Biomass For Biogas Production Research Articles

Theoretical Assessment of Agro-Waste for Biogas Production Based on Novel Methodology Related to Biochemical Potential

Agricultural and waste biomasses present viable solutions for utilization in the energy sector, achieving sustainable and long-term transformation into energy and fuel. However, it is important to carefully evaluate the competing applications for these feedstocks, considering both short- and long-term stability. Biomass for biogas production in agriculture and waste management is used due to its availability and ease of handling. Considering everything mentioned, evaluating the most suitable raw materials for biogas production is crucial for meeting sustainability criteria and promoting biomass as an energy source. In this paper, an examination of different biomass sources as possible feedstock to produce biogas by applying a theoretical approach to the proximate and final analysis results of those materials is presented. Based on data from the raw material analysis, the theoretical biochemical methane potential (TBMP) for the considered samples was calculated. Furthermore, the mass and energy balance for the case study biogas plant was also performed. According to the obtained results, the considered feedstocks show the validity of their use for biogas production considering the fulfillment of the raw material minimum quantity, mandatory residue arrangement, and achieving higher efficiency of the energy conversion process.

Techno-economic analysis of a mini biogas electricity plant (MBEP) for a typical farm in the Zimbabwean off-grid areas

AbstractIn response to declining electricity production in Zimbabwe, the energy regulator engaged various stakeholders to work together to solve the energy shortage problem. Biomass waste, abundant in the country, can contribute to electricity generation for consumption and export to the grid. Compared to other renewable energy resources such as wind and solar, biomass has lower investment and per unit operational costs, making it more affordable. Although farmers in the remote off-grid areas produce large amounts of waste, which can be used for biogas production via anaerobic digestion (AD), the farmers are still ‘energy-poor’. There is insufficient information to enable farmers to make informed decisions on AD technology uptake. This study conducted a techno-economic assessment for a mini biogas electric plant (MBEP) for a typical farm in Zimbabwe’s off-grid areas. The sustainably available biomass for biogas production was determined, followed by quantifying the biogas produced, sizing and selecting the digester type, and sizing the generator. The MBEP produces 435,350.7 kWh of heat and electrical energy from 452 t of biowaste. The first biodigester-type option, the garage-shaped, has a negative net present value ($$NPV$$ NPV ) of − US$416.4. The Carmatec biodigester, the most popular AD technology in the country, has a positive $$NPV$$ NPV (US$216,447.7), but its economics needs improvement. Adopting AD technology allows farmers to mitigate environmental pollution and improve soil fertility by converting organic waste into biogas and biofertilisers and promoting sustainable agricultural practices. Research was recommended to investigate supportive policies, incentives, and regulatory frameworks to promote the widespread adoption of AD technology in agricultural settings.

Controlling Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms in Beel Gajna, Pabna, Bangladesh- A Management Plan

Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms) poses a significant challenge in many parts of the world, prompting the application of diverse management techniques, including physical and mechanical removal, chemical methods, and biological control. Despite these efforts, an effective control strategy remains elusive. This paper explores the multifaceted nature of water hyacinth, acknowledging its advantageous roles such as phytoremediation, biomass for biogas production, animal feed, compost, vermicompost, green manure, and raw material for various products. While water hyacinth traditionally served beneficial purposes, its proliferation, particularly in areas like Beel Gajna in Bangladesh, has become a major obstacle to crop cultivation, particularly onion farming. The paper underscores the harmful and beneficial aspects of water hyacinth, emphasizing the need for immediate management in specific regions, notably Beel Gajna. It delves into the role of different control methods and proposes an emphasis on physical or manual removal from farmers’ fields to address the limitations associated with other physical methods.

Anaerobic Digestion of Hemp and Flax Straw and Shives and Rapeseed Straw by the Ruminal Microbiota

To mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy supply security, there is an increasing effort toward the use of non-fossil energy sources. Crop residues have a great potential to be exploited as biomass for biogas production. However, due to their lignocellulosic structures they are difficult to degrade and do not reach competitive performance. A feasible option to mine these substrates is present in the forestomach of ruminants. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to use rumen microorganisms to improve anaerobic digestion (AD) of crop residues. For this purpose, hemp straw, mechanically pre-treated hemp fibers and shives, flax straw, flax shives, and aged and fresh rapeseed straw were evaluated using the rumen simulation technique. The AD of the substrates was divided into three batches. In two batches, hay was added as a control substrate. In summary, none of the analyzed substrates had an equivalent performance as the control hay, but pre-treated hemp fibers and shives had better AD parameters compared to all other alternative substrates, with the lowest pH (mean: 6.81), highest short chain fatty acid (20.0 mmol/day) and H2 production (25.6 mM) and highest degradability (25.2%). Flax straw had the second-best performance (6.81, 17.4 mmol/day, 20.6 mM and 22.2%, respectively), followed by fresh rapeseed straw, hemp straw, aged rapeseed straw and flax shives. Therefore, hemp fibers and shives demonstrated to be the most suitable substrates for AD. However, since pre-treatment can represent significant additional costs for biogas production, flax straw also demonstrated to be a good alternative.

Comparative Study on the Optimisation of the Hydrolysis Step During Biogas Production from Typha Grass Using Conventional Microbiology and Metagenomics Tools

The impact of climate change has increased by many orders of magnitudes in recent years. These changes have necessitated a global drive towards alternative sources of energy. Biogas has been re-echoed as one form of renewable energy that is sustainable because of the possibility of using several biomass sources to produce biogas. To date, two major factors hindered biogas production, the first been the biomass (having the appropriate C: N ratio) secondly enhanced hydrolysis to boost and sustained the yield of the biogas. The present study explored Typha grass as biomass for biogas production. The proximate composition was determined by the AOAC method. The biogas produced in the reactor was measured using water displacement method. The bacteria were isolated using standard bacteriology method and characterised by PCR amplification of the 16S rDNA gene. The metagenomics microbial community was determined by the Illumina amplicon sequencing method. The percentage of acid-insoluble lignin was determined using TAPPI (T222) method. The holocellulose content was determined according to DIN 2403. The a- Cellulose content of the substrate was determined in the 17.5% NaOH solutions using TAPPI 203 om-93 method. Typha grass had low lipid value of 2.05% and fiber 2.3% and an appreciable amount of lignin 47.05%, followed by holocellulose of 40.55%, hemicellulose 29.5% and cellulose was 11.5%. Biogas production started after 6 days and was optimum after 8 days with mean gas yield of 180 mL and decreased to 25 mL after 12 days. The reactor had a bacterium count of 1.33E+08 CFU/g at day 8. The result of the PCR amplification indicates the presence of bacterial species such as Acinetobacter sp., Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas veronii, Citrobacter species and Delftia sp, in the reactor. The metagenomics data revealed that bacteria were the major microbial community detected within the reactor and the inoculum and it accounted for more than 99%. At the phyla level, unknow bacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria were the major group within the reactor and in the inoculum. Uncultured bacterium, unclassified, rumen, Bacteroidetes and Archaeon constitute the major genera in the reactor. The results suggest that Typha grass can be exploited as biomass for biogas production and the complex microbial especially uncultured bacterium are important in the production process.

Enzymatic pretreatment of steam-exploded birch wood for increased biogas production and lignin degradation

Lignocellulose is readily available biomass for biogas production; however, due to its rigid structure, it requires pretreatment to obtain a maximum energy extraction. In this study, steam explosion (SE) (220 °C and 10 minute retention time) has been employed to increase the biogas production potential from birch wood. Although the biogas production increased by over two times after SE, the SE of birch wood negatively affects the structure of C5/C6 sugars and doubled the concentration of non-degradable lignin in all the samples. In this work, SE birch wood has been further pretreated by novel lignin-degrading enzymes cocktail to convert lignin into degradable sugars and increase the biogas production rate. The proposed hybrid pretreatment could increase the biogas production by up to 25% (from 450.5 mL/g VS to 566 mL/g VS), and reduced the lignin concentration by up to 48%.

Beer spent grains biomass for biogas production: Characterization and anaerobic digestion-oriented pre-treatments

The aim of this study focuses on the possibility of producing biogas from brewery spent grains through an anaerobic digestion (AD) process. Beer, in fact, is one of the most consumed drinks all over the world and its highly impactful production process releases a large quantity of wastes, such as spent grains (BSG). In the first part of this work, an energetic characterization of raw BSG has been carried out to define moisture, ashes and volatile solids contents. Then, two pre-treatments of BSG have been analysed, in order to establish how to improve the energetic characteristics of this biomass for an anaerobic conversion process. The first pre-treatment has consisted in a low temperature process, while the second one is an alkali pre-treatment. After the raw biomass has been subjected to each pre-treatment, the energetic characterization has been repeated to evaluate the change of the BSG’s properties. The obtained results show that the raw BSG is a suitable biomass for AD application, because of the high content of volatile solids (around 90.9%) and the low percentage of ash on dry basis (about 3.53%). These characteristics has been bettered through the low temperature pre-treatment (volatile solids percentage near 92.7% and ash content approximately equal to 3.59 %) in terms of digestibility by anaerobic digestion reaction, while the alkali one has worsened the volatile solids content (around 73.8%) and increased the ash percentage (near 38.61%).

Potential Energy Production from Biogas Economically and Environmental Profitable. Case Study: Establishing a Batch Digester in “Fogi” Farm

Recently the use of biomass for biogas production is very limited in Albania. According to data acquistion from the study, the highest share in the entire structure of urban solid waste is that of organic waste 41-61.2%.
 A large part of these waste are bio digestible and can used for production or utilized as potential substrate in anaerobic digestion to produce biogas, a renewable source of energy and environment friendly too.
 Live stocks waste and especially cow manure farms are concerned in this study because there are a high number 11813 of them are spread all over Albania. In addition, the amount of cow manure exceeds 37,693.92 ton/year.
 In this case study is presented a cow farm located near Tirana, capital city of Albania with 200 cow heads which in the future will become 700 cow heads. The total amount of cow manure produced in this farm is 1825 ton/year, a considerable quantity of manure available for biogas production.
 This paper presents the type of digester, calculation of the biogas production yield, the optained energy, the pay back period of the initial investment and the net present value of this farm batcher digestor.

Perspectives of anaerobic decomposition of biomass for sustainable biogas production: A Review

Biogas production from biomass is an eco-friendly approach that offers renewable energy generation, waste recycling, biofertilizer production along with maintaining environmental quality. Anaerobic decomposition is a familiar practice used for biogas production in worldwide, whereas only few substrates were convenient for attaining desired methane concentration in biogas. Hence, further advancements are necessary for the exploration and utilization of various complex organic materials for the purpose. This article gives a clear outlook on potential of various biomass for biogas production, necessity of pretreatment, applicability of microbial/enzyme addition, maintenance of various process parameters, formulation of suitable digester designs and future scope of this area. The livestock wastes and agricultural wastes possess high energy generation potential (71%) and sustainable utilization of such wastes are admirable to commercialize biogas production in future. Hence, selection of biomass through biochemical methane potential (BMP) analysis and biomass pretreatment prior to anaerobic decomposition is adequate to improve the quality and quantity of generated biogas. Addition of effective microorganisms or respective enzymes along with the employment of suitable bioreactors, are other perspectives to enhance decomposition. The single-stage and multi-stage systems possess much attention than other types of reactors since that offers accurate process management at four different stages of decomposition. Moreover, the maintenances of optimum pH, temperature, volatile fatty acids, carbon/nitrogen ratio, etc. are crucial to evade system unsteadiness during decomposition. Since comprehensive mathematical models are appropriate to make the anaerobic decomposition process economically feasible and advancement with these forecasts are adequate to commercialize this technology in the future.

Phycoremediation of wastewater by Chlorella pyrenoidosa and utilization of its biomass for biogas production

This study aims to focus on simultaneous wastewater treatment and clean energy production using Chlorella pyrenoidosa (C. Pyrenoidosa) microalgae. The growth of C. Pyrenoidosa is performed in real sewage treatment plant wastewater (STPW) and synthetic wastewater (SWW). During its growth the C. Pyrenoidosa, reduces the nitrate, phosphate and chemical oxygen demand (COD) as 99.2%, 70.1%, and 61.0%, respectively from SWW; for STPW these values are 99.5%, 94.2%, and 87.1%, respectively. The growth of C. Pyrenoidosa is studied in terms of algal biomass generation and used for biogas production by anaerobic digestion in the presence of anaerobic microorganisms. The pretreatment methods such as thermal (temperature 900 °C, time 8 h), hydrothermal (temperature 121 °C, pressure 15 psi, time 15 min), ultrasonic (power 100 W, time 15 min) and Fenton (speed 140 rpm, time 3 h) are used for pretreatment of algal biomass to enhance the biogas production. Total biogas yield of 479 mL and methane yield of 147 mL/volatile solid (g) are obtained from untreated algal biomass. Ultrasonic, thermal, hydrothermal and Fenton pretreated microalgae biomass show 15.5%, 8.2%, 18.4% and 10.9% enhancement in methane production, respectively; while for total biogas production, the corresponding values are 7.93%, 10.43%, 14.19% and 11.06%, respectively.

Anaerobic Digestion of Biomass for production of Biogas: Progress and Advantages

A major share of world’s primary energy requirement is dependent on fossil fuels which is not only a non renewable source of energy and on the verge of extinction but also associated with serious environmental concerns. To combat these issues, alternative renewable energy sources are required. Certain examples of renewable energy sources are solar energy, wind energy, hydro and thermal energy, biofuels etc. Biomass is one such alternative which is freely and abundantly available. It is mainly the agricultural waste and vegetable waste which are perishable and create a lot of nuisance. Tapping this biomass for energy production will be beneficial in two ways; it will be an excellent source of energy generation and it will also help in waste management for environment protection. Energy generation from Biomass can take place either chemically or thermo-chemically. In the present paper advantages of anaerobic digestion of biomass are discussed for biogas production.

Characterization of water hyacinth (E. crassipes) from Lake Victoria and ruminal slaughterhouse waste as co-substrates in biogas production

Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), an invasive water weed with a large biomass, poses serious socioeconomic and environmental challenges in fresh water bodies. Efforts to control and remove water hyacinth (WH) can be complemented by biogas production, which, however, requires knowledge of its chemical and nutritional composition. Moreover, co-digestion with other substrates may compensate for possible limitations of its largely lignocellulosic biomass. This study carried out proximate, crude fiber, elemental and biochemical analysis of WH and a co-substrate, ruminal slaughterhouse waste (RSW). The WH had significant concentrations of cellulose, hemicellulose and carbohydrates of 331,200, 231,800 and 447,800 mg/L, respectively, and lesser concentration of lignin of 99,400 g/L that is desirable in biomass for biogas production. Concentrations of C, N, P and K in WH were 15,480, 1654, 51 and 137 mg/L compared to 26,220, 1390, 34 and 7475, respectively, for RSW, which indicated potential for biogas generation. The potassium concentration for WH of 137 mg/L was below the optimum range of 200–400 mg/L while that for RSW of 7476 mg/L was in the inhibitory range. Both biomass exhibited phosphorous deficiency at C/P of 310 and 656 for WH and RSW, respectively, against optimum ratio of 100 and 150 for hydrolysis and acidogenesis stages and methanogenesis stage, respectively. The C/N for WH of 9.4 was at the lower limit for optimal biogas production of 8 mg/L that demarcates potential ammonia toxicity while that for RSW of 18.8 was near the upper limit of 20 mg/L for nitrogen deficiency. Co-digesting the two substrates has the potential for balancing potassium concentrations and the C/N ratios. Trial co-digestion of WH with RSW improved WH gas production demonstrating complementary effect of the two substrates. However, commercialization of the co-digestion would need to establish the optimal mix proportions and methanogenic microbial communities involved in the digestion process.

PENGARUH WAKTU FERMENTASI DAN KOMPOSISI LIMBAH KULIT BUAH AREN (Arenga pinnata) DENGAN STARTER KOTORAN SAPI TERHADAP BIOGAS YANG DIHASILKAN

Sugar palm or commonly called as Aren (Arenga pinnata) is a multipurpose crop. The widely use of sugar palm for food industries, generates sugar palm leather waste which can be used as a biomass for biogas production. This study aims to determine the quality and the quantity of biogas made from a mixed of sugar palm leather waste and water using batch anaerobic digester system and to evaluate the economic potential of biogas production from the mixture. Research carried out by mixing sugar palm leather with water in a ratio of 1:13; 1:11,5; 1:10; 1:9; and 1:8 (w/w) with cow dung as a starter mixed with water in an anaerobic digester batch system. Observed variables are biogas, biogas composition, Total Suspended Solid (TSS) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and analyzed fermentation slurry for every 3 days. pH for this study is set in the range of 6,4-8. The largest volume of biogas production is found at a ratio 1:11,5 (w/w) mixture of sugar palm leather and water that is 637 mL for total waste 1,5 L with 60,983 % methane contain. TSS removal percentage obtained was 88,10 %and percentage of COD removal by 82,43%. Slurry produces unqualified TSS and COD with the standard quality of liquid waste. The economic potential of sugar palm leather waste and water for producing biogas is beneficial.

Co-digestion of algae biomass for production of biogas and fertilizer: Life Cycle Cost Analysis

The purpose of this article is to determine and assess<em> </em>Life Cycle Costs of biogas and fertilizer produced in anaerobic digestion of biomass. General Cost Breakdown Structure for anaerobic digestion plant is described for better understanding of the system. Main cost categories discussed in this study are: Investments; Design, construction and dismantling costs; Maintenance, Operation and Transportation costs. Results showed that Design, construction and dismantling costs have the biggest share in Total Life Cycle Cost (TLCC) per cubic meter of biogas. This category also has the biggest influence on TLCC of fertilizer. Investment costs are the second most significant cost category.

Detecting land use and land cover changes in Northern German agricultural landscapes to assess ecosystem service dynamics

Land use and land cover (LULC) and their changes in share and number of classes can be documented by remote sensing techniques. Information on LULC is needed for the assessment of ecosystem services and is used as input data for mapping and modelling. This information is important for decision-making and management of ecosystems and landscapes. In this study, LULC were analysed in two agricultural areas in Northern Germany by means of a pixel-based maximum likelihood classification approach of 11 Landsat TM 5 scenes between 1987 and 2011 followed by a post-classification refinement using the tool IRSeL. In this time period, grassland declined by about 50 % in both case study areas. This loss in grassland area can be associated with changes in provisioning ecosystem services as the supply of fodder and crops and the number of livestock declined from 1987 to 2007. Furthermore, an on-going increase in maize cultivation area, which is nowadays more and more used as biomass for biogas production, documents the addition of another provisioning service, i.e., biomass for energy. Combining remote sensing and research on ecosystem services supports the assessment and monitoring of ecosystem services on different temporal, spatial, and semantic scales.

Energy Efficiency of Biogas Produced from Different Biomass Sources

Malaysia has different sources of biomass like palm oil waste, agricultural waste, cow dung, sewage waste and landfill sites, which can be used to produce biogas and as a source of energy. Depending on the type of biomass, the biogas produced can have different calorific value. At the same time the energy, being used to produce biogas is dependent on transportation distance, means of transportation, conversion techniques and for handling of raw materials and digested residues. An energy systems analysis approach based on literature is applied to calculate the energy efficiency of biogas produced from biomass. Basically, the methodology is comprised of collecting data, proposing locations and estimating the energy input needed to produce biogas and output obtained from the generated biogas. The study showed that palm oil and municipal solid waste is two potential sources of biomass. The energy efficiency of biogas produced from palm oil residues and municipal solid wastes is 1.70 and 3.33 respectively. Municipal solid wastes have the higher energy efficiency due to less transportation distance and electricity consumption. Despite the inherent uncertainties in the calculations, it can be concluded that the energy potential to use biomass for biogas production is a promising alternative.

Utilization of water hyacinth relevant in water treatment and resource recovery with special reference to India

The magnitude of the spread of the water hyacinth ( Eichhornia crassipes ) makes its extermination, either by physical or chemical methods, a costly and painstaking process. The exercise has to be repeated annually for an indefinite period, a burden that poorer nations are hardly equipped to support. The alternative is to find a use for this plant so that its eradication would entail some financial returns. A variety of studies have been carried out in this direction. The manifold uses to which the plant has been put include principally: (i) a fertilizer, compost and mulch; (ii) fodder; (iii) a raw material for industry; (iv) a protein source and source for carotene and other chemicals; (v) a pollution control agent; and (vi) biomass for biogas production. This paper represents a review of the past work on eradication and utilization of water hyacinth relevant in water treatment and resource recovery in the field of environmental engineering with special reference to India.

Production of biogas from Azolla pinnata R.Br and Lemna minor L.: Effect of heavy metal contamination

The absorption of iron, copper, cadmium, nickel, lead, zinc, manganese and cobalt by Azolla pinnata R.Br and Lemna minor L., and subsequent utilization of this biomass for production of biogas (methane), have been investigated. Iron or manganese did not have any toxic effect on the anaerobic fermentation of Azolla and Lemna, while copper, cobalt, lead and zinc showed toxicity. At low concentrations cadmium and nickel showed a favourable effect on the rate of biogas production and its methane content, but with increase in concentrations rate of biogas production and methane content decreased. However, although there was this decrease in biogas production and methane content, the methane content of biogas was still higher than that which was obtained from non-contaminated biomass.

Fodder crops as raw materials for biofuel production

Purpose. To study the adaptive elements of technology for growing high-stem forage crops (corn, sugar sorghum, sudanese grass, sorghum-sudanese hybrid) and features of biomass formation for biogas production in the right-bank forest-steppe of Ukraine. Methods. Field, laboratory, quantitative-weight, visual, calculation-comparative, mathematical-statistical. Results. The researche results provided the adaptive technology elements cultivation of high-stem forage cultures for the further using of biomass for biogas production. The use of complex mineral fertilizers (NPK) on crops of high-stem forage crops led to an increase in crop productivity compared to the application of nitrogen fertilizers (N). Transferring of the crops harvesting time from the phase of stem prolongation to the phase of the heads forming, and especially the milk-wax ripeness of the grain provided an increase in yield and quality of biomass. The application of the crop nutrition system and biomass harvesting in different phases of fodder crop development ensured the yield of corn at the level of 26.8-66.5 t/ha, sudanese grass – 26.6-60.2 t/ha, sorghum-sudanese hybrid – 34,1-114.7 t/ha and sugar sorghum – 37.3-105.4 t/ha, estimated yield of biogas from 2.83 to 32.54 thousand m3/ha and energy from biogas – from 51.9-709.4 GJ/ha, depending on the fertilizer option and harvesting period. Conclusions. The application of the optimal fertilizer system (N90P90K90) and harvesting of biomass in the phase of milk-wax ripeness of grain the highest productivity was provided by crops of high-stem forage crops: yield of corn biomass at the level of 54.9-66.5 t/ha, sudanese grass – 45.0-60.2 t/ha, sorghum-sudanese hybrid – 82.0-114.7 t/ha and sugar sorghum 74.3-105.4 t/ha, estimated biogas yield from 12.91 to 32.54 thousand m3/ha and energy from biogas – 281.4-709.4 GJ/ha, with a level of profitability from 7.1 to 177.6% dependently on the crop and nutrient background.