Abstract
Resource strategy concerns and the need for mitigation of environmental impacts associated with energy generation from fossil fuels have spurred the deployment of renewable energy carriers such as biogas. The environmental impacts of biogas systems are dependent on technical concepts and conditions of use. Along the process chain, energy is consumed and greenhouse gases (GHGs) are emitted. Life cycle assessment (LCA) of biogas production is influenced by different factors, such as supplement of substrate, biogas production and utilization pathways for biogas and digested residues. The goals of the study were to assess environmental impacts of biogas production in small-scale in Columbia In order to calculate specific GHG emissions of biogas production, the standardized method-ology of life cycle assessment (LCA) was followed, using the GaBi® 6.0 tool (thinkstep AG, Germany). The chosen substrates for the biogas production in small-scalle in Columbia represent common waste products of Latin American rural house-holds. Most Colombian farmers own cows, therefore choosing cow manure as a basic substrate is a logic consequence. This substrate can either be directly taken out of the stable, if there is one, or must be collected from the pasture land and then be mixed with water to obtain a homogenous matter to feed the biogas digester. Where people cook, waste is pro-duced, here we are taking a look at average medium-fat kitchen waste as an input option for the fermenter. A more specific waste product from daily cooking is potato peel, since the potato counts as a staple food not only in Columbia but in many South American countries. The co-substrate for the third scenario is the maize plant after the cob is harvested. Scenario II with 70 % cow manure and 30 % potato peel shows the smallest amount of biogas production per year with 69.6 m3. With a yearly production of 76.3 m3 biogas scenario I is already more productive than scenario II, but scenario III has the highest biogas output in this comparison. The results show that scenario I with 0.236 kg CO2 eq. emits the least and scenario III with 0.333 kg CO2 eq. the highest amount of CO2 equivalents.
Original language | English |
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DOIs | |
State | Published - 2019 |
Event | 2019 ASABE Annual International Meeting - Boston, United States Duration: 7 Jul 2019 → 10 Jul 2019 |
Conference
Conference | 2019 ASABE Annual International Meeting |
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Country/Territory | United States |
City | Boston |
Period | 7/07/19 → 10/07/19 |
Keywords
- Biogas
- Kitchen waste
- Life cycle assessment