Due to the damage to the environment and climate caused by the generation of electricity in power plants burning fossil fuels, installations generating it from renewable energy sources are constructed. Spatial development plans for communes should consider their location. In Poland, generation of electricity in photovoltaic cells, wind farms and agricultural biogas plants has the greatest development potential. Due to the nuisance to people and the environment, wind turbines and agricultural biogas plants must be located far from residential buildings. Such conditions exist in sparsely populated rural areas. The observed development of single-family housing in rural areas is the result of the search for cheap construction sites and no local spatial development plans in most areas of rural communes. Dispersed housing construction restricts the construction of wind farms and agricultural biogas plants and thus poses a threat to renewable sources of wind and biogas energy produced in agricultural biogas plants. The situation may be changed by the requirement to include in spatial development plans the needs related to the construction of installations generating electricity from renewable energy sources and the construction of micro and small biogas plants directly at the sites where waste is generated.
The agricultural and food sector accounts for substantial volumes of organic waste (such as livestock excreta, meat offals) considered as onerous on the environment. The above decomposes formulating methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide in anaerobic conditions. Methane produced in digester chambers of a biomass plant (called biogas) may be applied for the production of electricity and heat, powering of vehicles as well as injections into gas networks. Biogas is one of the renewable sources of energy. In the light of the EU's sustainable development and climate neutrality policies, increasing the share of renewable sources in overall energy consumption is a priority for the Member States. For this reason, the article examines one of the renewable energy sectors in Poland, which is agricultural biogas production. The main attention was focused on agricultural biogas plants. Most often used substrates for biogas production, the dependence of biogas plant location on the population living in particular regions (voivodships) and the development of agriculture in their territories were analysed. The main purpose of the article was to indicate the reasons for the failure of the agricultural biogas plant construction program in Poland. Literature and document analysis were performed, interviews with waste producers as well as owners of agricultural biogas plants were carried out, and SWOT analysis was prepared.
Contemporary agriculture has become very energy-intensive and mainly uses electricity, which is needed for technological processes on livestock farms. Livestock faeces are burdensome for the environment due to the release of methane into the atmosphere. This article presents the concept of a self-sufficient livestock farm as an off-grid energy circuit that is a part of the agricultural process. The key idea is to obtain an energy flow using the concept of a smart valve to achieve a self-sufficient energy process based on a biogas plant, renewable energy sources, and energy storage. During the production process, a livestock farm produces large amounts of waste in the form of grey and black manure. On the one hand, these products are highly harmful to the environment, but on the other, they are valuable input products for another process, i.e., methane production. The methane becomes the fuel for cogeneration generators that produce heat and electricity. Heat and electricity are partly returned to the main farming process and partly used by residents of the area. In this way, a livestock farm and the inhabitants of a village or town can become energy self-sufficient and independent of national grids. The idea described in this paper shows the process of energy production combining a biogas plant, renewable energy sources, and an energy storage unit that enable farmland to become fully self-sufficient through the energy flow between all constituents of the energy cycle being maintained by a smart valve.
Changes in the approach to using waste as resources will be a necessity in the coming years. It is due to the transformation of the linear economy into a circular model and many regulations concerning waste management in the European Union countries. The article deals with the important issues of segregation and management of biodegradable waste, which are still unused energy potential. The aim of the study was to investigate the amount of this fraction of waste generated by sample households as well as the problems and barriers related to their storage and collection. The article takes into account the economic, environmental and social conditions that constitute the basis of sustainable development and are very significant for the idea of the circular economy. The minimizing and proper management of the fraction of municipal and biodegradable waste could achieve a greater economic benefits with simultaneous benefits for the environment, protecting its components and human health.
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.
Environmental and economic issues make the widespread of the application of renewable and environmentally friendly energy resources tends to be more and more aware necessity amongst societal, selfgovernmental, and governmental circles. Biogas plants are one of the most promising renewable energy resources in Poland. This is because their widespread may result in considerable environmental and economic benefits. Despite, official efforts to support the investments in biogas plants, the widespread of them seems to be rather scarce across the country. There also seem to be considerable differences between Polish regions with this regard. This is why an effort to examine utilisation of actual potential of biogas technology is discussed in the paper. AHP methodology is applied in this regard. A vital AHP methodology enhancement is also proposed to adjust merits of the methodology to declared intangibility awareness.
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.
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