Biogas and fatty acids produced from agricultural biomasses for industrial use.

The Swedish Industrial Biogas Commission is calling for 10 TWh of biogas/year (via digestion and gasification; by 2030). Current production is about 2 TWh/year, mainly from waste and sludge. The supply of organic waste is not sufficient to produce the required biogas.Agriculture has significant amounts of residual biomass that can be digested (mainly manure and straw). With this fact taken into account, this project report also assumesthat smaller parts of the arable land can be used for growing nitrogen-fixing grass/clover ley for biogas production, perhaps in combination with the production of protein feed for agriculture and fatty acids for industry in a biorefinery concept.It is possible to use manure, straw and ley with smaller amounts of waste in the western part of Sweden (Västra Götaland, Skåne and Halland) to produce 3.5 to 5 TWh of biogas/year in large biogas plants (approx. 100 GWh/plant and year) for use in industry. Co-production of fatty acids and biogas is also possible, e.g. at least 16 plants are needed to cover identified industrial needs.There are good opportunities for Bio-CCS, partly at the biogas plant, when biogas becomes biomethane, and partly in the industry where biomethane is used. Negative emissions possible, corresponding reduction of climate gases when biomethane replaces natural gas (5 TWh biomethane with CCS can reduce CO₂ emissions by about ¾ for the chemical and refinery industry segment). CO2 can also be used for production of emethane (Bio-CCU), but electricity shortages are a likely bottleneck.The price of natural gas (including tax) compared to biogas with existing subsidies is estimated to be relatively similar. The current subsidy system is directed towards manure digestion, which only produces about 1/5 of the potential biogas from agricultural biomass, which is why subsidies need to be modified to produce the biogas in demand. Fatty acids can also be produced using primarily pasture and waste via a biological process at a similar price level as today's fossil-based production method.A future investment in building biorefineries, which generate renewable commodities can be one solution for the industrial green transition, with agricultural biomasses, but this can also contribute to the green transition of the agriculture. Difficulties with the studied system is that it is large with many actors, significant investment is needed to be realized, and clear incentives are needed to become an actor in the system also includingthe farmers, and there are technical and biological uncertainties in function. A clear question is who is prepared to take the lead in realizing this?

From plot to commercial - collaboration for an upscaling of Swedish protein crops To address the challenges of climate change and global population growth, we are exploring sustainable alternatives to current protein production systems. One such alternative is to increase the production of alternative protein crops such as lentils, sweet lupins, and chickpeas. Currently, the cultivation of these crops for food purposes is mostly small-scale in Sweden, and there is a need to expand both cultivation and processing at a larger scale. This project examined the measures required to establish full-scale production of alternative protein crops in Sweden, with the goal of meeting the growing demand for Swedish plant-based proteins. The project delivered recommendations for cultivation and drying to support the scaling up of lentils, sweet lupins, and chickpeas. A group of researchers, farmers, advisors, and food producers collaborated to develop several parts of the value chain.

The agricultural industry plays a crucial role in transitioning towards a sustainable and fossil-free future. This article explores the potential of biorefineries using biomass from agriculture to reduce emissions and promote self sufficiency. Regarding a concept that integrated anaerobic digestion, grass and legume protein production, and hydrothermal liquefaction. A case study was conducted in the southwestern part of Sweden, involving interviews with a biogas plant and local farmers. The study analyzed the utilization of input goods in agriculture and evaluated the potential of biomass in the area. To assess the potential for farms to become self-sufficient in fuel, protein feed, and plant nutrients. The results show an overall positive outlook of the biorefinery concept. By utilizing 20% of the available biomass in the area can the biorefinery concept annually produce 100 GWh of biogas, 3800 tonnes of grass and legume protein concentrate and 1200 GWh bio-oil. This could theoretically cover 100 % of the need of soy meal, 44% for nitrogen, 50% for phosphorus and 100% for potassium.

Agricultural Biorefinery - combining local and regional scale In order to achieve Sweden's sustainability goals and an increased degree of self-sufficiency, our resources need to be used in an innovative way. Resources that today are classified as residual streams can be used in a smarter way to produce the future's food, feed, fuel and energy. There is a great potential in utilizing agricultural biomasses. In the project, the potential of agriculture to supply ILUC-free feedstock to a local and regional biorefinery concept was calculated and the system was evaluated through mass and energy flow calculations, cost calculations and case descriptions on Vårgårda Herrljunga Biogas Plant (VH Biogas). In addition, practical tests were carried out on bio-oil production from dewatered digestate from participating biogas plants. Quantifications were also carried out of how the concept contributes to more resource-efficient crop cultivation with maintained humus content in soil despite increased removal of biomass from the farm. ...

The interest for growing grass seed is increasing in Sweden, and there is a potential from several foreign seed companies that would like to establish contacts with growers. Thus, the Swedish growth of grass seed is small compared to other countries in Europe. Growing grass seed is an economical unsure crop, the yield is much controlled by pollination and weather during harvest, as well as access to technical equipment during harvest, drying and storage. One important thing to a successful growth is to reduce losses during harvest. White clover grows low (only 10-15 cm high) and is therefore hard to put up on the header without losses. According to studies as much as 30% of the biological yield can be lost thru wrong settings of combine during harvest. Also, the germination of the seed can be lost due to hard treatment in the combine. Special equipment for grass seed growth is often expensive and is not always a profitable affair for the farmer. Here there are opportunities for improvements of existing techniques. This study aimed to raise profitability for the growth of white clover (Trifolium repens), primary by reducing losses during harvest. The goal was to develop performance enhancing solutions for a traditional combine reel, while at the same time facilitating the driver´s work to create even input in the combine. 4 different alternatives were tested during field trial in the summer of 2020. The results show that a specially designed pickup header gave the lowest losses during racking up white clover. Thus, it had the highest contents of soil minerals in tested seeds. The tested modifications of a traditional reel, reducing rod distance to 6 cm and to replace the rods with a brush, unfortunately did not had the desired effects. For both these alternatives the losses from the header and the losses behind the combine were higher than for a traditional header with rod spacing 12 cm. The brush mounted, with the aim to softly rake the crop up on the header where to soft and were bended, and the desired effect were not achieved.

Traditionally, tractors have been built either for tracks or wheels, with tracks mainly on heavy tractors with high power. Today, it is possible to retrofit four separate track units on a conventional agricultural tractor, creating interesting possibilities for agriculture. The objective of the present study was to compare soil compaction and traction for tracks, single and dual wheels mounted on the same tractor type. Measurements were made on two clay soils (Eutric Cambisols) in Sweden in 2009, using an 85kW tractor with a total weight of 7700kg. The rubber track system consisted of four tracks mounted on the conventional wheel axles of the tractor. The measured stresses were similar for the tracks and dual wheels at all depths studied (15, 30 and 50cm), but were considerably higher for the single wheels at all depths. Simulations of soil stresses correlated closely to measured values for the tracks and the dual wheels, but underestimated soil stresses in the topsoil compared to measured values for the single wheel. Bulk density and penetration resistance were consistently highest and saturated hydraulic conductivity lowest after wheeling with single wheels, while there were no statistically significant differences between tracks and dual wheels. With single wheels and the tractor loaded, saturated hydraulic conductivity decreased to 0.01mh-1 from 0.13mh-1 in the control, while bulk density increased from 1.24 to 1.36Mgm-3. The stress distribution in the driving direction was relatively even along the front and rear tracks, which is an advantage compared with a long single track, which often has an uneven longitudinal stress distribution. Slip was significantly higher for the dual and single wheels compared with tracks. To utilise the large contact area of the tracks, the tractor should have a low weight in relation to the engine power. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.