Technological solutions applied in biogas plants - a case study

Abstract

This paper describes three operating biogas plants with a comparable electrical power of 600 kW. The plants are situated in Germany and were constructed between 2007 and 2013. They belong to one owner who has a farm with an area of ca. 1,200 ha, oriented towards plant production. The article presents technological solutions applied in biogas plants; an attempt was also made to determine their effect on the amount of electricity consumed in the process (operation of stirrers, substrate feeders, pumps, control systems, lighting, etc.). Despite similar electrical power, the biogas plants differ in terms of construction and technological solutions. The differences stem mainly from the number and capacity of digestion chambers, the method of biomass stirring and the method of substrate supply. The preliminary conclusions from observations of these facilities confirm the literature data concerning the consumption of electricity in the process compared to total electricity production. The paper also presents the capacity factor for each facility and the level of heat use from cogeneration.

Commercial Biogas Plants: Lessons for Ukraine

“…Due to fluctuation, the capacity factor of plants is less than 1. Solar plants have a minimum capacity factor value, while biomass plants have the highest value (Figure 5) [74][75][76]. This fact should be taken into account for correction comparison of technologies.…”

“…Specific investment costs of bioethanol plants range from USD 0.75/(L/year) to USD 4.6/(L/year) [76]. If units of energy are used instead of units of volume, then the specific investment costs will be between USD 35.54/(GJ/year) and USD 218.02/(GJ/year).…”

Evaluation of Energy Potential from Coffee Pulp in a Hydrothermal Power Market through System Dynamics: The Case of Colombia

“…The left side of the diagram details the procurement of coffee pulp for energy generation, where the amount of electricity produced from this waste (GWh/month) is obtained from the monthly cherry coffee production in Colombia and considers that 80% of the coffee pulp (ton pulp/month) would be used for energy generation. Then, the biomethane generated (m 3 CH 4 /month) from the AD process of this residue is used for electricity production, considering its low heating value (LHV) (GWh/m 3 CH 4 ) and an efficiency of 40% for the electrical conversion process [82,83].…”