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Particle Size Reduction During Harvesting of Crop Feedstock for Biogas Production II: Effects on Energy Balance, Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Profitability
- Source :
- BioEnergy Research. 5:937-948
- Publication Year :
- 2012
- Publisher :
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2012.
-
Abstract
- Reducing chopping length for biogas crop harvesting is a pretreatment method to support the processes of ensiling and methane formation, yet it also increases expenditures at harvest. To assess environmental performance and economic viability, the effects of reducing chopping lengths from common to very short settings on energy balance, greenhouse gas emissions and profitability were investigated. Assessment was based on data gained by monitoring harvesting and ensiling process chains in practice. Balancing results showed low overall effects of chopping length reduction on net energy yield and net greenhouse gas emissions. Shorter chopping length settings reduced net greenhouse gas emissions slightly while net energy yield and profit only increased significantly in 30 to 40 % of the farm-scale harvests investigated. Conditions promoting intensified chopping include the use of high-capacity harvesters, chopping of lignin-rich feedstocks, high subsidies for generated electricity and the utilisation of waste heat. Owing to numerous influencing factors, profitability cannot be guaranteed and so chopping lengths below 7 to 8 mm are not recommended.
- Subjects :
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
Environmental engineering
Energy balance
Raw material
Methane
Energy crop
Anaerobic digestion
chemistry.chemical_compound
chemistry
Biogas
Agronomy
Greenhouse gas
Waste heat
Environmental science
Agronomy and Crop Science
Energy (miscellaneous)
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 19391242 and 19391234
- Volume :
- 5
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- BioEnergy Research
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........d2e7c076e4d84a0d43e223ab4f636aa8