Bioenergy Production by Anaerobic Digestion: Using Agricultural Biomass and Organic Wastes

473 Pages·2013·2.86 MB·English

by  Nicholas Korres

Bioenergy Production by
Anaerobic Digestion
Interest in anaerobic digestion (AD), the process of energy production through the production
of biogas, has increased rapidly in recent years. It comes as the need to seek alternative
renewable energy sources to fossil fuels, as well as reduce landfill waste and greenhouse gases,
has accentuated. Agricultural and other organic waste are important substrates that can be
treated by AD.
This book is one of the first to provide a broad introduction to anaerobic digestion and
its potential to turn agricultural crops or crop residues, animal and other organic waste, into
biomethane. The substrates used can include any non-woody materials, including grass and
maize silage, seaweeds, municipal and industrial wastes. These are all systematically reviewed
in terms of their suitability from a biological, technical and economic perspective. In the past
the technical competence and high capital investment required for industrial-scale anaerobic
digesters has limited their uptake, but the authors show that recent advances have made
smaller-scale systems more viable through a greater understanding of optimising bacterial
metabolism and productivity. Broader issues such as life cycle assessment and energy policies
to promote AD are also discussed.
Nicholas E. Korres is a consultant in sustainable agriculture and biofuels/renewable energy.
Padraig O’Kiely works at Teagasc, the Irish Agricultural Authority, Ireland.
John A.H. Benzie is a Professor in the Environmental Research Institute at University
College Cork, Ireland.
Jonathan S. West is a senior scientist at Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, UK.
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Bioenergy Production by
Anaerobic Digestion
Using agricultural biomass
and organic wastes
Edited by Nicholas E. Korres,
Padraig O’Kiely, John A.H. Benzie
and Jonathan S. West
First published 2013
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2013 Nicholas E. Korres, Padraig O’Kiely, John A.H. Benzie and
Jonathan S. West selection and editorial material; individual chapters,
the contributors
The right of the editors to be identified as the authors of the editorial
material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been
asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or
other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying
and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bioenergy production by anaerobic digestion : using agricultural
biomass and organic wastes / edited by Nicholas E. Korres, Padraig
O’Kiely, John A.H. Benzie and Jonathan S. West.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Sewage – Purification – Anaerobic treatment. 2. Biogas.
3. Agricultural wastes as fuel. I. Korres, Nicholas E., editor of
compilation. II. O’Kiely, Padraig, editor of compilation. III. Benzie,
John A. H., editor of compilation. IV. West, Jon (Jon S.), editor of
compilation.
TD756.45.B54 2013
628´.746–dc23 2013006456
ISBN13: 978-0-415-69840-5 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-203-13769-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Goudy
by HWA Text and Data Management, London
A large part of this book was completed in a hospital room where, for the past 3 years, I was
keeping company to my mother Sophia Korres while she was fighting against her illness. I
dedicate this book to her memory because she taught me the value of hard and honest work
but above all how to pursue my dreams with dignity.
Nicholas E. Korres
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Contents
List of figures x
List of tables xiii
List of reviewers xvi
Preface xxi
Acknowledgements xxv
Acronyms and abbreviations xxvii
PART I
Legislation and energy policy 1
1 Sustainable agriculture and greenhouse gas emissions 3
JONATHAN S. WEST
2 Energy and agricultural policy in relation to biomethane, with particular
reference to the transport sector 8
BEATRICE SMYTH
3 Biomethane production with reference to land-use change 30
SURAJBHAN SEVDA, DEEPAK PANT AND ANOOP SINGH
PART II
Feedstocks 47
4 Grass and grass silage: agronomical characteristics and biogas production 49
JOSEPH MCENIRY, NICHOLAS E. KORRES AND PADRAIG O’KIELY
5 Maize and maize silage for biomethane production 66
MARKUS NEUREITER
6 Suitability of microalgae and seaweeds for biomethane production 82
JOHN A.H. BENZIE AND STEPHEN HYNES
viii Contents
7 Organic wastes for biomethane production 99
ANOOP SINGH
8 Industrial residues for biomethane production 111
MARKUS ORTNER, BERNHARD DROSG, ELITZA STOYANOVA AND
GÜNTHER BOCHMANN
PART III
Anaerobic digestion technology 137
9 Anaerobic digesters: perspectives and challenges 139
ABDUL-SATTAR NIZAMI, BRADLEY A. SAVILLE AND HEATHER L. MACLEAN
10 Biogas upgrading and compression 152
PRASAD KAPARAJU, SAIJA RASI AND JUKKA RINTALA
11 Storage and distribution of biomethane 183
NICHOLAS E. KORRES
12 Variation in anaerobic digestion: need for process monitoring 194
NICHOLAS E. KORRES AND ABDUL SATAR NIZAMI
13 General principles of data warehouse and data mining in anaerobic
digestion 231
NICHOLAS E. KORRES, ANASTASIOS DEKAZOS, DIMITRIS N. ARGYROPOULOS,
AMMAR AHMED AND PAUL STACK
PART IV
Molecular biology and population dynamics 259
14 Microbial communities and their dynamics in biomethane production 261
DIMITRIS N. ARGYROPOULOS, THEODOROS H. VARZAKAS AND JOHN A.H. BENZIE
15 The role of molecular biology in optimizing anaerobic digestion and
biomethane production 290
DIMITRIS N. ARGYROPOULOS, CHAROULA C. PSALLIDA AND JOHN A.H. BENZIE
PART V
Sustainability in anaerobic digestion 315
16 Life cycle assessment as a tool for assessing biomethane production
sustainability 317
NICHOLAS E. KORRES
Contents ix
17 The use of digestate as a substitute for manufactured fertilizer 359
BRIAN J. CHAMBERS AND MATTHEW TAYLOR
18 The sustainability of small-scale anaerobic digesters at farm scale 375
PHILLIP HOBBS AND ALLAN BUTLER
19 Biogas technology for developing countries: an approach to sustainable
development 397
M.S. DHANYA, S. PRASAD AND ANOOP SINGH
20 Concluding remarks 422
Appendix A: Anaerobic digestion application in a typical Cambodia family
farm – a case study 427
ANDREA SALIMBENI AND GIULIANO GRASSI
Index 432