Pursuing the possibilities of increasing efficiency, saving costs and improving environmental performance more and more companies today are looking into the possibilities of industrial synergies between companies andprocesses. This study is considering the possibilities of industrial symbiosis between combined heat and power plant (Fortum) and a waste sorting facility (Ragn Sells). The paper shows possible scenarios of utilization heat fromCHP for the various processes within the waste treatment facility. The work includes the overview of previous research done in this area as well as theoretical analysisand estimation of the probable economic and environmental effects from the application of industrial symbiosis. The study covers several possibilities for the industrial symbiosis between CHP and waste treatment facility in form of heat application for the waste streams upgrading.The study proposes the heat application for the following processes: composting speed-up, anaerobic digestion, sludge drying, waste oil treatment and concrete upgrading. In the result of the work the conclusions are made concerning the possibility and feasibility of application of the proposed scenarios and their environmentaland economic effects. / Division Industrial Ecologywww.kth.se/itm/indecowww.ima.kth.se

Energimyndigheten har från Regeringen blivit tilldelad 100 miljoner kronor att fördela som investeringsstöd för att främja en effektiv och utökad produktion, distribution samt användning av förnybara gaser såsom biogas. Myndigheten har samtidigt fått i uppdrag att utveckla en sektorsövergripande biogasstrategi och föreslå åtgärder som på kort och lång sikt kan bidra till ökad användning av biogas. Denna strategi ska också tjäna som ett underlag för fördelning av olika former av stöd inom sektorn. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att sammanställa information som kan bidra som underlag vid upprättandet av den sektorsövergripande biogasstrategin. Ett annat syfte är att bidra med underlag för Energimyndighetens bedömning av var ett investeringsstöd kan ge störst effekt för den fortsatta utvecklingen inom biogasområdet. Detta stöd avser den senaste, ovan nämnda, utlysning som Energimyndigheten gjort inom området. Examensrapporten innehåller bland annat en sammanställning av gjorda insatser inom forskningsområdet biogas de senaste åren, finansierat av framför allt Energimyndigheten, men även en inblick i vilka biogassatsningar som är gjorda av andra nationella aktörer. Ett antal personer från bland annat branschorganisationer har intervjuats för att ta del av deras syn på den framtida biogasmarknaden, vilka satsningar som bör göras och vilka hinder som har störst inverkan. Organisationerna är valda utifrån kriteriet att de ska representera olika delar av biogasbranschen och att olika synvinklar därigenom ska framkomma. Rapporten innehåller slutsatser som dragits av tidigare biogassatsningar hos Energimyndigheten och identifiering av biogasområden där det föreligger stort behov av framtida satsningar för utökad produktion, distribution och användning.  Ett område som i detta examensarbete har identifierats ha stort behov av framtida biogassatsningar är bland annat framtagande av alternativa rötningssubstrat, eftersom mängden tillgängligt substrat nuläget inte är tillräcklig. Detta utgör idag en begränsning för biogasproduktionen. Det bör även satsas mer på förbehandling av substrat innan rötning, vilket ökar gasproduktionen och förbättrar substratutnyttjandet i större utsträckning. Mer satsningar behövs också kring hur biogasprocessens slutprodukt, rötresten, kan bli en mer attraktiv produkt så att återcirkulering av växtnäring kan ske i större grad genom rötrestspridning på åkermark. Detta är av stor vikt eftersom en ökad volym rötningssubstrat ger upphov till större mängd rötrester som ska hanteras. Andra områden som är i behov av framtida stöd är utveckling av befintliga anläggningar för att öka och effektivisera produktionen. För att optimera processerna bör framför allt mer medel satsas på kunskapsuppbyggnad och spridning av den vetenskap som finns tillgänglig. Att länka samman universitet, högskolor och naturbruksgymnasium med anläggningar i drift kan vara det mest effektiva sättet att nå ut med relevant information och kunskap. Ur ett samhällsekonomiskt perspektiv bör mer medel läggas på att öka gödselrötning då detta minskar metanläckage. / Swedish Energy Agency has been allocated SEK 100 million from the government to distribute as investment grant to promote efficient and expanded production, distribution and use of renewable gases such as biogas. The Agency has also been given the task to develop a multidisciplinary strategy for biogas and propose measures which can contribute to increased use of biogas in the short and long term. This strategy will also serve as a basis for the allocation of various forms of support in the biogas sector.  The purpose of this study is to compile information which can be used as input for the establishment of the multidisciplinary strategy for biogas. Another purpose is to provide information to support the Swedish Energy Agency in the assessment of which areas an investment grant will have the greatest impact for the future development of biogas. This grant refers to the latest call of Swedish Energy Agency in the sector. This report includes a summary of what areas grants have been given for research of biogas in recent years, mainly financed by the Swedish Energy Agency, but also an insight into efforts made by other national operators. A number of people from professional biogas organizations have been interviewed to share their views on the future biogas market. Which efforts should be made and the main obstacles to be overcome are other questions discussed. The report contains conclusions from the experience of previous support from the Swedish Energy Agency as well as identification of areas in which there is great need for future efforts in order to expand the production, distribution and use of biogas. Some areas which have been identified in this thesis for need of future efforts in the biogas sector is for example the development of alternative substrates for anaerobic digestion, because the amount of available substrate is at present not sufficient. This is currently a limitation for the biogas production. There is also a need to further develop the pre-treatment of the substrate before digestion, in order to increase the gas production and improve substrate utilization to a greater extent. More focus are also needed on how the end product from the biogas process, the digestion residues, can become a more attractive product to the recycling of plant nutrients by use as a bio fertilizer on farmland. This is of great importance because larger volume of digestion will result in greater volume of digestion residues to be managed. Other areas in need of future investments are the development of existing facilities to increase and optimize the production. In order to optimize the production processes, more resources should be devoted to capacity building and dissemination of the available knowledge. Linking universities and colleges together with operating biogas plants could be the most effective way to reach out with relevant information and knowledge. From a socioeconomic perspective more resources should be spent on increasing the volume of manure digestion then it is today, which also will result in reduced methane leaks.

No description available.

Industrial production of cellulose is an energy intensive process. Businesses aim to utilized as much input energy, materials as possible while minimizing the waste as well. In addition to the main product – cellulose and large amounts of organically polluted water which is subsequently treated in waste water treatment plants. This PhD thesis deals with formation of suitable mixing formula for sludge from cellulose production and available materials (waste) from close neighborhood of Biocel Paskov a.s. so that well balanced cofermentation products are achieved. This mainly involves grass from lawn maintenance, grass ensilage, potato peels, and leftovers from vegetable processing. Fermentation processes (both mesophilic and thermophilic) of prepared fermentation products were conducted in semi-continuous and continuous laboratory fermentation units. Reduction of organic mass depending on residence time was closely observed as well as production and quality of biogas along with quality of output digestate. Course of process behaviour under controlled pH was tested. Results of particular tests were integrated into graphs. Conclusion of the thesis presents balance scheme drawn for selected variants, and design of real fermentation station with individual buildings, operations, basic machinery and equipment description including investment costs. Financial calculation and expected investment return was conducted in two variants – without subsidies and including subsidies from Operational Programme Renewable Sources of Energy.

No description available.

Strategies to harness the energy from organic waste is gaining importance on a global scale, especially in countries with large quantities of it. In this paper, a techno-economic analysisand a field study were performed to investigate the feasibility of five scenarios for a conceptual biogas facility, based on a case study from Colombia. The plant designs involved anaerobic digestion followed by different combinations of biogas upgrading, combined heat and power and/or steam methane reforming technologies and investigated four different feedstocks. The results demonstrated that the road infrastructure leading to the current proposed site is inadequate, and a new location should be found. Anaerobic digestion alone was most profitable with the shortest payback period. Organic Municipal Solid Waste and Poultry Manure produced high techno-economic potential depending on the scenario. The production of hydrogen using anaerobic digestion, steam methane reforming and combined heat and power with or without upgrading is not recommended due to the current market prices and high heat consumption. However, it can be profitable to implement green energy initiatives as a strategy to establish and lead future energy markets.

The low electrification rates and lack of access to energy services are some of the main challenges of the Tanzanian energy system. However, increasing access to power and other energy services would lead to an increase in the energy demand, which the Tanzanian energy system will not be able to meet. Therefore, new solutions are needed to increase access to modern and affordable energy services that facilitate economic and social development, but in a way that is also sustainable. One promising solution seems to be the use of the abundant agricultural residues to produce energy, which could be particularly relevant for rural areas without access to the national grid. Further, the Tanzanian sisal industry has a challenge in addressing the emissions from sisal processing. Each year, the national industry produces approximately one million ton of Sisal Decortication Residue (SDR), causing local eutrophication as well as emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The solution under study in this thesis is the potential use of the residue generated at a sisal estate in the region of Tanga (Tanzania), to generate biogas, which could potentially produce electricity and heat when fed into a CHP unit. The AD process also reduces the negative environmental impact of the waste. Given the substantial amounts of sisal waste produced at the estate every day, the project aims at providing a solution that will benefit the owner of the estate, the environment and the local communities. It was found that the potential for biogas production is close to 1,200,000 m3 per year. In a CHP unit, this amount of gas would produce around 2,340 MWh of electricity and over 4,160 MWh of heat per year. The different potential applications for the biogas and products are presented and analysed in the local context. The results of the study suggest that the solution that would provide higher benefits from an economic, social, and environmental perspective is to supply part of the biogas to the surrounding villages for its use as a cooking fuel and fed the remaining electricity into the national grid. For this application it was found that the NPV of the project at the end of its lifetime is close to 1,580,000 USD, and the investment would be recovered in less than 9 years. At the same time, the use of biogas as cooking fuel would significantly benefit the households and the environment, by reducing the serious health and environmental problems derived from the processing of traditional biomass resources. / Bristande tillgång till energitjänster är en av de största utmaningarna för energisystemet i Tanzania. Men förbättrad tillgång till energitjänster kommer att leda till en snabb ökning av energibehov i landet, som det tanzaniska energisystemet inte kan hantera. En möjlig lösning kan vara att använder de rikliga jordbruksavfall för energiändamål, särskilt i landsbygdsområdena som saknar tillträde till det nationella elnätet. Denna rapport studerar möjligheterna att använda avfallet från produktion av sisalfiber (vanligtvis kallade Sisal Decortication Residue, SDR) som genererats vid en egendom i regionen Tanga (Tanzania) för att generera biogas, som också kunna producera el och värme i kraftvärmevek. Med tanke på den betydande mängd avfall som producera varje dag, är målet för projektet att hitta en lösning som egendomens ägare, miljön och lokala samhällen kan dra nytta av. Det potentiella utbytet av biogas med dagens produktionsvolym är ca 1,200,00 m3 per år. Detta motsvarar ca 2,340 MWh el samt 4,160 MWh värme per år. Olika potentiella tillämpningar för biogasen och biprodukterna har analyserad och jämförd för gällande lokala förutsättningar. Resultaten av studien tyder på att lösningen för att maximera sociala, ekonomiska och miljömässiga fördelar är att leverera en del av den biogas som framställs till de omgivande byarna för dess användning som bränsle för matlagning. Resten av elen ska tillföras elnätet. Plantagen köper sedan den el som krävs för den egna produktionen. Resultaten uppgå till ett positivt nettonuvärde (NPV) på omkring 1 580 000 USD och en återbetalningsperiod som är kortare än 9 år. Samtidigt skulle hushåll och miljön få fördelar av den biogasen genom att undvika de alvarliga problemer som hänger samman med traditionella biobränslen.

Curitiba is a city of two million inhabitants located in the South of Brazil. It is a pioneer in waste management in the country, and is famous for its programs promoting recycling and organic waste collection. The city is now willing to take waste management one step further by investigating new solutions to treat and recover energy from organic municipal solid waste. This report is the fruit of a collaboration between two departments of the municipality of Curitiba, four local universities, the Swedish environment protection agency and the Royal Institute of Technology – KTH. The purpose of this report is to assess the potential for the development of anaerobic digestion as a solution to treat the organic municipal solid waste generated in Curitiba. The report offers an overview of the current waste treatment and of the main sources of organic waste in Curitiba. The annual amount of organic waste generated in the city is estimated to 144,350 tons, of which 913 tons come from food markets supervised by SMAB, the secretary of food supply. Three different scenarios, corresponding to three ranges of waste sources, have been considered. In the first one, the organic wastes generated by one of the two public markets of Curitiba are treated on-site. In the second one, all the organic wastes from food markets, street markets and popular restaurants are treated together in a medium-scale anaerobic digester. In the third one, all the sources of organic municipal solid waste identified in Curitiba are considered, including residential, institutional and small commercial waste. The annual methane production is estimated to 5,400 m3, 86,000 m3 and 12,600,000 m3 respectively for the three scenarios. In the last two scenarios, the methane could be converted into electricity, resulting in an annual electricity production of 257 MWh and 37,600 MWh. The first scenario does not consider a post-treatment of the digestate remaining at the end of the digestion. Between 46 and 50 tons of digestate could be used as a liquid fertilizer on-site and the surplus could be sold. For the two other scenarios, the digestate would be dewatered and composted to be sold as a dry fertilizer. The dry fertilizer production is estimated to 386 tons and 63,000 tons respectively every year. Each of the scenario considered would be financially viable, with a discounted payback period varying from 8 months for the small-scale scenario, to over 15 years for the second scenario. The third scenario would be the most lucrative, with a net present value of about 150 million reals. / Curitiba i Södra Brasilien är en stad med två miljoner invånare som har positionerat sig som pionjär inom avfallshantering. Staden är känd i landet med sin främjande strategi för återvinning och organisk avfallshantering. Curitiba planerar att undersöka och experimentera med nya metoder för behandling av avfall kombinerad med energiåtervinning från kommunalt organiskt avfall. Denna rapport är resultat av ett samarbete mellan två avdelningar inom Curitibas kommun, fyra lokala universitet, Sveriges miljöskyddsmyndighet och den Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan. Syftet med denna rapport är att utvärdera den potentialen som den anaeroba nedbrytningen har som medel för behandling av det kommunala fasta avfallet som genereras i Curitiba. Rapporten går även igenom hur avfallshanteringen ser ut i staden i dagsläget samt sammanfattar de största källorna för organiskt avfall i Curitiba. Den årliga mängden organiskt avfall som produceras i staden uppskattas till 144 350 ton, varav 913 ton kommer från livsmedelsaktiviteter som övervakas av det brasilianska livsmedelsverket SMAB. Tre olika scenarier representeras i denna rapport och omfattar tre områden av avfallskällor. I det första scenariot behandlas det organiska avfallet som genereras av en av de två köpmarknaderna i Staden direkt på plats. I det andra behandlas allt organiskt avfall från livsmedelsmarknader, gatumarknader och populära restauranger tillsammans i en medelstor anaerob kokare. I det tredje beaktas alla källor till organiskt kommunalt avfall som identifierats i Curitiba, inklusive bostads-, institutionellt och litet kommersiellt avfall. Den årliga metanproduktionen uppskattas till 5 400 m3, 86 000 m3 respektive 12 600 000 m3 för de tre scenarierna. I det andra och tredje scenariot kunde metan omvandlas till el, vilket resulterade i en årlig elproduktion på 257 MWh respektive 37 600 MWh. I det första scenariot anses inte en efterbehandling av digestatet kvar vid slutet av matsmältningen. Mellan 46 och 50 ton digestat kan användas som flytande gödselmedel på plats och överskottet kan säljas. För de två andra scenarierna skulle digestatet avvattnas och komposteras för att senare säljas som torr gödsel vars produktion beräknas uppgå till 386 ton respektive 63 000 ton varje år. Alla tre scenario som presenteras i denna rapport anses vara ekonomiskt genomförbara med en diskonterad återbetalningstid som varierar mellan 8 månader för det första scenariot till över 15 år för det andra scenariot. Det tredje scenariot anses vara det mest lukrativa med ett nuvärde på ca 150 miljoner realer.

<p dir="ltr">Improving environmental sustainability in energy production and waste management are of critical importance. Anaerobic digestion (AD) uses microbes to biologically decompose organic waste and produce biogas, which can be used for various forms of sustainable energy. It can be particularly valuable for livestock facilities considering AD of their manure, and potentially other feedstocks as well, a process known as co-digestion. Improved understanding of co-digestion of agro-industrial feedstocks is critical for these facilities. Understanding the macromolecular composition (carbohydrate, protein, and lipid portions) of potential AD feedstocks has the potential to provide important information for predicting important parameters of AD behavior. However, the stability of these macromolecules in AD samples during long-term storage must be confirmed. Furthermore, synergistic and antagonistic impacts of co-digestion on methane production and digestate composition need to be more thoroughly explored.</p><p dir="ltr">This dissertation investigates the impact of storage at refrigeration temperatures (4°C) for up to one-year on the macromolecular composition of various agro-industrial feedstocks (beef manure, starch, slaughterhouse waste, soap stock, and filter press slurry) and anaerobic co-digestion samples. These same feedstocks were co-digested with manure in batch digesters at different proportions, using two or three feedstocks to determine possible synergistic effects.</p><p dir="ltr">The findings show that minimal macromolecular degradation occurred in AD samples during storage at refrigeration temperatures for up to one-year. A major exception was samples containing high concentrations of readily biodegradable starches, which did experience >50% carbohydrate degradation. This indicates a need for methodological rigor during sample storage and reporting experimental design.</p><p dir="ltr">Furthermore, the co-digestion experiments demonstrated frequent improvements or synergy in specific methane yield, methane production rate, and a wide variety of physical and chemical parameters in the digester effluent. Specific methane yield was shown to be at least additive, with improvement ranging from 3-168%. Some improvements in kinetic performance were also observed and quantified. Statistical results suggest that influent characteristics could be useful as predictors for methane production. This research could catalyze additional work needed to optimize co-digestion feeding strategies for full-scale digesters.</p>

<p>Biodegradation of untreated cotton, linen, and hemp textiles as three substrates – measured through biogas production – was studied to compare digestion yield and the ability of anaerobic sludge as inoculum to utilize the sugars in these textiles without pretreatment. Digestion of these textile substrates was carried out over a 26-day study, with daily sampling of biogas production, to measure biogas production rate and accumulation. The flasks were maintained at 37 °C and 150 RPM with a substrate to inoculum ratio (SIR) of 0.5 g sugars from substrate g-1 VSinoculum from anaerobic sludge. Biogas samples were analyzed through gas chromatography (GC) to determine general biogas composition produced by each textile. Biogas production was notable after the four-day mark; with first peaks occurring on day five (hemp, cellulose), day seven (cotton), and day nine (linen). Production of biogas in the control largely outperformed trials with no added substrate, but overall the methane fractions of the gas was lower than expected, indicating that pretreatment is likely necessary for more complete biodegradation of natural textiles. </p>