Assessment of renewable bioenergy application: a case in the food supply chain industry

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to assess the financial impact as well as greenhouse gas emissions of bioenergy application in a food-processing company. The assessment of bioenergy comprises collection and handling of organic waste and conversion of these biomasses through anaerobic digestion into biogas. In order to validate the proposed options of bioenergy application, we considered a food processing company in Denmark as a case company in a single in-depth case study. In the case studied, the produced biogas is to be utilized in one of two options at a bakery site: To substitute natural gas in combined heat and power (CHP) production (option 1) or substitute natural gas for production processes (ovens) and boilers (heat in form of water and steam production). The financial and environmental assessment is undertaken using the proposed bioenergy application, and indicates that it is possible to realize financial benefits in terms of additional profits and cost savings, but that challenging conditions can be problematic from a company perspective and provide challenges for the promotion of bioenergy investments. Specifically, substituting natural gas for processes and boilers is identified as the scenario providing the best financial result. The results also indicate that bioenergy application results in reduced greenhouse gas emissions in both options compared with the base scenario, however with no significant differences between the two options.