biomass (digestible sludge)
| What is your resource? | What do you want to deliver? | What is the service the customer wants? |
| 1 Biomass (digestible sludge) | District cooling | Comfortable indoor climate |
| Biomass (fermentable sludge) | District heating | Electricity |
| Biomass (solid) | Electricity | Process cooling (< 0 °C) |
| Geothermal | Fuel: Gaseous | Process heat/steam (50 - 150 °C) |
| Sunshine | Fuel: Liquid | Process heat (150 - 1000 °C) |
| Water | Fuel: Solid | Process heat (> 1000 °C) |
| Wind | Local cooling (ind. house) | Transport |
| Residual oils/fats etc | Local heating (ind. house) |
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One of the main environmental problems of today's society is the continuously increasing production of organic wastes. In many countries, sustainable waste management as well as waste prevention and reduction have become major political priorities, representing an important share of the common efforts to reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions and to mitigate global climate changes. Uncontrolled waste dumping is no longer acceptable today and even controlled landfill disposal and incineration of organic wastes are not considered optimal practices, as environmental standards hereof are increasingly stricter and energy recovery and recycling of nutrients and organic matter is aimed. |
Production of biogas through anaerobic digestion (AD) of animal manure and slurries as well as of a wide range of digestible organic wastes, converts these substrates into renewable energy and offers a natural fertiliser for agriculture. At the same time, it removes the organic fraction from the overall waste streams, increasing this way the efficiency of energy conversion by incineration of the remaining wastes and the biochemical stability of landfill sites. |
Various types of feedstock can be used for the production of biogas: animal manure and slurries, crop residues, organic wastes from dairy production, food industries and agro industries, wastewater sludge, organic fraction of municipal solid wastes, organic wastes from households and from catering business as well as energy crops. Biogas can also be collected, with special installations, from landfill sites. |
One main advantage of biogas production is the ability to use "wet biomass" types as feedstock, all characterised by moisture content higher than 60-70% (e.g. sewage sludge, animal slurries, flotation sludge from food processing etc.). Besides crop residues, all kinds of agricultural residues, damaged crops, unsuitable for food or resulting from unfavourable growing and weather conditions, can be used to produce biogas and fertiliser. |
A number of animal by-products, not suitable for human consumption, can also be processed in biogas plants. |
AD is a microbiological process of decomposition of organic matter, in the absence of oxygen, common to many natural environments and largely applied today to produce biogas in airproof reactor tanks, commonly named digesters. A wide range of micro-organisms are involved in the anaerobic process which has two main end products: biogas and digestate. |
Biogas is a combustible gas consisting of methane, carbon dioxide and small amounts of other gases and trace elements. The digestate is the decomposed substrate, rich in macro- and micro nutrients and therefore suitable to be used as plant fertilizer. |
The production and utilisation of biogas from AD provides environmental and socioeconomic benefits for the society as a whole as well as for the involved farmers. Utilisation of the internal value chain of biogas production enhances local economic capabilities, safeguards jobs in rural areas and increases regional purchasing power. It may thus improve living standards and contribute to economic and social development. |
The gas produced can be upgraded to transport fuel quality or to SNG (substitute natural gas) quality and fed to the European gas grid. By that, biogas is accessible to any customer who has access to the gas grid. |