Methane losses from different biogas plant technologiesShow others and affiliations
2023 (English)In: Waste Management, ISSN 0956-053X, E-ISSN 1879-2456, Vol. 157, p. 110-120Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Biogas and biomethane production can play an important role in a fossil-fuel-free energy supply, provided that process-related methane (CH4) losses are minimized. Addressing the lack of representative emission data, this study aims to provide component specific CH4 emission factors (EFs) for various biogas plant technologies, enabling more accurate emission estimates for the biogas sector and supporting the identification of low emission technologies. Four measurement teams investigated 33 biogas plants in Austria, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland including mainly agricultural and biowaste treating facilities. For the first time, a harmonized measurement procedure was used to systematically survey individual on-site emission sources and leakages. Measurements revealed a large variability in technology specific emissions, especially for biogas utilization and upgrading. Median loss from combined heat and power (CHP) plants was 1.6 % for gas engines (n = 21), and 3.0 % for pilot injection units (n = 3) of the input CH4. Biogas upgrading units showed median CH4 slips of < 0.1 % (chemical scrubbers, n = 4), 0.1 % (after exhaust gas treatment, n = 3) and 2.9 % (water scrubbers, n = 2). Not-gastight digestate storage (n = 8) was identified as a major emission source with maximum 5.6 % of the produced CH4 emitted. Individual leakages (n = 37) released between 0.0 and 2.1 % (median 0.1 %) relative to the CH4 production. All measurement and secondary data are provided in a harmonized dataset (294 datapoints). A review of IPCC default EFs indicate an underestimation of emissions from biogas utilization (reported in the energy sector) while the impact of leakages on overall plant emissions (waste sector) may be overestimated for European biogas plants. © 2022 The Authors
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier Ltd , 2023. Vol. 157, p. 110-120
Keywords [en]
Anaerobic digestion, Biogas production, Greenhouse gases, Methane emission factors, On-site measurements, Biogas, Cogeneration plants, Digital storage, Fossil fuels, Free energy, Gas plants, Methane, Biogas plants, CH 4, Emission factors, Emission sources, Greenhouses gas, Methane emission factor, Methane emissions, On-site measurement, Plant technologies
National Category
Energy Engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-62359DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2022.12.012Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85144385621OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ri-62359DiVA, id: diva2:1730257
Note
Funding details: Klima- und Energiefonds, 863534; Funding details: Bundesministerium für Klimaschutz, Umwelt, Energie, Mobilität, Innovation und Technologie; Funding details: Fonds National de la Recherche Luxembourg, FNR, 22408017, FKZ 22407917; Funding details: Energimyndigheten, 45492-1; Funding details: Bundesamt für Energie, UFE, 17.0083, PJ/R035-0703, SI/501679-01; Funding details: Universität für Bodenkultur Wien, BOKU; Funding details: Svenskt Vatten, SWWA; Funding text 1: This work was funded within the 11th ERA-NET Bioenergy Joint Call/1st add. Call of BESTF3 (project title: “EvEmBi: Evaluation and reduction of CH4 emissions from different European biogas plant concepts”) by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture Germany via Agency for Renewable Resources e. V. (FNR) [project number: FKZ 22407917; 22408017], the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation, and Technology Austria via the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund [project number 863534], the Swedish Energy Agency [project number 45492-1] and the Swiss Federal Office of Energy [SI/501679-01;17.0083.PJ/R035-0703]. Special thanks go to the national biogas and waste water associations Kompost & Biogas Verband Österreich (KBVÖ), Fachverband Biogas (FvB), Avfall Sverige, Svenskt Vatten as well as to the European biogas association (EBA) for engaging biogas plant operators and in particular for enabling effective communication of research results to operators and industry. We thank Reinhold Ottner, Katharina Meixner, Lukas Knoll, Lisa Bauer and Daniel Bäckström for their support during the measurement campaigns. Furthermore, our thanks go to all biogas plant operators for the participation in the project and the provision of data. Open access funding was provided by the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU).; Funding text 2: This work was funded within the 11 th ERA-NET Bioenergy Joint Call/1 st add. Call of BESTF3 (project title: “EvEmBi: Evaluation and reduction of CH 4 emissions from different European biogas plant concepts”) by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture Germany via Agency for Renewable Resources e. V. (FNR) [project number: FKZ 22407917; 22408017], the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation, and Technology Austria via the Austrian Climate and Energy Fund [project number 863534], the Swedish Energy Agency [project number 45492-1] and the Swiss Federal Office of Energy [SI/501679-01;17.0083.PJ/R035-0703]. Special thanks go to the national biogas and waste water associations Kompost & Biogas Verband Österreich (KBVÖ), Fachverband Biogas (FvB), Avfall Sverige, Svenskt Vatten as well as to the European biogas association (EBA) for engaging biogas plant operators and in particular for enabling effective communication of research results to operators and industry. We thank Reinhold Ottner, Katharina Meixner, Lukas Knoll, Lisa Bauer and Daniel Bäckström for their support during the measurement campaigns. Furthermore, our thanks go to all biogas plant operators for the participation in the project and the provision of data. Open access funding was provided by the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU).
2023-01-242023-01-242023-01-24Bibliographically approved