scholarly journals Economic and Environmental Analysis of Small-Scale Anaerobic Digestion Plants on Irish Dairy Farms

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 637 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean O’Connor ◽  
Ehiaze Ehimen ◽  
Suresh C. Pillai ◽  
Gary Lyons ◽  
John Bartlett
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Co2 Reduction ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Agriculture Sector ◽  
Energy Needs ◽  
Treatment Facilities

The European Union’s (EU) climate and energy package requires all EU countries to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 20% by 2020. Based on current trends, Ireland is on track to miss this target with a projected reduction of only 5% to 6%. The agriculture sector has consistently been the single largest contributor to Irish GHG emissions, representing 33% of all emissions in 2017. Small-scale anaerobic digestion (SSAD) holds promise as an attractive technology for the treatment of livestock manure and the organic fraction of municipal wastes, especially in low population communities or standalone waste treatment facilities. This study assesses the viability of SSAD in Ireland, by modelling the technical, economic, and environmental considerations of operating such plants on commercial Irish dairy farms. The study examines the integration of SSAD on dairy farms with various herd sizes ranging from 50 to 250 dairy cows, with co-digestion afforded by grass grown on available land. Results demonstrate feedstock quantities available on-farm to be sufficient to meet the farm’s energy needs with surplus energy exported, representing between 73% and 79% of the total energy generated. All scenarios investigated demonstrate a net CO2 reduction ranging between 2059–173,237 kg CO2-eq. yr−1. The study found SSAD systems to be profitable within the plant’s lifespan on farms with dairy herds sizes of >100 cows (with payback periods of 8–13 years). The simulated introduction of capital subvention grants similar to other EU countries was seen to significantly lower the plant payback periods. The insights generated from this study show SSAD to be an economically sustainable method for the mitigation of GHG emissions in the Irish agriculture sector.

scholarly journals An Investigation of the Potential Adoption of Anaerobic Digestion for Energy Production in Irish Farms

Environments ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Sean O’Connor ◽  
Ehiaze Ehimen ◽  
Suresh C. Pillai ◽  
Niamh Power ◽  
Gary A. Lyons ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Co2 Reduction ◽  
Agriculture Sector ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
High Investment ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Technology Ranking

Anaerobic digestion (AD) has been recognised as an effective means of simultaneously producing energy while reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Despite having a large agriculture sector, Ireland has experienced little uptake of the technology, ranking 20th within the EU-28. It is, therefore, necessary to understand the general opinions, willingness to adopt, and perceived obstacles of potential adopters of the technology. As likely primary users of this technology, a survey of Irish cattle farmers was conducted to assess the potential of on-farm AD for energy production in Ireland. The study seeks to understand farmers’ motivations, perceived barriers, and preferred business model. The study found that approximately 41% of the 91 respondents were interested in installing AD on their farming enterprise within the next five years. These Likely Adopters tended to have a higher level of education attainment, and together, currently hold 4379 cattle, potentially providing 37,122 t year−1 of wastes as feedstock, resulting in a potential CO2 reduction of 800.65 t CO2-eq. year−1. Moreover, the results indicated that the primary consideration preventing the implementation of AD is a lack of information regarding the technology and high investment costs. Of the Likely Adopters and Possible Adopters, a self-owned and operated plant was the preferred ownership structure, while 58% expressed an interest in joining a co-operative scheme. The findings generated provide valuable insights into the willingness of farmers to implement AD and guidance for its potential widespread adoption.

scholarly journals Feasibility assessment of anaerobic digestion technologies for household wastes in Vietnam

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodolfo Daniel Silva ◽  
Hung Anh Le ◽  
Konrad Koch
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Municipal Solid Waste ◽  
Solid Waste ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Viet Nam ◽  
Feasibility Assessment ◽  
Composting Facility

Anaerobic digestion technologies have been utilized in Vietnam for more than 30 years with thousands of domestic small scale plants, mostly for agricultural and livestock wastes. For municipal solid waste (MSW) the development of biogas plants is far below the current high waste generation rates. The aim of this paper is to present the results of a feasibility assessment of implementing AD to treat the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) in Vietnam. For this purpose, an environmental analysis was performed comparing three treatment scenarios: two hypothetical AD technologies (a wet and a dry fermentation system) and the existing industrial composting facility at Nam Binh Duong Waste Treatment Complex in South Vietnam. This study sought for the technology to recover the most possible resources and energy from the OFMSW, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The results were then combined with a policy review to support a holistic approach on the feasibility of these technologies in Vietnam. The outcome indicates that by implementing the dry AD system, up to 16.7 GWh of power and 14.4 GWh of heat energy can be generated annually and it can potentially save up to 5,400 Mg of CO2 equivalent per year, presenting the highest resource/energy benefits. The performance of the wet system and composting facility present some advantages particularly if there is a previous segregation of the organic material from the rest of the household wastes. Moreover, current reforms in Vietnam demonstrate the government’s interest in AD technologies, translated into the development of fiscal and financial revenues which incentivize participation from the public and private sector. Finally, these technologies are constantly under development and have the potential to be further improved, which gives hopes that waste treatment systems can be optimized to meet the waste and energy challenges of the future generations. Phương pháp lên men kị khí đã được áp dụng tại Việt Nam từ hơn 30 năm nay với hàng nghìn các công trình nhỏ chủ yếu xử lý chất thải nông nghiệp và chăn nuôi. Sự phát triển hiện nay của các nhà máy sinh khí biogas còn quá ít cho xử lý lượng phát thải cao rác thải đô thị. Bài báo này trình bày các kết quả việc đánh giá tính khả thi khi áp dụng công nghệ lên men kị khí xử lý phần hữu cơ của chất thải rắn đô thị tại Việt Nam. Với mục đích này, phân tích môi trường được thực hiện để so sánh ba kịch bản xử lý: hai công nghệ lên men kị khí giả định (một cho công nghệ lên men ướt và một cho công nghệ lên men khô) và nhà máy hiện hữu lên men hiếu khí làm phân bón compost tại khu liên hợp xử lý chất thải Nam Bình Dương ở miền Nam Việt Nam. Nghiên cứu này tìm kiếm giải pháp công nghệ để thu hồi nhiều nhất có thể các tài nguyên và năng lượng từ rác thải đô thị và và giảm phát thải khí nhà kính. Các kết quả sau đó được kết hợp với đánh giá chính sách để hỗ trợ cách tiếp cận toàn diện về tính khả thi của các công nghệ này vào Việt Nam. Kết quả cho thấy áp dụng công nghệ lên men kị khí khô có thể tạo ra đến 16,7 GWh điện năng và 14,4 GWh nhiệt năng hàng năm và có khả năng làm giảm đến 8,000 Mg CO2 tương đương mỗi năm, thể hiện lợi ích cao nhất giữa tài nguyên và năng lượng. Hiệu suất của hệ thống lên men kị khí ướt và lên men hiếu khí thể hiện một số lợi thế đặc biệt khi nguyên liệu hữu cơ cho quá trình lên men được tiền phân loại ra khỏi hỗn hợp rác sinh hoạt. Hơn nữa, các đổi mới hiện nay ở Việt Nam thể hiện sự quan tâm của Chính phủ đến các công nghệ lên men kị khí, thể hiện qua sự tăng trưởng tài chính và doanh thu để khuyến khích sự tham gia của khu vực công và tư nhân. Chắc chắn rằng các công nghệ sẽ liên tục được phát triển và có khả năng được cải tiến tốt hơn, mang đến cho chúng ta những hy vọng rằng các hệ thống xử lý chất thải được tối ưu hóa để đáp ứng được các thách thức về chất thải và năng lượng của các thế hệ tương lai.

scholarly journals Smart Approaches to Food Waste Final Disposal

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (16) ◽  
pp. 2860 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franco Cecchi ◽  
Cristina Cavinato
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Food Waste ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Biogas Production ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Renewable Resource ◽  
Wide Availability ◽  
Anaerobic Codigestion ◽  
Suitable Treatment

Food waste, among the organic wastes, is one of the most promising substrates to be used as a renewable resource. Wide availability of food waste and the high greenhouse gas impacts derived from its inappropriate disposal, boost research through food waste valorization. Several innovative technologies are applied nowadays, mainly focused on bioenergy and bioresource recovery, within a circular economy approach. Nevertheless, food waste treatment should be evaluated in terms of sustainability and considering the availability of an optimized separate collection and a suitable treatment facility. Anaerobic codigestion of waste-activated sludge with food waste is a way to fully utilize available anaerobic digestion plants, increasing biogas production, energy, and nutrient recovery and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Codigestion implementation in Europe is explored and discussed in this paper, taking into account different food waste collection approaches in relation to anaerobic digestion treatment and confirming the sustainability of the anaerobic process based on case studies. Household food waste disposal implementation is also analyzed, and the results show that such a waste management system is able to reduce GHG emissions due to transport reduction and increase wastewater treatment performance.

scholarly journals The landfill biocell as an ecofilter for recycling of bio-energy and nutrients from residual wastes

2019 ◽  
pp. 335-345
Author(s):  
Torleif Bramryd ◽  
Michael Binder
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Anaerobic Fermentation ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Treatment Technique ◽  
Road Transportation ◽  
Anaerobic Conditions ◽  
High Moisture Level ◽  
Treatment Facilities

Anaerobic fermentation in landfill reactorcells is a biological waste treatment technique where both energy and nutrients can be recovered. The landfill reactorcell ("biocell") serves as an ecological filter, where energy is extracted as biogas while nutrients are recovered through the leachates and can be used as fertilizer in e.g. energy forests, and thus brought back to an ecological cycling. At the same time anaerobic conditions result in an effective immobilization of heavy metals and other pollutants e.g. as insoluble metal sulphides, which are immobilized in the fermentation rest. The long-lived fraction, remaining after the fermentation process has declined, containing a high content of lignin, serves as a water-holding matrix, which helps to enforce a sustainable high moisture level, and thus sustainable anaerobic conditions with heavy metals retained on a longterm bases. Also non-degradable products, like plastics, help to shield off oxygen and maintain reliable anaerobic conditions. Landfilling of organic matter is a measure to counteract the increasing concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere, resulting from different human activities. Landfilling at anaerobic conditions means that a small fraction of the organic matter is long-term accumulated in the landfill. Accordingly landfills have similar carbon accumulating effects as natural peatlands and lake or sea sediments. With low investment costs it is possible to convert traditional landfills to well controlled biological treatment facilities. Thus the technique can be performed both in large and small scale, avoiding energy demanding road transportation.

Determination of greenhouse gas emission reductions from sewage sludge anaerobic digestion in China

2015 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.-T. Liu ◽  
X.-J. Kong ◽  
G.-D. Zheng ◽  
C.-C. Chen
Keyword(s):  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Sewage Sludge ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emission ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Ghg Emission ◽  
Ghg Reduction

Sewage sludge is a considerable source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission in the field of organic solid waste treatment and disposal. In this case study, total GHG emissions from sludge anaerobic digestion, including direct and indirect emissions as well as replaceable emission reduction due to biogas being reused instead of natural gas, were quantified respectively. The results indicated that no GHG generation needed to be considered during the anaerobic digestion process. Indirect emissions were mainly from electricity and fossil fuel consumption on-site and sludge transportation. Overall, the total GHG emission owing to relative subtraction from anaerobic digestion rather than landfill, and replaceable GHG reduction caused by reuse of its product of biogas, were quantified to be 0.7214 (northern China) or 0.7384 (southern China) MgCO2 MgWS−1 (wet sludge).

scholarly journals WILLINGNESS TO PAY WARUNG MAKAN TERHADAP TPS 3R DI DESA BABAKAN KABUPATEN BOGOR

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 147
Author(s):  
Ni Putu Manacika Manupada ◽  
Ahyar Ismail ◽  
Meti Ekayani
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Willingness To Pay ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Disposal Site ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Implementation Planning ◽  
Solid Waste Treatment ◽  
Treatment Facilities ◽  
Restaurant Owners

Babakan is one of administrative villages in Bogor Regency where Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB) is located. IPB has given social and economic impacts in Babakan that many small-scalled business developed and small-scalled restaurant has the most participators. These small-scale restaurants generate waste everyday and the waste is still managed with end of pipe practice where waste was hauled from collection point to disposal site without any intermediate treatment. Community based waste management with 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle) approach should be proposed to reduce waste at source. 3R Solid Waste Treatment Facilities (TPS 3R) is a facility that focused on reducing, reusing, and recycling waste at source comunally involved active roles from community and goverment. The objectives of this study are (1) Examining level of participation of small-scale restaurant owners if TPS 3R is built and implemented in Babakan. (2) Estimating Willingness to Pay (WTP) of small-scale restaurans owners to TPS 3R implementation planning. The results showed most of small-scale restaurant owners are willing to participate in both sorting waste at source and paying TPS 3R service if TPS 3R is being implemented in Babakan. Average WTP values for TPS 3R is Rp 32,037.04/month and it’s higher than existing rate of waste collection service, which shows small-scale restaurant owners have preference for TPS 3R. Keywords: small-scaled restaurants; TPS 3R; waste management; willingness to pay

Research on Nitrogen and Phosphorus Losses of Natural Composting Manure in the Northern Region of Erhai Lake

2010 ◽  
Vol 160-162 ◽  
pp. 585-589 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Huang ◽  
Guang Fei Qu ◽  
Ping Ning ◽  
Hua Ping Gao ◽  
Li Juan Jia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Lake Basin ◽  
Erhai Lake ◽  
Livestock Manure ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Solid Waste Treatment ◽  
Treatment Facilities

In recent years, the trend of eutrophication appeared in Erhai and the phenomena of small-scale algae outbreak has already happened. Erhai Lake pollution caused by many reasons.As an important factor of Erhai lake eutrophication, superabundant manure stacking at random in rural areas of Erhai Lake Basin and transference of the manure nitrogen and phosphorus into waterbody have attracted much attention of environmental researchers eutrophication of Erhai lake. The nitrogen and phosphorus contentes of livestock manure in the process of naturally composting were mensurated and the transference characteristics of the manure nitrogen and phosphorus were analysed. As a result, the regular pattern and loss type of livestock manure were advanced and advices about developing solid waste treatment facilities were brought forword.

Greenhouse gas and energy balance of dairy farms using unutilised pasture co-digested with effluent for biogas production

2008 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Lieffering ◽  
Paul Newton ◽  
Jürgen H. Thiele
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Kyoto Protocol ◽  
Biogas Production ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Dairy Farm ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Management Tool

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from New Zealand dairy farms are significant, representing nearly 35% of New Zealand’s total agricultural emissions. Although there is an urgent need for New Zealand to reduce agricultural GHG emissions in order to meet its Kyoto Protocol obligations, there are, as yet, few viable options for reducing farming related emissions while maintaining productivity. In addition to GHG emissions, dairy farms are also the source of other emissions, most importantly effluent from milking sheds and feed pads. It has been suggested that anaerobic digestion for biogas and energy production could be used to deal more effectively with dairy effluent while at the same time addressing concerns about farm energy supply. Dairy farms have a high demand for electricity, with a 300-cow farm consuming nearly 40 000 kWh per year. However, because only ~10% of the manure produced by the cows can be collected (e.g. primarily at milking times), a maximum of only ~16 000 kWh of electricity per year can be produced from the effluent alone. This means that anaerobic digestion/electricity generation schemes are currently economic only for farms with more than 1000 cows. A solution for smaller farms is to co-digest the effluent with unutilised pasture sourced on the farm, thereby increasing biogas production and making the system economically viable. A possible source of unutilised grass is the residual pasture left by the cows immediately after grazing. This residual can be substantial in the spring–early summer, when cow numbers (demand) can be less than the pasture growth rates (supply). The cutting of ungrazed grass (topping) is also a useful management tool that has been shown to increase pasture quality and milk production, especially over the late spring–summer. In this paper, we compare the energy and GHG balances of a conventional farm using a lagoon effluent system to one using anaerobic digestion supplemented by unutilised pasture collected by topping to treat effluent and generate electricity. For a hypothetical 300-cow, 100-ha farm, topping all paddocks from 1800 to 1600 kg DM/ha four times per year over the spring–summer would result in 80 tonnes of DM being collected, which when digested to biogas would yield 50 000 kWh (180 GJ) of electricity. This is in addition to the 16 000 kWh from the effluent digestion. About 90 GJ of diesel would be used to carry out the topping, emitting ~0.06 t CO2e/ha. In contrast, the anaerobic/topping system would offset/avoid 0.74 t CO2e/ha of GHG emissions: 0.6 t CO2e/ha of avoided CH4 emissions from the lagoon and 0.14 t CO2e/ha from biogas electricity offsetting grid electricity GHGs. For the average dairy farm, the net reduction in emissions of 0.68 CO2e/ha would equate to nearly 14% of the direct and indirect emissions from farming activities and if implemented on a national scale, could decrease GHG emissions nearly 1.4 million t CO2e or ~10% of New Zealand’s Kyoto Protocol obligations while at the same time better manage dairy farm effluent, enhance on-farm and national energy security and increase milk production through better quality pastures.

Automatic Milking Systems: an option to address the labour shortage on New Zealand dairy farms?

2002 ◽  
pp. 39-43
Author(s):  
J.G. Jago ◽  
M.W. Woolford
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Dairy Industry ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Dairy Farms ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Labour Shortage ◽  
Commercial Farms ◽  
Grazing Systems ◽  
Automatic Milking Systems

There is a growing shortage of labour within the dairy industry. To address this the industry needs to attract more people and/or reduce the labour requirements on dairy farms. Current milk harvesting techniques contribute to both the labour requirements and the current labour shortage within the industry as the process is labour-intensive and necessitates long and unsociable working hours. Automated milking systems (AMS) have been in operation, albeit on a small scale, on commercial farms in Europe for a decade and may have the potential to address labour issues within the New Zealand dairy industry. A research programme has been established (The Greenfield Project) which aims to determine the feasibility of automated milking under New Zealand dairying conditions. A Fullwoods MERLIN AMS has been installed on a protoype farmlet and is successfully milking a small herd of 41 cows. Progress from the prototype Greenfields system offers considerable potential for implementing AMS in extensive grazing systems. Keywords: automated milking systems, dairy cattle, grazing, labour

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