Prospects of Biomethane Production in Ukraine

Abstract

Biogas upgrading to quality of natural gas (NG) creates possibility to supply biomethane to the NG grid, easy transportation and production of electricity and heat in locations where there is guaranteed consumption of thermal energy. Biomethane as a close NG analogue can be used for heat and electricity production, as soon as motor fuel and raw material for chemical industry.
 The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that the world's annual biomethane production potential is 730 bcm (20% of current world's NG consumption). World biomethane production reached almost 5 bcm/yr in 2019. According to forecast of the European Biogas Association the biogas and biomethane sector may almost double its production by 2030. According to IEA estimates, annual world biomethane production could reach 200 bcm in 2040 in case the sustainable development strategy is implemented
 Currently, the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine estimates the potential for biogas/biomethane production in Ukraine using fermentation technology as 7,8 bcm/yr (25% of the country's current NG consumption). The roadmap of bioenergy development in Ukraine until 2050 envisages growth of biomethane production to 1,7 bcm in 2035 and up to 3 bcm in 2050.
 Currently the prospects for green hydrogen development are well known. The authors support the need of hydrogen technologies as one of the way for production and use of renewable gases. However, they believe that biomethane has no less prospects.
 Transporting of one cubic meter of biomethane through gas pipeline at 60 bar pressure transmits almost four times more energy than transporting of one cubic meter of hydrogen. This is fundamental advantage of biomethane. Another advantage is the full readiness of gas infrastructure for biomethane. Given the cost of gas infrastructure modernization to use hydrogen, it is more cost-effective to convert green hydrogen to synthetic methane.
 Currently, biomethane is in average three times cheaper than green hydrogen, the cost of the two renewable gases is expected to equalize by 2050, and only further possible reduction in the cost of green hydrogen below $2/kg will make green hydrogen cheaper than biomethane. Therefore, the greatest prospects can be seen in the combination of the advantages of both renewable gases and conversion of green hydrogen into synthetic methane (power-to-gas process).
 Authors believe that after adoption of legislation to support the development of biomethane production and use in Ukraine, the bulk of biomethane produced in the country will be exported to EU, where more favourable conditions for biomethane consumption are developed. As Ukraine's economy grows, more and more of the biomethane produced will be used for domestic consumption.

Technologies for Environmental Safety Application of Digestate as Biofertilizer

“…Several European countries have decided that up to 40 % of all food waste should be an energy source [Chiew et al, 2015]. This problem is topical for Ukraine too, since according to the data of the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine, the number of biogas plants is increasing every year and reached 68 units running on different type of feedstocks, primarily manure and agricultural residues [Geletukha and Matveev, 2021]. This trend supports the sustainable development of Ukraine, as acknowledged by theEuropean Biogas Association, which further underlined the current biogas potential in Ukraine [Geletukha and Zheliezna, 2021].…”

Analysis of biogas production and prospects for the development of biogas technologies in Ukraine

“…Then, in the initial substrate, the dependence of the values of the kinetic parameter on the concentrations of organic matter is described as follows (6):…”

“…The operation process of the biogas plant is generally controlled by an automation system (11). The produced biogas is collected and stored in a gas holder (6). They are used as a gas-tight element for the fermenter, which serves as a gas storage tank.…”

Phytoremediation of Soils by Cultivation <i>Miscanthus</i> x <i>Giganteus</i> L. and <i>Phalaris arundinacea</i> L.

“…Countries such as Sweden, England, Ireland, Poland, and Denmark have the most experience in growing energy crops. In Ukraine, despite the large amount of land unsuitable for commercial agricultural production, industrial planting of energy crops is still insufficient (Blum et al, 2010;Rakhmetov 2011Geletukha et al, 2014Fedorchuk et al, 2017). Energy plants have the following impact on the ecological state and environment: one hectare of energy plantations absorbs more than 200 tons of CO 2 from the air in 3 years; ideal for planting radioactively contaminated and disturbed lands after ilmenite ore mining, lowproductive or abandoned lands; effectively used in anti-erosion measures to strengthen soils, enrich them with macro-and microelements, nutrients; energy plants are natural filters for cleaning soils from pesticides; energy plantations are natural filters for removing agricultural waste, used as buffer zones in places of accumulation of biological waste from farms (Geletukha et al, 2014;Romanchuk et al, 2021).…”

“…For this purpose, it's planned to increase the area for growing energy crops. The area for growing energy crops should be increased from 130 thousand hectares in 2020, 700 thousand hectares in 2030, and in the long run to 3.5 million hectares (Geletukha et al, 2014). For example, heavy metals and chemical pollutants, accumulating and moving through the food chain (plant-animal-human), affect various organs of animals and humans, causing diseases (Golets et al, 2009).…”