Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Quick Facts About Anaerobic Digestion Process

1. There are four key biological/ chemical reaction stages of anaerobic digestion:
2. Almost any organic matter can be digested anaerobically. Not all will produce enough biogas to be 
    viable though.
3. Anaerobic digestion occurs in nature at all temperatures, but below 10 degrees centigrade the rate 
   of biogas production is so slow that running a biogas process is usually considered not viable, for 
   any form of biogas generation system.
4. There are two temperature ranges over which the many micro-organisms which produce biogas 
    work most efficiently. These are known as the:
  • Mesophilic
  • Thermophilic
    Temperature ranges, with the optimum temperature usually considered to be at the top of the range.
5. The process is truly ancient:
  • Fermentation for the production of alcohol was known to the Ancient Egyptians and is recorded  as far back as 2,000 BC.
  • The methane producing stage of anaerobic digestion is performed by a type of micro-organism known as archaea. It's not a bacteria. In fact in comes from a distinctly different branch of the phylogenetic tree of life to bacteria.

Benefits of Anaerobic Digestion

a) Environmental Benefits

  • Reduces carbon emissions and can contribute to national renewable energy targets
  • Only biogas (and some carbon dioxide) is taken out, so valuable nutrients are recycled back into the soil
  • Digestate may also be used as a feedstock for other biofuel production and for innovative fibre building materials
  • AD creates skilled ‘green’ jobs and contributes to growth in the local economy
  • When used in conjunction with segregated municipal waste collection, it reduces waste sent to landfill
  • Sanitizes waste output providing a reduced public health hazard/ reduces pollution risk.

b) Benefits to Those That Own and Operate AD Plants

  • Landfill taxation costs reduced, transportation costs can be less
  • Owning an AD plant lends authority to the owner organizations green credentials
  • Possible government incentive payments available
  • Secures a reliable long-term waste disposal route for the plant owners own waste
  • Potential for truly profitable sales of outputs.

Danish company to fuel 10,000 Audis with Biogas

The Danish energy concern Nature Energy has recently entered into an agreement with the German car manufacturer Audi. They will deliver green biogas certificates to approximately 10,000 Audis in Europe.The CEO said they are incredibly proud to enter into an agreement with one of the world’s largest car manufacturers. It is a seal of approval to the change in strategy we initiated in 2012, where we started building large-scale biogas plants. Today we run four large plants and we are about to build an additional three. We also plan to build another 10 plants in the future, says the CEO at Nature Energy, Ole Hvelplund. Nature Energy produces biogas based on waste and sludge. 




This means that the biogas is second-generation biofuel, which does not use food as raw material. As a result, there is a greater reduction in CO2 emissions – actually more than 100 percent as biogas prevents the emission of methane in agriculture while repressing fossil fuel and petrol when applied in cars. This is one of the reasons why Audi has chosen to buy its biogas from Nature Energy. More and more people are turning their attention to the benefits of using biogas for transport, and Denmark has a unique opportunity to become one of Europe’s leading biogas suppliers. There is currently more than two million gas-fuelled cars in Europe, and by replacing patrol and diesel fuel with green biogas, we can reduce our CO2-emissions in the transport sector significantly, says Ole Hvelplund. 
https://stateofgreen.com/en/profiles/state-of-green/news/danish-company-to-fuel-10-000-audis-with-biogas