Feasibility study for retrofitting biogas cogeneration systems to district heating in South Korea

Abstract

A feasibility study was performed to assess the technical and economic merits of retrofitting biogas-based cogeneration systems to district heating networks. Three district heating plants were selected as candidates for accommodating heat recovery from nearby waste treatment stations, where a massive amount of biogas can be produced on a regular basis. The scenario involves constructing cogeneration systems in each waste treatment station and producing electricity and heat. The amounts of biogas production for each station are estimated based on the monthly treatment capacities surveyed over the most recent years. Heat produced by the cogeneration system is first consumed on site by the waste treatment system to keep the operating temperature at a proper level. If surplus heat is available, it will be transported to the nearest district heating plant. The year-round operation of the cogeneration system was simulated to estimate the electricity and heat production. We considered cost associated with the installation of the cogeneration system and piping as initial investments. Profits from selling electricity and recovering heat are counted as income, while costs associated with buying biogas are expenses. Simple payback periods of 2-10 years were projected under the current economic conditions of South Korea. We found that most of the proposed scenarios can contribute to both energy savings and environmental protection.

Recent Advances in the Analysis of Sustainable Energy Systems

“…This is clearly reflected by a literature review of the previous SDEWES special issues which include a large number of papers investigating this topic, summarized in the following Table 4. In this field, biogas and gasified biomass are probably the most promising bio-fuels for their potential to decarbonize energy systems [116][117][118][119]. Gaida et al [105] presented a detailed review of different strategies to control substrate feed in anaerobic digesters.…”

Editorial: Sustainable development of energy, Water and Environment Systems

“…The average energy potential resulted to be 8.5 PJ for wheat straw, 7.2 PJ for corn stover and 5.9 PJ for forestry residues. A study by Chung and Park [46] assessed the viability of retrofitting biogas-based cogeneration systems to supply three DH networks in Korea. A preliminary estimation of the biogas produced in nearby waste treatment stations was made, and a 1-year simulation was performed to estimate the electricity and heat production and calculate projected simple payback periods, in the range between 2 and 10 years.…”