LAPSE:2020.0292
Published Article
LAPSE:2020.0292
Anaerobic Digestate Treatment Selection Model for Biogas Plant Costs and Emissions Reduction
Dinko Đurđević, Ivona Hulenić
March 12, 2020
Agriculture is one of the leading sectors on the global level contributing to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions increase. With the utilization of biogas production technology within the agriculture sector, ecological benefits could be achieved, with immediate economic profit. Therefore, to retain economic profit and environmental sustainability, implementation of bioeconomy principles is of key importance. This paper examines four options of digestate treatment, which is identified as one of the highest operational cost for the biogas plant. A simple and robust model in Excel Solver was developed to determine the best solution for minimising GHG emissions and maximise profit for the biogas plant operator, through an upgrade of the plant with digestate treatment technologies. The model was implemented on a case of a Croatian biogas plant and the best solution in terms of GHG reduction and profit increase proved to be fertilizer production (Option 1), through a crystallization process of struvite within the digestate. This option obtains a significant reduction in GHG emissions compared to standard biogas production without additional upgrades (Option 4), by over 90%, and increase of profit for the biogas plant operator, which diversifies the income source and creates multiple positive impacts on the environment.
Keywords
biogas, decision support system model, economic sustainability, GHG mitigation, waste management
Suggested Citation
Đurđević D, Hulenić I. Anaerobic Digestate Treatment Selection Model for Biogas Plant Costs and Emissions Reduction. (2020). LAPSE:2020.0292
Author Affiliations
Đurđević D: Department for Renewable Energy Sources, Energy Efficiency, Environment and Climate Protection, Energy Institute Hrvoje Požar, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia [ORCID]
Hulenić I: Department for Renewable Energy Sources, Energy Efficiency, Environment and Climate Protection, Energy Institute Hrvoje Požar, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
Journal Name
Processes
Volume
8
Issue
2
Article Number
E142
Year
2020
Publication Date
2020-01-22
Published Version
ISSN
2227-9717
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Original Submission
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PII: pr8020142, Publication Type: Journal Article
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LAPSE:2020.0292
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doi:10.3390/pr8020142
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Mar 12, 2020
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CC BY 4.0
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Mar 12, 2020
 
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Mar 12, 2020
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Original Submitter
Calvin Tsay
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