Biomethane Feedstock Production

Since today’s infrastructure for transport is based on liquid fuels, the introduction of  gaseous fuels into the transport sector is slow and challenging for future transport  strategies. Nevertheless, there exists already a market for vehicles which use gaseous fuels in place of liquid fuels. Today, most of  them run on natural gas. Many automotive manufacturers already offer pure or bivalent natural gas vehicl es as standard models. One
of the promising future options for sustainable transport fuels is the subsidization of natural gas by biomethane

 Biomethane is the most efficient and clean burning biofuel which is available today. It can be produced from nearly all types of biomass including wet biomass which is not usable for most other biofuels.  Another motivation for using gaseous biofuels for transport applications is the opportunity of diversifying feedstock sources.  The raw material for the production of biomethane is biogas, which can be processed from various feedstock sources. For biogas production much more different feedstock sources can be used than for common liquid biofuels. For instance biodiesel can be only made from plant materials containing certain amounts of oil. In contra st, biogas is produced from nearly all types of organic materials including vegetable and animal feedstocks. The origin of the feedstock can vary, rangi ng from livestock waste, manure, harvest
surplus, to vegetable oil residues. Dedicated energy crops are becoming more and more practice as feedstock source for biogas pr oduction. Recently, wastewater sludge, municipal solid wastes and organic wastes from house holds have been introduced as feedstock. Another feedstock source is the collection of biogas from landfill sites. In Germany biogas is produced in agricultural facilities, main ly by the fermentation of manure and maize
One main advantage of methane production is the ability to use so-called “wet biomass” as feedstock source. Wet biomass can not be used for the production of ot her biofuels such as PPO, biodiesel or biomethane. Examples for wet biomass are sewage sludge, manure from dairy and swine farms as well as residues from  food processing. They all are characterized by moisture contents of more than 60–70 %. The use of  waste materials  is not only excellent suitability for biogas production it also creates some additional benefits. Thus, it cont ributes to reduce animal wastes and odors. Digestion effectively eliminates environmental hazards, such as overproduction of liquid manure. Therefore biogas production is an excellent way for livestock farmers to comply with increasing governmental regulations of animal wastes. In addition it destroys disease-causing pathogens existing in waste materials.  Nevertheless, using animal feedstock can be
critical as well. For instance anaerobic degradation of poultry excrements with high contents of organic nitrogen produce high  concentrations of undesirable ammonium. Furthermore, new economical and ecological solutions for the treatment of animal by products are required due  to the BSE-crisis (PRECHTL  & F AULSTICH  2004). However, it is often the combination of environmental, ec onomical and legal reasons that motivates farmers to use digester t echnology for waste treatment. Apart from waste materials wet  biomass also includes dedicated energy crops  or any other vegetable materials with high moisture contents. Even grass can be used as feedstock. The suitability of energy crops for biogas production was received through improvements in the fermentation process. The main disadvantage of energy crops when compared to waste materials is their need for additional agricultural land as it is needed also for PPO,
biodiesel and bioethanol production. Nevertheless, energy crops for biogas production have several advantages which make them very promising for the future. One main advantage is the production of considerably high yields of energy crops, even when they are cultivated extensively. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides are not required or only in small amounts. Damaged and uneatable harvests resulting from unfavorable growing and weather conditions, as well as from pest contaminations are suitable for biogas production, too. In addition, cultivations do not have to become fully ripe, since the whole plant can be
used for biogas production. Harvests do not have to be dried.  The quality and yield of bi ogas heavily depends on the feedstock type. According to (BENSMANN  2005) the average yield of biogas is 4 100  liters per hectare. This is equivalent to approximately 127 GJ/ha, being nearly three times as high as for RME and one and half times higher than for ethanol. Much higher  yields can be expected from energy crop
optimization (ARNOLD et al. 2005).

Article: Fill the tank - with biogas from food waste

 Article: Fill the tank - with biogas from food waste

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Leftover fruit and vegetables from markets don’t always have to end up on the compost heap. Researchers in Stuttgart are developing a new system aims to turn that waste into biogas for cars.

In affluent countries like Germany, food doesn't always land on people's plate - quite often it ends up in the trash instead. A recent study found that Germans throw away an incredible 11 metric tons (around 12 million short tons) of food each year.
In Stuttgart, Germany's de facto automobile capital, researchers are trying to feed some of this waste from the local fruit and vegetable market directly into a biogas plant. They're even building a service station for cars to tank up with the gas directly at the plant itself.
With the rising prices of petrol, biogas made from food waste could be an attractive - and more sustainable - alternative.
From the market into the tank
Stuttgart's wholesalers market is the third biggest in Germany. Titus Steiger, head of a busy fruit and vegetable trading company, is one of hundreds of traders and farmers based at there.
Leafy vegetables have to be sold quickly, he told DW, within three days. "After that we have to give them away. With herbs we only have two days," Steiger said.
The Stuttgart market produces 2,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) of green waste, or biowaste, every year. Currently, these food scraps are collected by the city and composted.
In many regions of Germany, biogas from organic waste is increasingly being used to run heating systems and produce electricity.
The new project in Stuttgart is being run by the Frauenhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology and is set to show that energy from food waste can also be used to run cars. The experiment is part of a project called Etamax, which received 6 million euros ($8 billion) from Germany's Federal Research Ministry.

In this gleaming facility, food waste is transformed into fuel

In the pilot phase, the project will be collecting leftover fruit and vegetables from the nearby central market and several cafeterias, and then fermenting it into methane.
In a two-stage process, which lasts several days, various microorganisms digest the waste, which produces biological methane. After being pressurized, it can be used to fuel vehicles that normally run on compressed natural gas.
"Food waste has high water content and low lignin and lignocellulose content. That makes it ideal for this digestive process," Ursula Schliessman, a Fraunhofer scientist, said.
Lettuce or lemons: the right mix
Karl Kübler, who heads up Stuttgart's market, said the kind of food waste can fluctuate wildly according to season.
If it's melon season, for example, and "suddenly we have a cold spell, no one buys the melons and then we have a huge quantity of melons that are thrown out all at the same time," Kübler said.
The waste even varies from day to day. Sometimes there will be more lettuce thrown away, sometimes citrus fruits - which contain a lot of acid.
This means the scientists have to balance the pH of the material for it to be digested in the fermenter. To do this, different kinds of biowaste are stored in separate containers, where the pH and other parameters are measured.
"Then we have a specially developed system to calculate how many liters of waste have to be taken from which containers and then put in with the microorganisms," said Schliessmann.
The correct balance has to be maintained so that the microorganisms have a consistent environment in which to carry out their digestion.
Nothing is wasted
After the biogas is produced, fluid residue and any bits that cannot be fermented are put to use in other projects.
The water from the digestion process, which contains nitrogen and phosphorous, is used as a nutrient for algae, which can produce oil for use in diesel engines.
The remaining residue is turned into methane using another process - so that the organic waste is completely re-used.
The next step is to get the gas into cars.
Avoiding demand for waste
Since the system runs on food waste, it does not compete in any way with the actual production of food, as is the case when the biofuel ethanol is made from maize or other crops.
Ethanol has been the subject of a lot of criticism, especially because it uses up valuable land which could be used for growing food crops. Many also question whether it takes more energy to grow the crops than is produced.
But organic leftovers are just that. Right now in the best scenario they are composted, but for biogas proponents they represent considerable source of untapped energy.
Environment groups like Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND), say it makes sense to use food waste for biogas.

Culture of waste: Worldwide, half of all food prodcued ends up in the trash

However, Berthold Friess, who heads the organization in the German state of Baden-Württemberg where the new fermenter is located, warns that technology of this kind should not be allowed to create an artificially high demand for food waste.
Studies have indicated that around half the world's food already ends up being thrown away. "The aim should really be to make sure as little food as possible is thrown away at markets," Friess said.
He also calls for the development of lighter, more economical cars and the improvement of public transport, to reduce the use of limited natural resources like oil and gas and to put less pressure on the climate.
Biogas in future energy mix
Schliessmann hopes that smaller biogas plants like this one could someday be seen in every city and play an important role in the energy mix of the future.
"The advantage of this kind of technology is that we can put it in the middle of a city where people are living because there is no smell and it is a closed system," he said.
When the plant officially starts up at the end of April, the German car company Daimler will fill up test cars with different mixes of methane gas to find out what works best.
Author: Irene Quaile and Kate Hairsine
Editor: Holly Fox

source: www.dw.de,

energy efficiency with biogas plants

Poultry-producing giant MHP, one of Ukraine’s leading listed companies, has announced plans to start biogas energy production as part of a strategy to move the firm toward self-sufficiency.

Construction of the first biogas production plant will start in early April at MHP’s Oril-Leader farm in Dnipropetrovsk region.

The company expects it to produce 30.4 million kilowatt hours per year, more than enough to cover the farm’s annual consumption of 21 million kilowatt hours.

The $15 million plant is to begin operations in October and pay off the cost within four years. Similar ventures are expected at the company’s plants in Kyiv region and the Crimea.

The company said it sees this as a first step in the development of alternative energy sources, which also include solar power production (particularly for the company’s plants in sunny Crimea) and straw.

The fermentation of straw can produce 1,000 cubic meters of natural gas for every 2.5 tons, meaning the company could boost total production to 0.4 billion cubic meters in the future.

Though the energy-generating potential of these ventures is significant, the project won't necessarily do much for profits.

Alexander Tsependa, an analyst at the international investment bank Troika Dialog, said that MHP's electricity costs did not exceed 5 percent of total production expenditures, so he didn't expect any material impact.

Oleksandr Dombrovski, the project manager, said MHP is vying for energy independence. At the very least, this means independence from the political and non-political fluctuations of gas and electricity prices, he added, at most – own power production.

For years, Ukraine’s energy-inefficient economy has been dogged by fluctuations in gas and electricity prices amid spats with supplier Russia and the opacity and overregulation of the local energy market. Thus, the spread of alternative energy use by Ukraine's top companies can only help.
Listed on the London Stock Exchange, MHP disclosed its 2011 results on March 20, reporting revenues up 30 percent to $1.3 billion, while net income rose 20 percent to $259 million. Its stock has increased by nearly 30 percent since the beginning of the year.

Projections by Troika Dialog show the company's revenues could almost double by 2016 after a new complex in Vinnytsia region, scheduled to be fully operational by 2015, boosts production capacity by over 50 percent. This would open the road to exports, which are so far limited by rising local demand.

Nor are rosy prospects clouded by the current economic troubles. According to Troika Dialog, Ukrainian households, who spend over half their disposable income on food, will increasingly replace more expensive beef and pork with poultry even as their wages are squeezed.

Land reform, however, may be a thornier issue. One draft bill, passed in the first reading on Dec. 9 2011, foresaw an ownership limitation of 6,000 hectares or 5 percent in a single district.

With a land bank of 280,000 hectares, this could impose significant compliance costs on MHP.

Yuriy Kosiuk, MHP’s CEO and co-owner, told the Kyiv Post that the restrictions were merely “rumors,” a way to float the idea and gauge reactions.

Conversely, he said the plans found in a new draft law submitted to parliament on March 16, which aim to introduce a one percent tax on the normative value of land, were possible, but would mainly be felt by smaller producers.

How A 32-Year-Old Deltan Built Biogas Plant

How A 32-Year-Old Deltan Built Biogas Plant

BY SUNDAY EGEDE
TO the uninformed mind, the concept of generating wealth from waste is an absolute impossibility; a myth that cannot be achieved or realized. The uninformed people in the society who do not understand the mechanics of science and technology hold on tenaciously to their belief that nothing good could come out from anything called waste. However, in recent time, there has been a dramatic shift in thought about what was usually considered waste.
Through scientific engineering process, wastes are now seen as means of solving myriads of socio-economic problems confronting man in his daily life. For instance, waste from farms, kitchen and animals (including human-beings) could be used for generating energy for cooking, heating, pumping water, driving machinery and generating electricity among others.
Only recently a 32-year-old Delta State born Engr. Ifeanyi Aghaulor singlehandedly built a biogas plant at his residence in Boji-Boji Owa, Ika North-East Local Government Area of the state using kitchen waste. In an interview with The POINTER on his outstanding technological breakthrough, Engr. Aghaulor who defined biogas technology as the use of biological process in the absence of oxygen for the breakdown of organic matter into biogas and high quality fertilizer, said biogas is a combustible mixture of methane and carbon dioxide.

He disclosed that the process, also, eliminates organisms that cause disease in human beings and animals, adding that biogas technology is a ‘carbon neutral process. Potentially, he said, this technology is a significant and profitable way of reducing global climate change. “The gas is odourless and it burns with a clear blue flame without smoke and it is non-toxic” the Bio-Technologist stated, noting that the biogas plant produces more heat than kerosene, wood, charcoal, cow-dung chips and saw dust.
Explaining the mechanics of the technology, Engr. Aghaulor disclosed that biogas technology is carried out using a biological engine known as biogas plants which help to maintain conditions for natural biological process to take place optimally to yield the desired results. According to him, a biogas plant consists of the bioreactor, gas storage vessel and the utility points, adding that once the process begins, it would continue indefinitely as long as wastes are added daily or weekly depending on the optimum conditions into the biogas plant and temperature maintained.
On the sustainability of the technology, the Bio-Technologist who is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, said “it is quite simple” even as he disclosed that the material components and technical requirements for the implementation of the engineering project are readily available. “The utilities for the operation of biogas technology are wastes which are free, cheap and in abundance. There is no requirement for the addition of chemicals”, he further stated, pointing out that maintenance of the technology is very cheap.
While saying that the life span of biogas plants ranges from 10-30 years, Engr. Aghaulor observed that the investment is worthwhile and highly profitable. Continuing, he said N480,000 was spent in the research and development of the biogas plant, adding that it would cost N60,000 to build a family size biogas. “Waste which is usually a burden to the people and the government are now free for utilization as cooking gas thereby replacing firewood, kerosene and saw dust”, the Engineer added.
The kind of wastes used, according to him, determines the size of the plant and the amount of biogas produced, saying that biogas plants are customized and installed based on local and site conditions/requirements just as he disclosed that both skilled engineers and unskilled personnel like Mechanical Engineers, Electrical/Electronics Engineers, Civil Engineers, Plumbers, Painters, Welders and Bricklayers were needed in the installation of a gas plant.
According to him, the uses of biogas technology are quite enormous, adding that if well installed, it reduces the demand for firewood, thereby mitigating deforestation. He equally added that biogas contributes to the global reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as a result of the fact that the process involved is carbon neutral.
Engr. Aghaulor stated further that the government can use biogas technology to contribute to their own development objectives of solving problems in public waste disposal and water treatment. He maintained that biogas technology has the potentials of increasing agricultural production and enhancing employment generation as well as substituting imports of fossil fuel and fertilizer.
He listed the needed materials for the construction of an average family size biogas plant to include plastic containers for biodigester and hydrolysis of the organic waste; galvanized steel for storage; max-min thermometer; plank; fiber materials; paint; manometers for pressure gauge; plumbing accessories and fittings; grease; spring scale; hydrometer; sludge storage and water condensation trap, adding the materials could be sourced locally.
The Bio-Technologist who noted that biogas technology is a low cost substitute for firewood, said that biogas plant is simple to build and operate, adding that it does not require major maintenance for 25 years of the digester life span. “Servicing may not, also, be required as long as guidelines for operations are followed”, he stated, pointing out that biogas technology was a clever way of exploiting nature without destroying it.
With the increasing population and energy demand in the country, Engr. Aghaulor said, the dream of attaining food security, poverty eradication and environmental management in line with the Millennium Development Goals, can be easily achieved by harnessing the power of the biogas technology. He, therefore, appealed for assistance from the Delta State Government and well meaning Nigerians to enable him spread the technology in the state and beyond.
source:http://thepointernewsonline.com/?p=3541

Animal manure produces electricity

At the same time, a gas development project of global methane prevents overheating
 It is not complicated nor costly expense represents the biogas can be used as household fuel, is basically obtained from the feces of cattle or pigs, but you can also take advantage of other animals and even that of the human being.Biogas is an alternative energy option which has been running strong since 2006 at national level, but Guerrero is hardly known, and that even in Mexico Initiative, which promotes a national broadcaster, as recently awarded a project of this nature, with the idea to stop using firewood in rural areas.Excrement is bulkAccording to the Director of Inspection and Supervision of the Office of Ecological Protection of the State of Guerrero (Propeg), Salvador Mojica Morga, the project in the state is serious, and even could be used wastewater treatment plant of Pungarabato.Although no exact dates handled, the state official explained the importance of alternative energy pulse, and felt that before this year could begin to see the first steps. Once in Tierra Caliente who takes this option, he said, Armando Cabrera Villela, El Chino Cabrera, between two other people.With a basic, low cost (up to 500 billion pesos in the most extreme cases) among lighter, valves and some more tools, you get the animal excrement is mixed with water pockets, and allowed to ferment. "It's a very expensive exercise, and saves a lot of money," he explained Mojica Morga.The raw material is not complicated, because a cow produces daily about 8 pounds of excrement a horse, four, and a pig, 800 grams, released the same official, "it is time to become aware and stop devastating our forests, plus it is very cheap, and families save significantly. "He said that it will open support for projects of this nature, and insisted on working "a megaproject to Pungarabato, with its wastewater treatment plant, we need only basic equipment, as the raw material and have it abundantly."
 Technical ExplanationThe technical explanation says that biogas or "swamp gas" is produced by anaerobic fermentation (without oxygen) of organic and inorganic waste, which mixed with water and placed in a closed container called a digester impervious to temperatures between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius, break down due to anaerobic bacteria.The first experiments were made at the beginning of the century, avoiding the pollution that leads to the elimination by incineration and also motivated by the difficulties caused wars in the fuel supply.Most biodigesters were built on farms. "One of the advantages is that it would devastate lower scales," said the alternative energy researcher, Miguel Antonio Vargas Palomeque.For this purpose, is in addition to manure, food waste, urine, agricultural residues such as seeds, straw, bark of sugarcane waste as well as blood traces, meat, fish waste, agro-industrial waste: sawdust, waste snuff, bran rice, fruit and vegetable waste, and forest residues such as branches, leaves, bark.For a home BioDigest said Palomeque study, requires a plastic bottle of 18 liters, an oversized rubber ball or inflatable ball, a T-connector aquarium, aquarium tubing, a valve for aquariums (with key) , a cork that fits into the mouth of the bottle, and a bunsen burner.
The stagesFor biogas are three main steps: hydrolysis, acid phase and phase hydrogen. At the end, you get a gas and a liquid. The gas contains 55-70% methane, 30-40% Carbon Dioxide, and Hydrogen 1-3% 2, and 5% other gases.The liquid known as bio-fertilizers, containing 20% ​​protein, 14% nitrogen and 20% more potassium, than the same mixture of waste processed aerobically and pH (acidity) of 7.5. Another feature of the bio-digestion, is that 99% of the parasites (amoebas, colis, tapeworms, etc..) Die in the process.Thus, not only solves problems of sanitation, but also produces a fertilizer fuel and energy independence allows rural property. The digestive process is completed between 30 and 40 days produced the greatest amount of biogas.Since the state government headed by Angel Aguirre Rivero, is in the study of a larger project to be implemented throughout the state, and municipalities, it is important and interesting to "see what can be achieved with this option alternative energy, "Mojica Morga framed.And is that only the raw material by means of cattle, you have insured more than 8 million pounds a day, not counting what they produce pigs, horses and even humans, "we will give several blows at the same time, I think the mayors and other officials must begin to operate in the interests of the entity. "And, only excrement, that is now discarded, and that lead to drainage networks of rivers, in the case of human waste, so raw contaminated water bodies, and instead of help, harm "You have to take to that."

source: http://www.despertardelsur.com (translate )