This thesis has investigated the effects of running the two full scale biogas digesters at Slottshagen wastewater treatment plant at 34 °C compared to 37 °C, in terms of process stability, biogas production and energy savings with the aim of saving energy and money by not heating the digesters as much. The main objective was to investigate whether it is at all possible to operate the biogas process at 34 °C or if the process becomes inhibited or otherwise unstable. If the process could be operated at 34 °C it might mean savings of both energy and money, provided that there is still a sufficient production of biogas.The experiment lasted for three months and investigated the short-term effects of the reduction of temperature. The process was monitored closely, and samples from the reactors were collected and analysed twice a week to ensure the stability of the biogas process. Several parameters were monitored online, the biogas production and methane content amongst others. Other parameters were calculated, such as the degree of degradation and specific methane production. This was done to ensure process stability and a sufficient production of biogas. The energy balance was calculated to evaluate if energy was saved by lowering the temperature in the digesters.The results show that the biogas process does remain stable at 34 °C while still producing a satisfactory amount of biogas during the short time of the experiment. Calculations show that both energy and money has been saved during the experiment. However, the system is largely dependent on seasonal variations, therefore further studies over a longer time period would be desirable. During the course of the thesis it has also become evident that the biogas process at Slottshagen is irregular in several aspects, and that it would be beneficial to even the process out, especially with regards to the hydraulic retention time. Making the process more even would enable further improvements to be made and simplify interpretations and comparisons of processstability data.

The City of Stockholm’s energy and climate goals are analyzed and projected in several scenarios. Using the year 2015 as the baseline year, a database covering the energy performance and fuel use within the City is created. This starting point is used to project the performance of the City until the year 2050. The projection is made with the use of scenarios and the simulation software LEAP by formulating scenarios that combine ongoing, planned and conceivable measures. All these scenarios aim to the reduction of emissions with the long term aim to set the City of Stockholm a fossil fuel free city by 2050. Various paths can be followed towards that goal and these are analyzed and classified based on cost and applicability. According to the simulation of scenarios, the immediate action and the long-term planning are shown to play an essential role in achieving the City’s goals. In addition, the significance of policy, the behavioral aspect and the continuous gradual development are found to be three basic pillars towards the target that the City has set. Specifically, the City should focus on energy efficiency in both generation and utilization. Available technology can help to this direction at an affordable cost and with remarkable potential. However, in order to achieve the target of an entirely fossil fuel free city by the year 2050, the City of Stockholm needs to support a shift of transportation modes towards public transport. Currently, the transportation sector has a low share of clean fuels and is likely going to be the most challenging sector to affect. Among the challenges in the transportation sector comes the fact that there is always a given risk when trying to introduce a new dominant fuel, based on assumptions of future car fleets and volatility of markets. Biofuels may for instance lead to a shortage in the market with higher biofuel and food prices as a result while changing the entire vehicle fleet takes 20 years on average. The best possible scenario does demonstrate one possible path toward a fossil fuel free City of Stockholm 2050 by taking a number of aggressive actions. This does not account for possible new technologies nor changes in the economy at large.

Biogas är ett förnybart bränsle, och intresset för detta bränsle ökar runt om i världen. För att kunna använda biogas som fordonsbränsle måste biogasen uppgraderas innan användning. Koldioxid och andra föroreningar skiljs av, så att metanhalten i den råa biogasen höjs och gasen kan användas i motorer. Flera olika reningstekniker finns, men detta arbete fokuserar på vattenskrubbning. Arbetet syftar till att undersöka den optimala metanhalten i biogasen med hänsyn till nettoenergin och livslängden för de motorer som används. Undersökningen fokuserar på reningsprocessen i biogasproduktionen på små och mellanstora gårdar. Arbetet utfördes genom att ställa upp en energibalans över komponenterna i biogasproduktionen. Energibalansen användes för att skapa en matematisk modell av anläggningen, och beräkningarna gjordes med datorprogrammet Matlab. Den optimala metanhalten för biogasen beräknades till kring 80 % (78 – 83 %) vilket är lägre än den gräns på 85 % som rekommenderas av andra källor. Reningsanläggningens eget energibehov befanns motsvara 2,5 – 8,6 % av biogasens energiinnehåll, beroende på om högtryckskompression används eller inte. Dessa värden har god överensstämmelse med tidigare forskning. Den beräknade metanhalten är inte så låg så att motorernas livslängd förkortas nämnvärt, men det finns en risk för misständningar som kan ge skador på katalysatorn. Eftersom den beräknade metanhalten är lägre än 85 % är det lämpligt att genomföra ytterligare tester för att avgöra om gasen är lämplig som fordonsbränsle. Resultaten påverkas kraftigt av motorns verkningsgrad, vilket också är ett relevant ämne för framtida studier. / Biogas is a renewable fuel, and the demand for this particular fuel type is increasing around the world. In order to use biogas as a fuel for vehicles it must first be upgraded from its raw state. By separation of carbon dioxide and other impurities, the methane content in the raw biogas is increased so that the biogas can be used in engines. Several methods of purification exist, but this report mainly focuses on water scrubbing. This thesis aims to investigate the optimal methane content in biogas with respect to net energy and the lifespan of the engines that are being fueled with biogas. The focus of the report is on the purification process in biogas production for small to medium sized farms. The thesis is conducted by putting up an energy balance formula for the components in the biogas production system. This formula was used for creating a mathematical model of the system, and the calculations were made with the computer programme Matlab. The optimal methane content in the biogas was found to be around 80 % (78 – 83 %), which is less than the lower limit (85 %) that is recommended by other sources. The purification facility’s own energy demand corresponds to 2,5 – 8,6 % of the energy content in the biogas, depending on whether high pressure compression is used or not. These results are highly consistent with previous research. The methane content of the biogas does not reduce the lifespan of the engines notably, but there is a risk of ignition failures which could lead to damages in the catalyzer. Since the optimal methane content is lower than 85 %, it would be appropriate to test the biogas in order to analyze if it is suitable to be used as a fuel. The results are heavily influenced by the engine efficiency, which is also a relevant subject for future work.

Harvesting woody biomass for biofuel has become an important research topic. In Mississippi, feasibility of utilizing woody biomass for bioenergy lies in the willingness to harvest by non-industrial private forest (NIPF) landowners, who control 71% of forestlands. A mail survey of Mississippi NIPF landowners elicited preferences concerning utilizing logging residues for bioenergy. When presented with hypothetical situations that compared bioenergy utilization attributes along with those of standard harvesting practices, more landowners preferred the bioenergy scenarios, even when more money was offered for standard harvesting. Older landowners with larger landholdings were less likely to prefer bioenergy scenarios. Higher educated landowners who were financially motivated, concerned with climate change, and considered habitat management an important goal were more likely to prefer bioenergy scenarios over standard harvesting. Available markets for logging residues could increase NIPF harvest rates based solely on the different harvesting attributes, which should increase availability of feedstocks for producers.

This research presents a rail transportation cost analysis of bulk agricultural commodities (such as grain and wood chips) with similar characteristics as pre-processed biomass. This study analyzes the cost factors that affect rail pricing for shipments of bulk-commodities (such as grain) from the Midwest to various regions in the US using regression analysis theories. The rail cost equations developed from the regression analysis were used to compare the trade-offs that exist between truck, rail and barge transportation of pre-processed biomass.

To date only a limited number of studies have been done at the field level to observe the effects of agricultural management practices on carbon sequestration, water quality, and bioenergy crop yield in Mississippi. Therefore, the goals of this study were to monitor soil organic carbon (SOC) levels at the field scale and perform a comprehensive analysis of the potential environmental impacts at the watershed scale using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in two watersheds located in Mississippi. It was found that SOC levels generally are affected by depth, land use, and time. The SWAT models showed good performance overall and predicted that perennial grass production in the Town Creek watershed would render the most feedstock with the least environmental impact. The results of this study were consistent with the available literature, but a longer study period is recommended.

Accumulation of beach cast biomass on coastal zones around Gotland is an increasing problem that reduce the recreational value of beaches and cause environmental degradation of coastal environments. Beach cast was once regularly harvested on Gotland, as it was considered a valued biofertilizer, but as it seized to be used in combination with the eutrophication of the Baltic sea, beach cast accumulation has increased in scale. The use of beach cast as a resource for bioenergy and agriculture does not only provide important services that can replace the use of greenhouse gases and finite resources but can also mitigate eutrophication and increase the quality of coastal zones as nutrients are retrieved from the water. Macroalgae and seaweeds are hyperaccumulators of heavy metals which pose a challenge for the utilization of beach cast as a fertilizer. Especially cadmium, a heavy metal that is harmful for human consumption, is strictly regulated and limits the amount of beach cast that can be used for agriculture. This thesis has analysed the potential benefit of beach cast harvesting and three potential utilization strategies of beach cast; fertilizer to food crops, fertilizer to fast growing energy forest (Salix) and biogas production with digestate utilization. The result indicate that all strategies are possible and viable utilization strategies under certain conditions. Because of the complex and site specific factors that affect beach cast utilization, adapting strategies depending on the conditions and needs of the local coastal zones is required. Cadmium uptake is affected by a range of factors that can be controlled so that beach cast can provide nutrients and improve soil structure without contaminating the soil. Especially promising is the prospect of fertilizing Salix with beach cast as the cadmium absorption and growth rate of Salix enables large amounts of beach cast to be spread without risk for it accumulating in the soil. The cadmium contained within the Salix can later be removed from the environment entirely as it is collected from the ash when Salix is converted to bioenergy. Recent studies also indicate that food crops can be safely fertilized with beach cast without cadmium being transferred if specific crops are chosen. Cadmium uptake to crops can also be limited if specific beach cast with low cadmium content are used and if the beach cast is pre-composted with other substrates. Both for Salix and food crops its instead legal restraints on cadmium spreading that limits the use of beach cast. When abiding by the set cadmium restrictions, beach cast can only marginally supply the macronutrient requirement of the average food crop on Gotland. Biogas production and digestate utilization from beach cast provides many environmental benefits as clean renewable energy is generated that can replace fossil fuels and the nutrients contained in the digestate can be spread on arable land. From the conducted energy balance of the system on Gotland it was found that beach cast has theoretically good conditions to ferment beach cast. However, beach cast isn’t practically viable on Gotland because the substrate can’t compete financially with other available substrates and it requires costly pre-treatments. Regardless of which beach cast utilization strategy chosen, harvesting is concluded to have a positive effect on mitigating coastal eutrophication and beach and water quality. Although it cannot on its own mitigate a net nutrient loading to coastal zones in Gotland, harvesting easily available beach cast can reduce the nutrient loading to coastal zones on Gotland with up to 27 % and 4,5 % phosphorus and nitrogen respectively.

Forestry is one of Sweden’s largest natural resources and a largeand important foundation for the country’s economic stability.There is a significant opportunity to evaluate material efficiencyand values in the supply chain of industrialised wood-basedproducts. This thesis comprises on handling a spill-product of amodern wood-based building material: cross-laminated timber(CLT). With the aim to increase value of this spill product throughpractical design iteration, material exploration and theoreticalanalysis. The material exploration leads to a collection of furnitureand interior products which are evaluated based on commercialinterest and production feasibility.

Species in the genus Populus (poplars) have shown the potential to be utilized as short rotation woody crops for bioenergy production in the Southeast. A lack of knowledge on which poplar taxa perform best on marginal sites throughout the Southeast exists. Through measurement of relationships between growth metrics, water usage and physiological parameters of 2400 poplar trees, I was able to assess: 1) early rotation suitability of numerous poplar varietals to be grown as bioenergy feedstocks in northeast Mississippi, and 2) the effectiveness of early rotation physiological parameters in predicting future productivity and water usage. Overall findings from this study suggest that trees with D x M parentage may be best fit for large-scale plantation growth in the Southeast. They demonstrated low mortality and collectively grew the tallest of all taxa. Early-rotation physiology demonstrated mixed results in predicting future growth and water usage. Findings from this study will be used in future bioenergy feedstock selection.

To examine the effects of operational parameters on syn-gas quality and biouel conversion rate under various running conditions, an experimental study of hardwood chip?s gasification in a downdraft gasifier was conducted. The resulting syn-gas had average low heating value of 5.79 ± 0.52 MJ/ Nm3, tar concentration of 14.06 ± 8.54 mg/Nm³, particulate concentration of 3.05 ± 1.79 mg/Nm³, hardwood conversion rate of 2.37±0.24 Nm³/kg, and carbon conversion rate of 98.01 ± 0.53%. This syn-gas is of acceptable quality to be used as a fuel source for internal combustion engine operations. The gasifier?s grate temperature had no evident effects on syn-gas quality and conversion rate within a range of 740 to 817oC. The particulate contents in preiltered syn-gas significantly increased when the gas flow rate changed from 36 to 56 Nm3/h. When the moisture content of hardwood chips increased, tar content of postiltered syn-gas significantly increased, and CO content significantly decreased.