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Large-scale pig farming is associated with the production of large amounts of animal excrement, which, after processing into the form of, e.g., slurry, are managed on agricultural land as natural fertilizers. The utilization of pig manure on agricultural land in an excessive and uncontrolled manner may pose a threat to zoonoses due to the significant amounts of potentially pathogenic microorganisms within its content. This study aims to determine the impact of the methane fermentation process carried out in two agricultural biogas plants on the efficiency of sanitization of pig slurry, input biomass, and digestate. The biogas plants differed in terms of the substrate used; one used pig slurry from a maternal (breeding) farm (BP-M), and the other utilized pig slurry from a fattening farm (BP-F). The physicochemical analyses showed that the slurry, input biomass, and digestate from the BP-F were characterized by a significantly higher contents of organic dry matter, ash, and ammonium nitrogen than the slurry, input biomass, and digestate from the BP-M. The parameters of the methane fermentation process, including temperature and pH, reached higher values in the BP-F compared to the BP-M. The microbiological analyses led to the conclusion that the efficiency of sanitization of input biomass, including pig slurry, was significantly higher in the BP-F compared to the BP-M. Due to the above findings, locating biogas plants near pig fattening farms should be recommended.

Материал статьи раскрывает перспективы применения возобновляемой энергии в Иркутской области, являющейся ключевым решением и наиболее практичным действием против негативного изменения климата. При быстром внедрении возобновляемых источников энергии, таких как биогаз, выбросы углекислого газа (CO2) будут примерно на 70% ниже, чем сегодня. Доказывается, что помимо достижения стабильности климата, переход к возобновляемым источникам, таким как биогаз, получаемым с применением биогазовых установок, дает значительные долгосрочные социально-экономические преимущества развития Иркутской области и является краеугольным камнем устойчивого развития предприятий агропромышленного комплекса. Благодаря применению биогазовых установок, удается добиться утилизации отходов животноводства и птицеводства с получением биогаза и качественного удобрения, которое оказывает меньше негативного воздействия на растения, чем до переработки, уменьшается эмиссия неприятных запахов, улучшаются гомогенные свойства субстрата, появляется возможность более легкого смешивания, перекачивания и распределения отходов., The material of the article reveals the prospects for the use of renewable energy in the Irkutsk region, which is the key solution and the most practical action against negative climate change. With the rapid introduction of renewable energy sources such as biogas, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will be about 70% lower than today. It is proved that in addition to achieving climate stability, the transition to renewable sources, such as biogas produced using biogas plants, provides significant long-term socio-economic benefits for the development of the Irkutsk region and is the cornerstone of sustainable development of agro-industrial enterprises. Thanks to the use of biogas plants, it is possible to achieve the utilization of animal husbandry and poultry waste with the production of biogas and high-quality fertilizer, which has less negative effects on plants than before processing, reduces the emission of unpleasant odors, improves the homogeneous properties of the substrate, there is the possibility of easier mixing, pumping and distribution of waste., Экономика и предпринимательство, Выпуск 4 (153) 2023, Pages 568-574

Toplumların kalkınma çabaları ve tüketimin sürekli artmasından dolayı bütün ekosistemin tehdit altına girmesi sebebiyle 20. yüzyılın sonlarına doğru refah seviyesini yükseltirken çevreyi korumaya yönelik olarak çeşitli yaklaşımlar dünya gündemine gelmiştir. Artan sanayileşme ile çevreyi tehdit eden bir sorun olarak atık madde miktarında da artış yaşanması, yeni yaklaşımların ortaya çıkmasına sebep olmuştur. Atıkların değerlendirilmesi kapsamında enerji kaynağı olarak kullanılması ile hem atık minimizasyonunun sağlanması hem de ekonomik ve çevresel avantajların elde edilmesi hedeflenmektedir. Organik atıkların değerlendirilerek enerji ihtiyacının karşılandığı biyogaz tesislerinin incelendiği bu çalışmada tesislerin etkin olmasa dahi etkin hale getirilmesinin mümkün olduğunu göstermek amaçlanmıştır. Tesislere ait veriler Çevre Etki Değerlendirme (ÇED) raporlarından elde edilmiştir. Raporda yer almayan biyogaz üretim miktarı için Office programı kullanılmıştır. Tesislerin etkinlik durumunun yalnızca kendilerine ait sayısal girdi ve çıktı ile ortaya koymak mümkün olmadığı için çalışma kapsamında yönetsel mekanizmalara iç görünüm kazandırılması amacı içinde parametresiz bir teknik olan veri zarflama analizi kullanılmıştır. Tesislerin iki girdi ve bir çıktıdan oluşan verileri CCR ve BCC modellerine göre çözülmüştür. Analiz sonucunda altı tesis arasından iki tesisin etkin olup dört tesisin etkin olmadığı sonucuna ulaşılmıştır ve etkin olmayan tesislerde girdilerin etkin kullanılabilmesi için gereken artırma veya azaltmalar hesaplanmıştır., The entire ecosystem has been threatened by the continued development of societies and the continued increase in consumption. Because of this reason, various approaches that protect both the level of prosperity and the environment have come to the world agenda 20th toward the end of the century. As a problem that threatens the environment with increased industrialization, the increase in the amount of waste matter has brought up new approaches. The aim of evaluating waste as an energy source is to ensure waste minimization and to achieve economic and environmental benefits. In this study, in which biogas plants where energy needs are met by evaluating organic wastes are examined, it is aimed to show that it is possible to make the plants effective even if they are not effective. The data for the facilities were obtained from the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports. The Office program was used for the amount of biogas production not included in the report. As it is not possible to reveal the efficiency status of the facilities only with their own numerical input and output, data envelopment analysis, which is a parameter-free technique, was used in order to give an internal view of the managerial mechanisms within the scope of the study. The data of the facilities consisting of two inputs and one output were decoded according to the CCR and BCC models. As a result of the analysis, it was concluded that two facilities were active and four facilities were inactive among the six facilities, and the increments or Decommissioning required for the effective use of inputs in inactive facilities were calculated.

El objetivo del trabajo fue medir la huella de carbono de la planta de digestión anaeróbica (DA) utilizando definiciones y directrices establecidas en la normativa europea. El inventario de GEI muestra los conceptos incluidos para estimar la huella de carbono a lo largo del ciclo productivo (Ciclo de vida parcial de producto). La unidad de medida sobre la que se cuantificó el impacto en el estudio fue KgCO2eq./KWh. También se determinaron las reducciones o los beneficios ambientales generados por la planta de DA de los residuos de faena porcina y residuo de cribado de maíz, en comparación con los valores de emisiones generados por la producción de energía eléctrica a partir de combustibles fósiles informados por la secretaria de energía de Argentina. The objective of the work was to measure the carbon footprint of the anaerobic digestion (AD) plant using definitions and guidelines established in European regulations. The GHG inventory shows the concepts included to estimate the carbon footprint throughout the production cycle (partial product life cycle). The unit of measurement used to quantify the impact of the study was KgCO2 eq./KWh. The environmental reductions or benefits generated by the AD plant from swine slaughter waste and corn screening waste were also determined in comparison with the values of emissions generated by the production of electricity from fossil fuels as reported by the Argentine Energy Secretariat. Instituto de Ingeniería Rural Fil: Galván, María José. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Investigación y Transferencia. Agroalimentaria y Biotecnológica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Villa María; Argentina Fil: Degano, Salvador. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Investigación y Transferencia. Agroalimentaria y Biotecnológica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Villa María; Argentina Fil: Badin, Francisco. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Investigación y Transferencia. Agroalimentaria y Biotecnológica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Villa María; Argentina Fil: Cagnolo, Mara. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Investigación y Transferencia. Agroalimentaria y Biotecnológica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Villa María; Argentina Fil: Becker, Analía. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Investigación y Transferencia. Agroalimentaria y Biotecnológica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Villa María; Argentina Fil: Manno, Roberto. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Investigación y Transferencia. Agroalimentaria y Biotecnológica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Villa María; Argentina Fil: Acevedo, Diego. Instituto de Investigaciones en Tecnologías Energéticas y Materiales Avanzados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto; Argentina. Fil: Hilbert, Jorge Antonio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Ingeniería Rural; Argentina Fil: Fuentes, Mauren. Instituto de Desarrollo y Diseño; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional; Argentina.

Biodegradable waste from households, companies, and gastronomy is not utilized in large Polish agglomerations for the production of biogas. Determining the biogas production potential in a selected agglomeration will enable the implementation of circular economy goals and sustainable development objectives. Once appropriate odor neutrality standards are met, biogas plants could be constructed around large cities, supplying both energy and heating systems to nearby housing estates or production facilities. This article aims to assess the potential of biodegradable municipal waste collected in a large city for the production of energy in specialized municipal biogas plants. The following analytical study focuses on Krakow and its surrounding municipalities. Because of its geographical location, Krakow is exposed to smog, and every action limiting the usage of carbon-based materials for heating will have a positive impact on the air quality. A biogas plant powered by municipal waste would present a viable opportunity to limit urban smog. It is also crucial that a biogas plant can store energy as it is equipped with methane tanks. Both renewable and other energy sources are still awaiting functional technical solutions that would allow for optimal energy storage.

Biogas energy has been introduced into Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) through various incentives after their accession to the European Union in 2004. This paper contributes to an understanding of the determinants, challenges and perspectives of agricultural biogas plants in three CEECs (Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic). Using a combination of quantitative (surveys) and qualitative (semi-structured interviews) methods, it particularly addresses varieties in public support for biogas sectors, how the relationships between biogas plants as new energy entities and their locations in rural peripheries are constructed, and how the operation of biogas plants influences local rural development. We found that as a result of various agriculture and agricultural policies in Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic in the second half of the 20th century, the preconditions for the incorporation of agricultural biogas plants into agriculture and rural space generally differ significantly. While in the Czech Republic and Slovakia agricultural biogas plants were usually established within large-scale agricultural farms, in Poland these are rather located off-farm. The most profound challenge for today’s biogas plants in all the CEECs studied lies in the transition from direct public incentives to a more self-sufficient business-oriented model focused on cooperation, participation and the involvement of local stakeholders in decision-making, as well as the energy utilization of locally generated agricultural waste and biowaste from households. By accommodation of these principles, agricultural biogas plants in CEECs might become a more useful and sustainable element of the rural energy transition.

A growing population, technological progress and economic development result in a constant increase in energy demand. Energy is mostly obtained from fossil energy resources such as coal, natural gas, and crude oil. Burning them leads to air pollution with greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, NH3 and N2O) and dust (PM2.5 and PM10). They are recognized as the cause of global warming and air pollution. Wind, water, solar and biomass energy are used to eliminate harmful emissions. The latter may come from special plant crops or from biodegradable waste from farming, animal husbandry, the agrifood industry and households. These wastes are transformed into biogas in biogas plants, the basic ingredient of which is methane. Most often, biogas is burned in a cogeneration process, providing electricity and heat. After purification of admixtures, it can be injected into the high-methane gas network or converted into hydrogen in the steam reforming process. In this way, environmentally harmful waste becomes a raw material for energy production, which is an example of a circular economy. The article discusses the functioning of biogas plants in selected EU countries. The current biogas production in Poland was assessed and compared with the production potential of dairy farms. The aim of this article was to show that the production of biogas reduces the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and the electricity produced from it is not burdened with the cost of purchasing CO2 emission allowances applicable in the EU.

The aim of this research paper is a complex assessment of the efficiency of power plants in Russia, the basis of their techno-economic processes and indicators and the development of recommendations for their practical use and improvement. Capital expenses for SWH plants with a drain-down system are 1,4-1,6 times lower than traditional SWHs with circulation systems, and their payback period does not exceed 5-5,7 years. Biogas that is obtained from specialized plants of medium and high-power costs $15,000-60,000 per cubic meter. But the price of biogas produced in low energy power plants is about $80,000-270,000, which is cheaper than natural gas. So, the use of biogas is economically justified at the moment.

Este informe técnico tiene como objetivo principal brindar información sobre la producción, manejo y gestión de digeridos en Argentina. Se relevaron mediante una encuesta 20 plantas de biogás, de un total de 27 registradas como operativas y con volúmenes superiores a 1000 m3 de reactor. Las plantas se concentran en un 90% en Buenos Aires, Córdoba y Santa Fe, ubicadas en zonas rurales, siendo el objetivo principal la producción de electricidad. La mayoría procesa biomasa proveniente de la actividad agrícola-ganadera, siendo el purín de cerdo y el silaje de maíz los sustratos predominantes. El 50% realiza separación física del digerido como primer método de procesamiento, generándose un digerido líquido y sólido. A su vez, la gran mayoría utiliza lagunas de estabilización, tanto para el digerido sin separación como para el líquido, funcionando también como reservorio. Por otro lado, el digerido sólido se almacena mayoritariamente en playones o sobre la superficie del suelo a temperatura ambiente hasta su uso o disposición final. El principal destino del digerido en sus distintas fracciones es su aplicación a campo para uso en agricultura. El 70% aplica el digerido líquido en terrenos propios con plan de manejo agrícola. En el caso del digerido sin separación se aplica en igual medida, tanto en terrenos propios como no propios. La aplicación principal es en pasturas, así como en cultivos de maíz, soja y trigo, siendo la técnica en superficie el principal método utilizado. Se identificaron como principales barreras que dificultan el aprovechamiento del digerido, los costos de transporte, el marco legal y la falta de tecnología de post-tratamiento. El desconocimiento de la existencia de un marco normativo fue el motivo de mayor preponderancia en cuanto a las dificultades actuales para el uso del digerido. Por último, si bien se identificó interés en comercializar el digerido, se evidencia la necesidad de implementar políticas públicas que promuevan la valorización del mismo, con el acompañamiento de desarrollos tecnológicos, buenas prácticas de manejo, comunicación y difusión de las normativas y regulaciones existentes sobre el uso seguro del digerido en nuestro país. Instituto de Ingeniería Rural Fil: Bres, Patricia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Microbiología y Zoología Agrícola; Argentina Fil: Branzini, Agustina. Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca. Bioenergía; Argentina Fil: Beily, Marí­a Eugenia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Microbiología y Zoología Agrícola; Argentina Fil: Escartín, Celina. Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca. Bioenergía; Argentina Fil: Hilbert, Jorge Antonio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Ingeniería Rural; Argentina Fil: Almada, Miguel. Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Pesca. Bioenergía; Argentina

Poland has a large potential for biogas production from agricultural sources and food waste. This potential is still poorly used. There are many reasons for this state of affairs. We can indicate both the policy of the state towards renewable energy sources (RES) with a small amount of energy from biogas contracted at auctions, investment risk, and especially low return on investment in the absence of investment support. An important reason is also the limited state budget. The purpose of this work was to determine the endogenous factors that determine ROE, the direction of the impact of these factors, as well as the strategy of biogas plants in shaping the ROE level. The DuPont model was used in the analysis of ROE changes. We used the deviation method to determine the impact of the various factors on ROE. Against the background of the energy sector in Poland, the value of ROE in the examined biogas plants should be considered satisfactory, and in 2020 it was, on average, 13.9%. The decrease from 17.2% in 2019 occurred despite the increase in energy prices and the increase in the net profit margin (NPM). It resulted from the reduction of ROE’s financial leverage through external capital. A high level of debt characterized the examined biogas plants, and the pursuit of risk reduction and debt reduction negatively impacts on ROE. This may indicate the need for state investment support at the plant construction stage or low-interest investment loans to develop biogas plants. In addition, using only price guarantees under the feed-in tariffs, with dynamic changes in costs, may bring the industry a relatively high investment risk compared to other RES, where the operational costs during the lifetime are low, as it is in PV or wind systems.

In a two-year vegetation field experiment, the fertilizing effects of by-products from the agricultural biogas plant—a solid phase of digestate (SPD) and a liquid phase of digestate (LPD)—were studied and compared with mineral fertilization (NPK) on the biomass yield, content and nutrient uptake by Cannabis sativa L. plants. Furthermore, the agrochemical properties of the soil were evaluated at the end of the experiment. In all variants of the experiment, a uniform nitrogen dose of 150 kg/ha was applied. The dose of other nutrients corresponded to the fertilizer used. The biggest fertilizing effect, and therefore the greatest hemp biomass yield and nutrient uptake, was demonstrated when combining SPD and LPD fertilization in one treatment. However, the differences were statically insignificant (p ≤ 0.05). The applied amount appeared to be sufficient for the nutrition of hemp plants and was comparable to mineral fertilization. The distribution of nutrients between leaves and stems varied depending on the nutrient monitored. Analyses after the end of the experiment did not show different contents of accessible nutrients in the soil on the studied variants. The content of accessible risk elements in the soil was not affected by the application of the SPD and the LPD. The experiment showed that cannabis plants are able to achieve equivalent biomass yields (8.68 t/ha) using the combination of LPD and SPD by-products from a biogas plan compared to commercial mineral fertilizer (7.43 t/ha). Therefore, we can recommend a split application of LPD and SPD as a suitable alternative to mineral fertilization. Due to prolonged nutrient release from SPD, we can expect a smaller negative environmental impact than current fertilization practices.

For the existing biogas plants (BGP) in Germany, the period of the public support scheme begins to end in 2021. From a technical point of view, essential components have an operational life span of more than 20 years and allow for an extended operation. However, a profitable extension would require suitable follow-up concepts and depends on the underlying plant-specific setup, the regional conditions, as well as the regulatory and economic framework. Based on an expert evaluation, four promising follow-up concepts were identified in a multistage process consisting of expert interviews, workshops, and an online survey. These follow-up concepts are “Basic flexibilization,” “Substrate change,” “Seasonal flexibilization,” and “Biomethane upgrading.” They were assessed with a plant-specific biogas repowering model for a heterogeneous data set of 2,508 BGPs and were compared in three scenario frameworks to derive robust development paths. To capture the heterogeneity of the existing BGPs in Germany, the model was developed further regarding regional parameters such as power output, substrate mix, and emission factors. Across all the scenarios, “Seasonal flexibilization” proves to be the most promising follow-up concept for more than 50% of the BGPs. This is followed by “Substrate change,” which is particularly suitable for larger BGPs with high shares of energy crops and no heat utilization. Biomethane upgrading is usually the second choice compared to participation in extended public support schemes for electricity production. However, it is the only concept that is profitable under current market conditions due to the high CO2-quota prices in the German fuel sector. The development pathways also show a significant potential to increase the net GHG reduction, which on BPG average can be nearly doubled. Our approach shows that the interplay of the heterogeneous BGP structure, the applied economic decision variable, and the nonuniform framework conditions in different energy markets is of crucial importance when assessing similar biogas markets, identifying robust follow-up pathways, or designing framework policies.

The increasing demand for electrical energy and environmental concerns associated with conventional means of its generation drive the interest in alternative fuels. Biohydrogen, widely considered as fuel of the future, is one of such alternatives. To date, research results suggest that biological routes are the most promising for hydrogen production, especially dark (hydrogen) fermentation. Hydrogen fermentation can be performed with agricultural and food processing wastes as substrates. In this paper the most important factors influencing dark fermentation are reviewed and analyzed. These are: pH, partial pressure, temperature, and retention time. The biohydrogen generation efficiency is also presented with respect to different substrates. It should be also pointed out that many factors are still unknown; thus, the process requires conducting further research.

Digestate from biogas plants, formed by dewatering anaerobically stabilized sludge, is characteristic of high concentrations of phosphates and ammonia nitrogen suitable for further use. Phosphorus is an element widely used to produce fertilizers, and because of its continually shortening natural supplies, recycling of phosphorus is gaining on significance. Both phosphorus and nitrogen are important elements and their presence affect the quality of water resources. Both elements can contribute to eutrophication. At the same time, both phosphorus and ammonia nitrogen, are important elements for agricultural production, and therefore greater demands are being made on the effort to connect sewage treatment processes and the process of recycling of these nutrients. A suitable product of phosphorus and ammonia nitrogen are phosphates in the form of a structurally-poorly soluble precipitate of magnesium ammonium phosphate (struvite). This form of slowly decomposing fertilizer is distinguished by its fertilizing abilities. Compared to direct use of digestate as a fertilizer, struvite is more stable and can gradually release ammonia nitrogen for a long time without unnecessary losses. In the reported experiments, the precipitation efficiency of the recycling of ammonia nitrogen and phosphorus from the digestate liqour (liquid discharge from digestate) was, at a stoichiometric ratio of Mg2+: NH4+: PO43− (3.2: 1: 0.8) and a stirring time of 15 minutes, 87 % for ammonia nitrogen ions.

It has been shown that the power demand-oriented operation of biogas plants contributes to the challenges of future energy systems with high shares of fluctuating renewable energies. This flexibilisation is usually short-term and can improve profitability. Long-term seasonal flexibilisation could further overcome present low heat utilisation rates due to the low heat demand of district heating in summer and constant biogas production across the year. To assess the benefits of seasonal flexibilisation for different biogas plants, we apply an existing model approach for analysing biogas repowering and optimising the combined heat and power (CHP) despatch. Plant-specific constraints and historical spot market data are used to determine power revenues, heat utilisation rates, greenhouse gas emissions and the profitability of the biogas plants. For different setups of CHP units and heat demand levels, the seasonal operation mode is compared with the non-seasonal reference mode. The economic benefit of seasonal flexibilisation is on average 10 €/MWhel when comparing the same rated power output and varies with plant size and CHP-setup. Increases in the heat utilisation rate are the main driver. Benefits increase with additional installed CHP capacities and rising heat prices. As gas production changes over the year, higher CHP capacities increase flexibility in winter and align the power market revenues of seasonal and non-seasonal operation. Very high heat prices even offset economies of scale. However, seasonal flexibilisation does not allow economic operation in Germany under current market conditions. The dependence on other sources of revenues and extended support schemes therefore remains.

О проблеме использования биогаза в АПК Республики Беларусь в качестве возобновляемого источника энергии. On the problem of using biogas in the agro-industrial complex of the Republic of Belarus as a renewable energy source.

The article presents the features of the world biogas market in the regional aspect. The key barriers to the development of the biogas market in Russia, including interaction with related sectors of the economy, are described. A review of the leading companies in this sector in Russia and the world is conducted. The prerequisites for the active growth of the domestic biogas market are formulated. В статье представлены особенности функционирования мирового рынка биогазовых технологий в региональном аспекте. Описаны ключевые барьеры развития рынка биогаза в России, включая взаимодействие со смежными отраслями экономики. Проведен обзор компаний-лидеров данного сектора в России и мире. Сформулированы предпосылки для активного роста отечественного рынка биогазовых технологий.

This bachelor thesis is focused on the use of alternative sources in a selected region. More specifically, it deals with biogas plants in a selected region. The thesis is divided into theoretical part and practical part. The theoretical part contains general information, such as types of biogas plants, their general usage, their strategies, from which they draw material for energy production and where they invest this energy. The practical part consists of an analysis of the activities of biogas plants in the selected region. This analysis works with specific data on activities, strategies of specific biogas plants, their drawing subsidies or their plans for the future. The analysis includes interviews with representatives of selected biogas plants, from which the results of the survey outcome.

The biogas production technology has improved over the last years for the aim of reducing the costs of the process, increasing the biogas yields, and minimizing the greenhouse gas emissions. To obtain a stable and efficient biogas production, there are several design considerations and operational parameters to be taken into account. Besides, adapting the process to unanticipated conditions can be achieved by adequate monitoring of various operational parameters. This paper reviews the research that has been conducted over the last years. This review paper summarizes the developments in biogas design and operation, while highlighting the main factors that affect the efficiency of the anaerobic digestion process. The study’s outcomes revealed that the optimum operational values of the main parameters may vary from one biogas plant to another. Additionally, the negative conditions that should be avoided while operating a biogas plant were identified.

A workshop on the risks associated with animal botulism was held in Maisons-Alfort, France in March 2019. The objectives were to debate the public and animal health risks related to botulism, to disseminate the results obtained from the ANIBOTNET project to other European research teams that were not involved in the project and to other stakeholders, and finally to strengthen and broaden the existing research network on this topic. The workshop was divided into 4 sessions: public and animal health risks associated with botulism, a specific focus on risks associated with agricultural biogas plants, dissemination of ANIBOTNET results, and network development and future perspectives. In all, 58 delegates from 13 countries attended the workshop. A summary of the main topics and discussions during the workshop is presented here.

The aim of the research was to analyze the problems and prospects for the production and use of biogas in Ukraine from animal by-products as an innovative direction of energy conservation in agrarian production and to substantiate the economic feasibility and energy efficiency of the biogas «Meganit Nirbator» as a means of intensifying the biogas output. The data of biogas output from cattle manure at application of biogas plants with reactors of different volume are presented. The features of the biogas generation process and the influence of various factors on its intensity are considered and summarized. The advantages of obtaining biogas from by-products of animal origin as alternatives to the fossil sources of energy are analyzed, because in connection with local depletion of natural resources and dynamic tendency rising energy prices, of possibility in the perspective emergence of the energy crisis, the negative influence of traditional power engineering on the environment and threat of regional ecological disasters there is necessity for search and wide using of alternative fuel and energy resources. The economic feasibility of using the «Meganit Nirbator» biopreparation as a means of intensifying the biogas output is scientifically substantiated. It has been experimentally proved that the use of this drug as a stimulant causes an increase in the yield of biogas from manure of cows by 9% by increasing the activity of the methane fermentation process, which further increases the economic efficiency of alternative energy in the enterprise compared with the use of traditional energy sources. The presented results have scientific and practical importance in the energy sector and agriculture, in particular for solving environmental problems with the utilization of by-products of the livestock sector, the rational use of natural resources and the energy provision of the production process at the enterprise., Метою досліджень був аналіз проблем і перспектив виробництва й використання біогазу в Україні з побічної продукції тваринного походження як інноваційного напряму енергозбереження в аграрному виробництві та обґрунтування економічної доцільності й енергетичної ефективності біопрепарату «Меганіт Нірбатор» як засобу інтенсифікації виходу біогазу. Представлено дані виходу біогазу із гною великої рогатої худоби (ВРХ) за застосування біогазових установок з реакторами різного об’єму. Розглянуто та узагальнено особливості процесу утворення біогазу та вплив різних факторів на його інтенсивність. Проаналізовано переваги отримання біогазу з побічної продукції тваринного походження як альтернативи викопним джерелам енергоносіїв, оскільки через локальне виснаження природних ресурсів та динамічною тенденцією зростання цін на енергоресурси, є перспектива виникнення енергетичної кризи, негативний вплив традиційної енергетики на навколишнє середовище і загроза регіональних екологічних катастроф виникає необхідність у пошуку й широкому застосуванні альтернативних паливно-енергетичних ресурсів. Науково обґрунтовано економічну доцільність застосування біопрепарату «Меганіт Нірбатор» як засобу інтенсифікації виходу біогазу. Експериментально доведено, що використання цього препарату як стимулятора зумовлює збільшення виходу біогазу з гною корів на 9% через підвищення активності процесу метанового зброджування, що додатково підвищує економічну ефективність альтернативної енергетики на підприємстві порівняно з використанням традиційних енергоносіїв. Представлені результати мають науково-практичне значення у секторі енергетики і сільського господарства, зокрема для розв’язання екологічних проблем з утилізацією побічної продукції у галузі тваринництва, раціонального використання природних ресурсів та енергетичного забезпечення процесу виробництва на підприємстві.

The number of agricultural biogas plants has been increasing in the past decades in some European countries. Digestates obtained after anaerobic digestion (AD) of manure are usually spread on agricultural land; however, their hygiene status regarding pathogens posing public health and/or animal health challenges has been poorly characterized up to now in France. In this study, three replicates of manure and digestate were collected from five farm biogas plants receiving animal manure in order to assess the occurrence and concentrations of sporulating (Clostridium botulinum, Clostridioides difficile, Clostridium perfringens) and nonsporulating (Listeria monocytogenes, thermotolerant Campylobacter spp., Salmonella, Escherichia coli, enterococci) bacteria. Concentrations of E. coli, enterococci, and C. perfringens in digestates ranged from 102 to 104, 104 to 105, and 7 × 102 MPN/g and from 1.3 to 3 × 102 MPN/g, respectively. Thermotolerant Campylobacter, detected in all the manures, was only found in two digestates at a concentration of cells ranging from, The goal of this study was to assess the occurrence and concentrations of sporulating (Clostridium botulinum, Clostridioides difficile, Clostridium perfringens) and nonsporulating (Listeria monocytogenes, thermotolerant Campylobacter spp., Salmonella, Escherichia coli, enterococci) bacteria in manure and digestate collected in agricultural biogas plants. The levels of pathogenic bacteria in both manure and digestate suggested that some bacteria can persist throughout anaerobic digestion.

В статье представлен наиболее эффективный способ утилизации и переработки навоза. Произведен расчет эффекта от биогазовой установки на примере птицефабрики «Здоровая Ферма». Построена номограмма для определения необходимого объема реактора для переработки отходов птицефабрик. The article presents the most effective way to utilize and process manure. The effect of the biogas plant was calculated using the example of the «Healthy Farm» poultry farm. A nomogram was built to determine the required reactor volume for processing poultry waste.

One of the greatest challenges facing the societies now and in the future is the reduction of green house gas emissions and thus preventing the climate change. It is therefore important to replace fossil fuels with renewable sources, such as biogas. Biogas can be produced from various organic waste streams or as a byproduct from industrial processes. Beside energy production, the degradation of organic waste through anaerobic digestion offers other advantages, such as the prevention of odor release and the decrease of pathogens. Moreover, the nutrient rich digested residues can be utilized as fertilizer for recycling the nutrients back to the fields. However, the amount of organic materials currently available for biogas production is limited and new substrates as well as new effective technologies are therefore needed to facilitate the growth of the biogas industry all over the world. Hence, major developments have been made during the last decades regarding the utilization of lignocellulosic biomass, the development of high rate systems, and the application of membrane technologies within the anaerobic digestion process in order to overcome the shortcomings encountered. The degradation of organic material requires a synchronized action of different groups of microorganisms with different metabolic capacities. Recent developments in molecular biology techniques have provided the research community with a valuable tool for improved understanding of this complex microbiological system, which in turn could help optimize and control the process in an effective way in the future.

W ostatnim czasie rośnie nacisk na budowę biogazowni rolniczych, szczególnie w czesko-polskim regionie przygranicznym. Jest to region, gdzie występują duże obszary gruntów rolnych mogących służyć do zasilania biogazowni. Strategia ta powinna przyczynić się do harmonizacji wspólnej polityki rolnej Unii Europejskiej. W związku z powyższym wzrasta również potrzeba wykształcenia wykwalifikowanych operatorów tych stacji. Pierwsza część pracy obejmuje prezentację akademickiego programu edukacyjnego w dziedzinie fermentacji beztlenowej odpadów i wytwarzania biogazu pochodzącego z produkcji rolnej. Zaprezentowano część innowacyjnego podejścia, które wykorzystywane jest w programie nauczania „Pomiary fizyko-techniczne oraz technologie komputerowe” na Wydziale Nauk Przyrodniczych Uniwersytetu Hradec Kralove, a także w edukacji studentów Wydziału Przyrodniczo-Technicznego Uniwersytetu Opolskiego. Wymagania te mają sprostać oczekiwaniom rynku pracy i uczynić kierunek studiów bardziej atrakcyjnym. Powiązanie przygotowania teoretycznego i praktycznego studentów tworzy kompleksowe źródło wiedzy i kształtuje umiejętności niezbędnych do pracy w biogazowniach. Zarówno wiedza teoretyczna, jak i umiejętności praktyczne zdobyte przez studentów, wzbogacone o umiejętności analizy zadań, a następnie ich rozwiązania, zapewnią przyszłym absolwentom większe możliwości i lepszą pozycję na rynku pracy., Recently, there is a growing pressure on a rapid construction of agricultural biogas plants, particularly in the Czech-Polish border region. It is an area with large expanses of agricultural land which can serve to supply biogas plants with biomass. This strategy should contribute to harmonize the common agricultural policy of the European Union. A need for qualified operators of these stations on this territory is also increasing. Therefore we first include a demonstration of an education program for students in the field of agricultural waste anaerobic fermentation and biogas production. We present here the first part of an innovative approach which we use in the teaching program “Physico-technical Measurements and Computer Technology“ at the Faculty of Science at the University of Hradec Kralove and also in the education of internshipers from the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology at the University of Opole. There are requirements to fulfil labour market expectations and to make this subject more attractive for the students. Students’ theoretical and practical preparation constitutes a comprehensive source of knowledge and skills required in a real life job. Joined theoretical and practical knowledge gained by students, reinforced by the skills developed during task analysis followed by their solution, provides the future graduate higher quality abilities and better position in the labour market.

The EEG promotion led to an expansion of decentralised wind power and biogas plants throughout the northwest region of Germany. Without a broad socio-political acceptance of this development, the transformation to a climate-friendly energy supply system is facing a major hurdle. This dissertation contributes to research on social acceptance of renewable energies by showing that climate change awareness increases the acceptance, and that as a background variable, can increase or mitigate the effects of the perceived advantages and disadvantages of plants. For this, a postal cross-sectional survey with 577 respondents was carried out in the northwest region based on a registration office sample. The results showed that climate change awareness had a greater total effect on the acceptance of regional wind power plants than the perceived economic benefits, landscape effects or electricity price increases. The structural equation model for biogas plant acceptance showed climate change awareness as a less relevant predictor. Therefore, in the future, integrative studies on acceptance of renewable plants should consider the impact of climate change awareness.

Today biogas produced from anaerobic digestion is used mainly for thermic and electric energy production. Its use as raw material for syngas production and further upgrading to chemical products like methanol (MeOH), dimethyl ether (DME) or acetic acid could be an interesting option as process intensification. In this work the sustainability of a Biogas-to-MeOH (BtoMeOH) or Biogas-to-DME (BtoDME) process was studied. The biogas feedstock of the Combined Heat, Power and Chemicals (CHPC) is equivalent to the production of 1 MWe in a Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHP). Biogas is converted using a reformer into syngas to produce methanol. The plant was designed considering mild conditions for chemical production and the energy necessary to reactors was generated using a fraction of the inlet biogas. This process was studied using the Simulation Suite PRO/II® by Schneider-Electric Simulation Science. The reformer and the methanol reactor productivity were evaluated with the experimental data obtained through bench scale plants. An economic analysis was performed to assess the sustainability of these new processes, capital and operative costs of the plants were evaluated using the Guthrie's method. The Biogas-to-MeOH process can produce up to 297 kg h-1 of methanol with recycle. The biogas necessary to supply the energy demand of the plant is 192 kg h-1, a third of the inlet feedstock. For the Biogas-to-DME process the energy demand is similar while the DME production is 173 kg h-1. The preliminary economic evaluation shows that the main item for the capital costs are reactors and compressors and the breakeven point of both processes is 3 years. Despite the lower productivity, DME process is more convenient due to a higher market value.

This research was funded by the Irish Higher Education Authority Program for Research in Third Level Institutions Cycle 5: – PRTLI-5 ESI Ph.D. ENS Program. This work was also supported by the Wellcome Trust (grant number 094476/Z/10/Z for the TripleTOF 5600 mass spectrometer at the University of St Andrews), NERC (grant number NE/L011956/1), and a Royal Irish Academy Mobility Grant. Harvesting valuable bioproducts from various renewable feedstocks is necessary for the critical development of a sustainable bioeconomy. Anaerobic digestion is a well-established technology for the conversion of wastewater and solid feedstocks to energy with the additional potential for production of process intermediates of high market values (e.g. carboxylates). In recent years, first-generation biofuels typically derived from food crops have been widely utilised as a renewable source of energy. The environmental and socioeconomic limitations of such strategy, however, have led to the development of second-generation biofuels utilising, amongst other feedstocks, lignocellulosic biomass. In this context, the anaerobic digestion of perennial grass holds great promise for the conversion of sustainable renewable feedstock to energy and other process intermediates. The advancement of this technology however, and its implementation for industrial applications, relies on a greater understanding of the microbiome underpinning the process. To this end, microbial communities recovered from replicated anaerobic bioreactors digesting grass were analysed. The bioreactors leachates were not buffered and acidic pH (between 5.5 and 6.3) prevailed at the time of sampling as a result of microbial activities. Community composition and transcriptionally active taxa were examined using 16S rRNA sequencing and microbial functions were investigated using metaproteomics. Bioreactor fraction, i.e. grass or leachate, was found to be the main discriminator of community analysis across the three molecular level of investigation (DNA, RNA and proteins). Six taxa, namely Bacteroidia, Betaproteobacteria, Clostridia, Gammaproteobacteria, Methanomicrobia and Negativicutes accounted for the large majority of the three datasets. The initial stages of grass hydrolysis were carried out by Bacteroidia, Gammaproteobacteria and Negativicutes in the grass biofilms, in addition to Clostridia in the bioreactor leachates. Numerous glycolytic enzymes and carbohydrate transporters were detected throughout the bioreactors in addition to proteins involved in butanol and lactate production. Finally, evidence of the prevalence of stressful conditions within the bioreactors and particularly impacting Clostridia was observed in the metaproteomes. Taken together, this study highlights the functional importance of Clostridia during the anaerobic digestion of grass and thus research avenues allowing members of this taxon to thrive should be explored. Publisher PDF

This thesis is focused on the development of an analytical method for the determination of volatile fatty acids in aqueous samples using GC-MS/MS. The theoretical section provides general information on a selected group of acids, their significance in the biogas plants, the means of their derivatization and the analytical techniques used. The practical part mainly deals with optimizition of various parameters in the derivatization reaction to achieve optimal conditions. Finally, the analytical method was successfully validated and applied to the analysis of a real sample.

In this work, a technique is proposed for calculating a biogas plant operating on cattle wastes. The calculation took into account the number of livestock, the quality of the biogas produced, and eventually concluded that the options for subsequent use of methane. The production of electric power was recognized as more profitable. As a result of the calculation, the optimal point of profitability of the power plant was found when working on fuel-methane from a biogas plant. В работе предложена методика для расчета биогазовой установки, работающей на отходах крупного рогатого скота. В расчете учитывалось количество поголовья, качество получаемого биогаза, а также в итоге был сделан вывод о вариантах последующего использования метана. Более выгодным было признано производство электрической энергии. В результате расчета была найдена оптимальная точка рентабельности электрогенераторной установки при работе на топливе-метан от биогазовой установки.

Zur Gewinnung von Biogas wird Biomasse in Biogasanlagen vergoren. So resultiert z.B. aus der Fermentation von Getreidestroh in der Biogasanlage der s.g. Strohgärrest“, der als fester Rückstand übrig bleibt. Da Strohgärreste hohe Gehalte an Lignin aufweisen, einem schwer abbaubaren Biopolymer, würde eine weitere anaerobe Fermentation trotz des vorhandenen Gärpotentials zu keiner wirtschaftlich nennenswerten Biogasausbeute-Steigerung führen. Ziel der Arbeit war es, den Ligninabbau mit Hilfe von ausgewählten Weißfäulepilzen in pflanzlichen Gärresten (mit einer Inkubationsdauer von höchstens 4 Wochen) zu maximieren und somit den Gärrest zur Weitervergärung aufzuschließen, um gesteigerte Biogasausbeuten zu erzielen. Da Biogas lediglich aus leicht fermentierbaren C-Quellen der pflanzlichen Substrate gebildet werden kann (Cellulose und Hemicellulose), galt es, geeignete Weißfäulepilze zu identifizieren, die Lignin möglichst selektiv und effizient abbauen, ohne selbst die Kohlenhydrate als Nahrungsquellen zu nutzen. Je mehr Lignin und je weniger Kohlenhydrate durch den Basidiomyceten während der Kultivierung in den Gärrestkulturen abgebaut werden, desto höher ist die erwartete Biogasausbeute. Der Vorteil dieser biologischen Nachbehandlung mit Pilzen im Vergleich zum physikalischen oder chemischen Aufschluss von Lignin ist der schonende und selektive Abbau aufgrund der Enzymspezifität. Dieser erlaubt es, extreme Temperaturen, extreme pH-Werte und energieintensive Zerkleinerungsverfahren zum Zweck des Ligninabbaus zu vermeiden. Es wurden in dieser Arbeit zunächst ausgewählte Weißfäulepilze auf Weizenstrohgärrest sowohl submers als auch emers kultiviert, um die vielversprechendsten Stämme zu identifizieren. In submerser Kulturführung wurden dabei diverse Parameter variiert (pH-Wert, Kultivierungsdauer, Massenverhältnisse von Gärrest und Pilz-Inokulum etc.), um maximale Ligninabbauleistungen und folglich maximale Biogasausbeuten in möglichst kurzer Zeit zu erzielen. In emerser Kultivierung wurde eine gezielte Belüftung der mit Pilzen beimpften Gärreste durchgeführt, um den Ligninabbau zu beschleunigen. Neben Weizenstrohgärrest kamen hierbei in einem zusätzlichen Experiment als alternative Substrate Reisstroh- und Grünschnittgärrest zum Einsatz. Zusammengefasst lässt sich sagen, dass die Nachbehandlung der verwendeten Gärreste mit Weißfäulepilzen nicht zu erhöhten Biogasausbeuten geführt hat. Der wissenschaftliche Neuheitswert dieser Arbeit liegt in der erstmaligen umfassenden Nachbehandlung pflanzlicher Gärreste mit Hilfe von Weißfäulepilzen unter Variation verschiedener Kultivierungsbedingungen zum Zweck der Ligninabbau-Maximierung und somit auch der Biogasausbeute-Maximierung., For the production of biogas, anaerobic fermentation of biomass is used in biogas plants. For example, the fermentation of crop straw in biogas plants results in the so-called “straw digestate” which remains as solid residue. Due to its high content of lignin, a hard degradable biopolymer, a further fermentation of this substrate wouldn’t result in an economically significant increase of biogas yield despite the still available fermentation potential. The aim of this work was to maximize the lignin degradation of plant substrates (primarily of wheat straw digestate) by means of selected white-rot fungi so that a further fermentation of these substrates in biogas plants results in increased biogas yields. As biogas is only formed from easily biodegradable carbon sources (cellulose and hemicellulose) of plant substrates, it was a main objective to identify white-rot fungi which are able to degrade lignin as selectively and efficiently as possible without using the carbohydrates as nutrient sources. The more lignin and the less carbohydrates are degraded by basidiomycetes during cultivation in the digestate cultures the higher is the expected biogas yield. The advantage of this biological post-treatment with fungi contrary to physical and chemical treatment methods of lignin degradation is the gentle and selective degradation of lignin due to the enzymatic specificity. In order to degrade lignin such a process makes it possible to avoid extreme temperatures, extreme pH values and energy-intensive mechanical grinding processes. In this work selected white-rot fungi were cultivated in presence of wheat straw digestate both in submerged and emerged cultivations to identify the most promising strains. In submerged cultivations several parameters were variated (pH value, cultivation duration, mass ratio of digestate and fungal inoculum etc.) in order to achieve maximal lignin degradation and thus maximal biogas yields as fast as possible. In emerged cultivations deliberate aerations of the inoculated digestates were performed to accelerate the lignin degradation. Besides wheat straw digestate, in an additional experiment rice straw digestate and green waste digestate were used as alternative substrates. To sum up the results, the post-treatment of the tested digestates with white-rot fungi didn’t result in increased biogas yields. The scientific novelty value of this work is the first-time thoroughly performed post-treatment of plant digestates with white-rot basidiomycetes under variation of different cultivation conditions for the purpose of a maximization of the lignin degradation and hence of the biogas yield maximization.

Este trabalho apresenta avaliações de pré-viabilidade para a instalação de uma planta de biogás em um campus universitário. Foi realizado o planejamento logístico da distância entre a planta e a fonte de resíduos. As fontes de biomassa disponíveis no município são o arroz (182.435 t/ano) e o milho com (5.479 t/ano). Também há resíduos sólidos orgânicos domiciliares (1.375 t/ano) no local. Com a análise logística foi constado que o transporte dos resíduos agrícolas não tem caráter totalmente restritivo. Conforme análise preliminar foi verificada a viabilidade econômica, tanto para os resíduos agrícolas como para os sólidos domiciliares. This paper presents pre-feasibility studies for the installation of a Biogas Plant on a Campus of a University. The logistical planning includes the distance between the plant and the waste source. Biomass sources in the municipality are rice (182,435 tons per year) and maize (5,479 tons per year). There are also household organic waste (1,375 tons per year). With the logistic analysis that the transport of agricultural waste has not a restrictive character. As preliminary analysis was verified economic viability for agricultural residues and for organic Municipal Solid Waste.

As a result of the exergy analysis of the BSU-100, the weakest, from the point of view of effectiveness, links were identified and ways of improving the process were suggested. The exergic efficiency is more revealing than the energy efficiency, since it takes into account both the properties of the system itself and the environment. When the BSU-100 operates under all favorable conditions, thermal efficiency reaches 0.91. В результате эксергетического анализа БГУ-100 были выявлены наиболее слабые, с точки зрения эффективности, звенья и предложены пути усовершенствования процесса. Эксергетический коэффициент полезного действия, более показателен, чем энергетический, так как учитывает, как свойства самой системы, так и окружающей среды. При работе БГУ-100 при всех благоприятных условиях тепловой коэффициент полезного действия может достигнуть 0,91.

The article deals with the problems of processing livestock wastes. Cleaning and decontamination of manure drains is one of the most pressing issues of science and technology. The paper considers the advantages of biogas technology from the point of view of processing livestock wastes. В статье рассматриваются проблемы переработки отходов животноводства. Очистка и обеззараживание навозных стоков относится к наиболее актуальным вопросам науки и техники. В работе рассмотрены преимущества биогазовой технологии с точки зрения переработки отходов животноводства.

The agricultural biogas market differs in different European countries. Both in Europe and in Poland, the basic form is the use of biogas to generate electricity and heat. In nine EU countries, the biogas produced is also used in local gas networks and in transport, especially communal. Biogas production can be based on agricultural raw materials (Germany) or the use and processing of all agricultural, industrial and municipal waste (Denmark, Sweden). The aim of this article is to present dynamics and structure of biogas market development, raw materials used and profitability in various legal and financial models. The presented analyzes have concluded that biogas plants could be an important part of the energy market in the future, particularly at the local level and an important part of a sustainable economy. / Synopsis. Rynek biogazu rolniczego różni się w poszczególnych krajach europejskich. Zarówno w Europie jak i w Polsce podstawową formą jest wykorzystanie biogazu do wytwarzania energii elektrycznej i cieplnej. W dziewięciu krajach unijnych wytworzony biogaz wykorzystywany jest również w lokalnych sieciach gazowych oraz w transporcie, szczególnie komunalnym. W wytwarzaniu biogazu można opierać się na surowcach rolniczych (Niemcy) lub wykorzystaniu i przetworzeniu wszelkich odpadów rolniczych, przemysłowych i komunalnych (Dania, Szwecja). Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie dynamiki i struktury rozwoju rynku biogazu, wykorzystywanych surowców oraz opłacalności w różnych modelach prawno-finansowych. Przedstawione analizy pozwoliły wnioskować, że w przyszłości biogazownie mogą być ważnym elementem rynku energii, szczególnie na poziomie lokalnym oraz istotna częścią zrównoważonej gospodarki., eISSN 2544-0659

The supply and food safety needs of the growing population, particularly in (peri) urban areas, promote the intensification, concentration, and specialization of human, agricultural, livestock, and agro-industrial activities. As a result, important quantities of waste and wastewater, with significant organic and nutrient loads, are generated and need to be managed properly in order to protect the soil quality and fertility, as well as to prevent water and air pollution. Among the models, processes, treatment, and recovery technologies, anaerobic digestion can be highlighted due to the production of biogas, a renewable energy source. The understanding of the spatiotemporal patterns of the resources and the conditions of waste and wastewater production and use provided by the analysis of these complex and adaptive socio-ecological systems, together with the knowledge of the biological process of biogas production, will support the selection and optimization of technologies, as well as the sizing and location of biogas plants for the promotion of renewable energy and local level economies. This integrated, hierarchical, and multidisciplinary approach takes a critical nature in the definition of technical and organizational solutions that contribute to sustainable development, for the effective quality of life, the local environment, and economy., (undefined), info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The dynamic development of the conditions in which society lives at present results in changes in the economic, legal, political as well as social environment. These changes are reflected not only in government policies, but also, consequently, in the individual building blocks of national economy, i.e. in businesses, where they lead to adjustments in technological processes in production, as well as in the approaches and tools used in decision-making and management. This factor has been largely neglected or underestimated in economic analyses at the present time. The structure of residues and of the source factors of a number of waste substances in crop farming and animal husbandry can have a significant effect on economic profitability of the functioning of a biogas plant and its output. The objective of this paper is to propose, in general terms, a new multi-criterion model of cost accounting applicable in successive systemic steps at the level of businesses. The model put forward herein will make it possible to assess the environmental practices of business entities, to make comparisons thereof at society-wide (regional or national) level and, as a result, to obtain tools for influencing and regulating deviations from an optimum interaction of interrelated systemic social factors.

Recently, renewable energy sources (RES) have become very popular all over the EU. Subsidy policies have provided huge amount of money flowing into the sector which were necessary for its development. In Slovakia, favourable legislation was one of triggers for building biogas plants using anaerobic fermentation for biogas and further electric energy production. This paper examines how subsidy policy has stimulated biogas sector over the years and the consequences arising from the legislation.

Розглянуто задачу моделювання процесів анаеробного мікробіологічного бродіння на стадії метаногенезу з дотриманням балансу. Запропоновано та обґрунтовано модель на цій стадії будувати у вигляді інтервальної дискретної динамічної моделі. Обґрунтовано метод структурної ідентифікації інтервальної дискретної динамічної моделі на принципах функціонування бджолиної колонії у процесі пошуку їжі, який забезпечує можливість отримання простіших структур моделі із заданими прогностичними властивостями по відношенню до існуючих методів. The problem of modeling the processes of anaerobic microbiological fermentation on the methanogenesis stage with keeping the balance is considered in this work. It is proposed and justified to build the model on this stage in the form of an interval discrete dynamic model. The method of structural identification of the interval discrete dynamic model based on the principles of functioning of a honey bee colony in the food search process, which provides the possibility of obtaining simple model structures with specified prognostic properties relative to existing methods, is justified. A macromodel of the fermentation process on the methanogenesis stages based on the interval discrete dynamic model, which provides guaranteed prognostic properties for different anaerobic microbial fermentation under changing acidity, is developed in this paper. It is shown that the resulting model describes adequately and qualitatively the percentage of SSU rRNA methane forming bacteria at biogas plants

In the article the existing manure processing technology animals (poultry manure). Advantages and disadvantages of waste processing technology of livestock and poultry. The advantage of biogas technology. В работе рассмотрены существующие технологии переработки навоза животных (птичьего помета). Показаны преимущества и недостатки технологии переработки отходов животноводства и птицеводства. Показано преимущество биогазовой технологии.

The paper analyses profitability of biogas production in livestock farms in Poland with a focus on micro-biogas plants. Due to the high value of investments a crucial issue, from the farmers’ point of view, is the mechanism of financial support. The efficiency of investments has been measured assuming three variants of power of CHP plants. In addition, two scenarios of financial support have been taken into consideration: the “old” mechanism of green certificates and a forthcoming mechanism based on the new Act on Renewable Energy Resources. The new system introduces feed-in tariffs for small plants and auctions and guarantees of purchase for larger biogas plants. The results of the analyses indicate a strong dependence of the financial effects of micro-biogas plants on subsidies. It can be concluded that, under the current state of market development and financial support offered to micro-scale biogas production, investments in biogas plants are in general unprofitable.

This paper presents the analysis and evaluation of biogas power plant capacity in Poland based on the generic structure and energy production. These issues are also presented from the point of view of the obtained energy and biogas energy production in Poland against selected European Union countries. The paper also indicates a significant diversity in the spatial distribution of biogas plants in Poland. It also discusses the importance of biogas plants as one of the elements of bottom-up development of the second tier administrative units. There are 231 biogas power plants in Poland (as of 2013), which are based on biogas from landfill sites, biogas from wastewater treatment plants, and agricultural biogas. The generic structure of biogas power plants in Poland is dominated by power plants based on biogas from landfill. Despite the fact that Poland has large resources of agricultural substrate, there are very few biogas power plants based on agricultural biogas. There are no biogas power plants in almost 60% of poviats in Poland, despite the fact that every poviat in Poland has enough of this substrate at its disposal. This article contributes innovative elements to existing knowledge on biogas power plants in Poland, thanks to its comprehensive treatment of the problem of biogas power plants in Poland and because it urges local authorities and local communities to behave more ecologically, as well as promoting endogenous factors of the economic development of a given region.

The purpose of the paper is, fi rstly, to present renewable energy sources in Poland compared with other EU countries and, secondly, to evaluate legal regulations relating to the implementation of renewable energy projects and to operation in the context of logistics management. The article also presents the defi nition and statistical data on renewable energy. Then, it focuses on legal aspects of the building process of wind farms and biogas plants. It also points out the process of organising the project, including ensuring a legal title to lands and obtaining, apart from the building permit, some other decisions. Next, the paper raises selected issues of fi nancing the projects and of a contract engineer. Finally, it refers to the stage of operating the biogas plants and to the obligations relating to the agricultural biogas.

In the last ten years, everyone has been talking about biogas plants: politicians, ecologists, technicians, economists, laymen and experts. In other words: biogas has become fashionable. The energy crisis of the next few years shall be the shortage of fuel for the daily needs of millions of people and biogas plants seem to be a promising solution to help in solving this problem. Biogas plants are complicated enough to require both a total involvement with their specific technology and an accurate risk assessment for design purposes. With particular reference to this last feature, the number of accidents involving biogas plants has been too many to ignore. Frequent accident causes are: leakage in the storage tank and/or in the biogas distribution network, formation of flammable mixtures during maintenance operations, accidental release of H2S, effluent discharge and developing of high pressure inside the digester. Biogas plants are often operated wrongly, deficient in technological details and incorrectly scaled-up. Moreover, all these mistakes are repeated over and over again. Therefore, there is the pressing need for a quick procedure to assess the reliability of these plants in order to operate them safely. In this work, a simple but accurate risk assessment has been carried out on a case study biogas plant using a fault tree analysis applied to the top event “fire in the digester” (one of the main causes of accident in this plant’s typology). Results have shown that the overall risk (considering one year of mission time) is less than 10 -8 . This value is acceptable considering that, near these plants, the number of inhabitants does not exceed 100 persons.

The global clean and improved cooking solutions sector has evolved significantly in recent years. Clean and improved cooking solutions are also beginning to generate attractive market opportunities for local and international private enterprises in the provision of cooking appliances, fuels, and financing. This report covers all clean and improved cooking solutions that can improve on the fuel efficiency and emissions performance of traditional cooking technologies such as the three stone fire, open U-shaped clay or mud stoves, metal bucket charcoal stoves, and unvented coal stoves. Under the definition of improved cooking solutions the report includes all cook stoves that improve fuel efficiency without reducing particulate matter emissions to the low levels necessary for optimal health and environmental outcomes as defined by World Health Organization (WHO) household air pollution guidelines and the International Standards Organization International Workshop Agreement (ISO IWA) guidelines for improved cook stoves. The objectives of this report are threefold: (1) establish a common fact base for sector analysis; (2) build a case for increased sector focus and investment; and (3) inform intervention strategies. The information provided in this report constitutes a best-effort attempt to harmonize definitions and data sources to give a comprehensive picture of the overall sector landscape, with the caveat that this is likely to be somewhat imprecise in various instances because of these definitional and data quality challenges. This report is divided into the following chapters: chapter one gives introduction. Chapter two presents the case for clean and improved cooking; chapter three presents the demand for clean and improved cooking energy; chapter four deals with the supply landscape; chapter five deals with the cooking appliance supply chain; chapter six presents the sector ecosystem; and chapter seven presents’ recommendations.

The purpose of the paper is, fi rstly, to present renewable energy sources in Poland compared with other EU countries and, secondly, to evaluate legal regulations relating to the implementation of renewable energy projects and to operation in the context of logistics management. The article also presents the defi nition and statistical data on renewable energy. Then, it focuses on legal aspects of the building process of wind farms and biogas plants. It also points out the process of organising the project, including ensuring a legal title to lands and obtaining, apart from the building permit, some other decisions. Next, the paper raises selected issues of fi nancing the projects and of a contract engineer. Finally, it refers to the stage of operating the biogas plants and to the obligations relating to the agricultural biogas.

Apresenta-se na tese proposta uma contribuição ao método aplicado no projeto de plantas de biogás composto de seis passos. Inicia-se com o levantamento de dados do local de instalação da planta de biogás, o planejamento, dimensionamento da planta de biogás e a escolha de tecnologias. Por fim segue a modelagem mecânica computacional em CAD e por último a simulação dos tanques biorreatores com programas computacionais. A metodologia desenvolvida foi testada no projeto de uma planta de biogás para biodigestão de silagem de milho (35000 m3 ao ano) no município de São Francisco de Paula-RS. O biorreator foi dimensionado com volume de 2100 m3 e um volume de biogás gerado foi estimado em 18219 m3 por dia. As simulações mecânicas computacionais foram executadas para a escolha da espessura das chapas a serem utilizadas nos tanques biorreatores. Foram dimensionados os biorreatores da planta e simulados em três materiais metálicos distintos, o aço duplex AISI 318, o aço austenítico AISI 316L e o aço carbono laminado ASTM A36. A melhor chapa verificada para o caso foi a do aço AISI 318 utilizando-se chapas de 1,5 a 3,0 mm de espessura. A diminuição da espessura reduz em 29% em massa o material empregado na fabricação dos tanques biorreatores em comparação com o uso de espessuras de chapas 3 mm em todo o tanque. Já para o aço AISI 316 L e ASTM A-36 diminui-se em 34% em massa do material a ser empregado na fabricação dos tanques biorreatores caso sejam utilizadas diferentes espessuras. This thesis presents a contribution to the method for the biogas plant project and consists of six steps. Start with the location of data collection biogas plant installation, planning, biogas plant design and the choice of technologies. Finally follows the computational mechanical modeling in CAD and simulation of bioreactor tanks with computer programs. The methodology was tested in a design of a biogas plant for digestion of corn silage (35,000 m3 per year) in São Francisco de Paula-RS. The bioreactor was sized with a volume of 2100 m3 for a volume of 18,219 m3 of biogas per day. The mechanical computer simulations were performed to select the thickness of the sheets to be used in the bioreactor tank. The bioreactor plant and were scaled simulated in three different metallic materials, the duplex steel AISI 318, AISI 316L austenitic steel and rolled carbon steel ASTM A36. The plate most suitable for the manufacturing was the AISI 318 steel with thickness of 1.5 to 3.0 mm. With the simulation we obtained a decrease of plate thickness. This generated a mass reduction of 29% of the material used in manufacturing the tank bioreactors compared to using a 3 mm plate thickness throughout the tank. For steel AISI 316L and ASTM A-36 we subtract 34% by weight of the material to be used in manufacturing the tank bioreactors where different thicknesses are used as computer simulation.

The influence of temperature, 50 and 60 degrees C, at hydraulic retention times (HRTs) of 20 and 10 days, on the performance of anaerobic digestion of cow manure has been investigated in completely stirred tank reactors (CSTRs). Furthermore, the effect of both daily downward and daily upward temperature fluctuations has been studied. In the daily downward temperature fluctuation regime the temperatures of each reactor was reduced by 10 degrees C for 10 h while in the daily upward fluctuation regime the temperature of each reactor was increased 10 degrees C for 5 h. The results show that the methane production rate at 60 degrees C is lower than that at 50 degrees C at all experimental conditions of imposed HRT except when downward temperature fluctuations were applied at an HRT of 10 days. It also was found that the free ammonia concentration not only affects the acetate-utilising bacteria but also the hydrolysis and acidification process. The upward temperature fluctuation affects the maximum specific methanogenesis activity more severely as compared to imposed downward temperature fluctuations. The results clearly reveal the possibility of using available solar energy at daytime to heat up the reactor(s) without the need of heat storage during nights, especially at an operational temperature of 50 degrees C and at a 20 days HRT, and without the jeopardising of the overheating.

Evidence from the most recent World Health Organization (WHO) survey on the global burden of disease shows that nearly 600,000 Africans die annually and millions more suffer from chronic illnesses caused by air pollution from inefficient and dangerous traditional cooking fuels and stoves. This tragic and avoidable first-order public health crisis disproportionately harms women and children. Moreover, cooking with wood, charcoal, crop waste, dung, coal, and potentially dangerous and polluting modern fuels, such as kerosene, also imposes tremendous direct costs on economies and households in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and contributes to a wide range of negative environmental and climate change effects.This overview report, prepared in support of the World Bank’s Africa Clean Cooking Energy Solutions (ACCES) initiative, builds on earlier reports from the World Bank and the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (GACC). The report establishes a baseline for the SSA cooking landscape and offers an overview of emerging opportunities to encourage increased investment in clean and improved cooking businesses across the region. This report covers the full range of clean and improved cooking solutions in SSA that can enhance the fuel efficiency and emissions performance of traditional technologies, each varying widely in terms of fuel feedstock, design, construction materials, methods of production, and harm mitigation potential.