Abstract
BackgroundUtilization of energy crops for biogas production has been controversially discussed in Germany due to negative environmental effects and the “food vs. fuel” debate. This led to a search for alternative substrates focusing on material from landscape management measures. Aquatic biomass is harvested during water body management, yet it has not been considered for energy generation.MethodsThe information where and which amount of biomass is collected by aquatic de-weeding operations in rivers and lakes was gathered via a nationwide survey. In addition to that, the amount of aquatic plant biomass potentially available in water bodies was estimated exemplarily for the flowing waters of Baden-Württemberg—by using data from the European Water Framework Directive surveys.ResultsThe survey revealed 172 locations of de-weeding operations in flowing waters and 93 in standing waters. These locations are concentrated in lowland rivers of the North German Plain as well as the Upper Rhine Plain. Standing water de-weeding operations were reported mainly from the foothills of the Alps. The overall amount of biomass harvested per year is 36,244 t of fresh biomass. Taking into account missing data, a maximum of 100,000 t of fresh biomass per year can be estimated for Germany. The case study on plant biomass de-weeded from waters in Germany revealed that only a small part of the total aquatic plant biomass is actually harvested.ConclusionsThe amount of biomass harvested and removed from water bodies in Germany is considerably lower than the harvest of other substrates from landscape management measures such as mowing of meadows or trimming of trees and hedges. However, larger amounts are accumulating locally, concentrated in some regions or at specific water bodies, e.g., reservoirs, for which regional value chains could be established. In order to make the exploitation of these local potentials economically viable, changes regarding the economic and technological framework are required.
Highlights
Utilization of energy crops for biogas production has been controversially discussed in Germany due to negative environmental effects and the “food vs. fuel” debate
Research and compilation of de-weeding operations data in flowing and standing waters There are no official statistics on aquatic de-weeding operations and the fresh biomass harvested in Germany, so this information had to be collected firsthand from institutions responsible for water body management and maintenance in Germany
It should be noted that the questionnaire was completed for a set of water bodies maintained by an institution, especially when only the total yearly amount of fresh biomass (FM) harvested was known for all the water bodies managed by that particular institution
Summary
Utilization of energy crops for biogas production has been controversially discussed in Germany due to negative environmental effects and the “food vs. fuel” debate. This led to a search for alternative substrates focusing on material from landscape management measures. Main points of criticism are environmentally adverse cultivation methods and extensive land consumption [2]. This has led to a search for alternative substrates, such as material from landscape management [3]. Few studies have shown that aquatic biomass from water body management and maintenance is a suitable substrate for biogas generation
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