Biogas infrastructures from farm to regional scale, prospects of biogas transport grids

E.J Hengeveld,J Bekkering,W.J.T Van Gemert,A.A Broekhuis

doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2016.01.005

E.J Hengeveld, J Bekkering + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2016.01.005

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Abstract

The volume of biogas produced in agricultural areas is expected to increase in coming years. An increasing number of local and regional initiatives show a growing interest in decentralized energy production, wherein biogas can play a role. Biogas transport from production sites to user, i.e. a CHP, boiler or an upgrading installation, induces a scale advantage and an efficiency increase. Therefore the exploration of the costs and energy use of biogas transport using a dedicated infrastructure is needed. A model was developed to describe a regional biogas grid that is used to collect biogas from several digesters and deliver it to a central point. The model minimizes transport costs per volumetric unit of biogas in a region. Results are presented for different digester scales, different sizes of the biomass source area and two types of grid lay-out: a star lay-out and a fishbone lay-out. The model shows that transport costs in a fishbone lay-out are less than 10 €ct m−3 for a digester scale of 100 m3 h−1; for the star lay-out costs can go up to 45 €ct m−3. For 1800 m3 h−1 digesters, these values are 4.0 €ct m−3 and 6.1 €ct m−3, respectively. The results indicate that cooperation between biogas producers in collecting biogas by means of a fishbone lay-out reduces the biogas transport costs relative to using a star lay-out. Merging smaller digesters into a smaller number of larger ones reduces the costs of biogas transport for the same biomass source area.

Highlights

In the forecast of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL), the volume of biogas to be generated in the Netherlands by digestion is predicted to increase by 74% from 8.6 PJ to 15 PJ in the time period 2010e2020; the total energy end use in 2010 was 2304 PJ, with 86 PJ from renewable sources
The model shows that costs of biogas transport increase with increasing source area
In the star lay-out, transport costs are linear with the side of the square region

Summary

Introduction

In the forecast of the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL), the volume of biogas to be generated in the Netherlands by digestion is predicted to increase by 74% from 8.6 PJ to 15 PJ in the time period 2010e2020; the total energy end use in 2010 was 2304 PJ, with 86 PJ from renewable sources. The main cause for the increase is the growth of co-digestion of manure and co-substrates. In the outlook for 2030 a further increase is foreseen to 61 PJ because of the ability to use biogas to produce heat at a high overall efficiency in a CHP and in the production of green gas [1]. The dairy sector organization, Nederlandse Zuivel Organisatie (NZO), wants the production of dairy products to be energy neutral. To reach this goal manure fermentation plays an important role together with wind and solar energy [2,3]. The use of waste materials such as manure and biogas could contribute to a more diversified energy mix [4]

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