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The effect of reactor design on the sustainability of grass biomethane

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  • Singh, Anoop
  • Nizami, Abdul-Sattar
  • Korres, Nicholas E.
  • Murphy, Jerry D.

Abstract

Grass biomethane is a sustainable transport biofuel. It can meet the 60% greenhouse gas saving requirements (as compared to the replaced fossil fuel) specified in the EU Renewable Energy Directive, if allowance is made for carbon sequestration, green electricity is used and the vehicle is optimized for gaseous biomethane. The issue in this paper is the effect of the digester type on the overall emissions savings. Examining three digestion configurations; dry continuous (DCAD), wet continuous (WCAD), and a two phase system (SLBR-UASB), it was found that the reactor type can result in a variation of 15% in emissions savings. The system that as modeled produced most biogas, and fuelled a vehicle most distance, the two phase system (SLBR-UASB), was the least sustainable due to biogas losses in the dry batch step. The system as modeled which produced the least biogas (DCAD) was the most sustainable as the parasitic demands on the system were least. Optimal reactor design for sustainability criteria should maximize biogas production, while minimizing biogas losses and parasitic demands.

Suggested Citation

  • Singh, Anoop & Nizami, Abdul-Sattar & Korres, Nicholas E. & Murphy, Jerry D., 2011. "The effect of reactor design on the sustainability of grass biomethane," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 1567-1574, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:15:y:2011:i:3:p:1567-1574
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Singh, Anoop & Smyth, Beatrice M. & Murphy, Jerry D., 2010. "A biofuel strategy for Ireland with an emphasis on production of biomethane and minimization of land-take," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 277-288, January.
    2. Smyth, Beatrice M. & Murphy, Jerry D. & O'Brien, Catherine M., 2009. "What is the energy balance of grass biomethane in Ireland and other temperate northern European climates?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(9), pages 2349-2360, December.
    3. Murphy, J. D. & McKeogh, E. & Kiely, G., 2004. "Technical/economic/environmental analysis of biogas utilisation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 77(4), pages 407-427, April.
    4. Nizami, Abdul-Sattar & Murphy, Jerry D., 2010. "What type of digester configurations should be employed to produce biomethane from grass silage?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(6), pages 1558-1568, August.
    5. Murphy, J.D. & McKeogh, E., 2004. "Technical, economic and environmental analysis of energy production from municipal solid waste," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 29(7), pages 1043-1057.
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    Cited by:

    1. Padi, Richard Kingsley & Douglas, Sean & Murphy, Fionnuala, 2023. "Techno-economic potentials of integrating decentralised biomethane production systems into existing natural gas grids," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    2. Zhang, Yizhen & Jiang, Yan & Wang, Shun & Wang, Zhongzhong & Liu, Yanchen & Hu, Zhenhu & Zhan, Xinmin, 2021. "Environmental sustainability assessment of pig manure mono- and co-digestion and dynamic land application of the digestate," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    3. Kythreotou, Nicoletta & Tassou, Savvas A. & Florides, Georgios, 2012. "An assessment of the biomass potential of Cyprus for energy production," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 253-261.
    4. Browne, James & Nizami, Abdul-Sattar & Thamsiriroj, T & Murphy, Jerry D., 2011. "Assessing the cost of biofuel production with increasing penetration of the transport fuel market: A case study of gaseous biomethane in Ireland," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(9), pages 4537-4547.
    5. Long, Aoife & Murphy, Jerry D., 2019. "Can green gas certificates allow for the accurate quantification of the energy supply and sustainability of biomethane from a range of sources for renewable heat and or transport?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    6. Nizami, A.S. & Orozco, A. & Groom, E. & Dieterich, B. & Murphy, J.D., 2012. "How much gas can we get from grass?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 783-790.

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