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The economic performance of combined heat and power from biogas produced from manure in Sweden - A comparison of different CHP technologies

Lantz, Mikael LU (2012) In Applied Energy 98. p.502-511
Abstract
Interest in the generation of biogas from agricultural residues is increasing rapidly due to its climate benefits. In this study, an evaluation of the economic feasibility of various technologies, also on different scales, for the production of combined heat and power from manure-based biogas in Sweden is presented. The overall conclusion is that such production is not profitable under current conditions. Thus, the gap between the calculated biogas production cost and the acceptable cost for break-even must be bridged by, for example, different policy instruments. In general, efficiency of scale favors large-scale plants compared to individual farm-scale ones. However, a large, centralized biogas plant, using manure from numerous farms, is... (More)
Interest in the generation of biogas from agricultural residues is increasing rapidly due to its climate benefits. In this study, an evaluation of the economic feasibility of various technologies, also on different scales, for the production of combined heat and power from manure-based biogas in Sweden is presented. The overall conclusion is that such production is not profitable under current conditions. Thus, the gap between the calculated biogas production cost and the acceptable cost for break-even must be bridged by, for example, different policy instruments. In general, efficiency of scale favors large-scale plants compared to individual farm-scale ones. However, a large, centralized biogas plant, using manure from numerous farms, is not always more cost efficient than a large, farm-scale plant treating manure from a few neighboring farms. The utilization of the produced heat, electricity prices, and political incentives, all have a significant impact on the economic outcome, whereas the value of the digestate as fertilizer is currently having a minor impact. Utilization of heat is, however, often limited by the lack of local heat sinks, in which case the implementation of a biogas process operating under thermophilic conditions could increase the profitability due to a more efficient utilization of reactor volume by using more process heat. The results from this study could be utilized by policy makers when implementing policy instruments considering biogas production from manure as well as companies involved in production and utilization of biogas. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Biogas, CHP, Electricity, Manure, Economy
in
Applied Energy
volume
98
pages
502 - 511
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • wos:000306889200052
  • scopus:84862229000
ISSN
1872-9118
DOI
10.1016/j.apenergy.2012.04.015
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
08be096a-3c59-41b5-a6b1-5b209e2a7329 (old id 3055584)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:25:50
date last changed
2022-03-14 05:53:15
@article{08be096a-3c59-41b5-a6b1-5b209e2a7329,
  abstract     = {{Interest in the generation of biogas from agricultural residues is increasing rapidly due to its climate benefits. In this study, an evaluation of the economic feasibility of various technologies, also on different scales, for the production of combined heat and power from manure-based biogas in Sweden is presented. The overall conclusion is that such production is not profitable under current conditions. Thus, the gap between the calculated biogas production cost and the acceptable cost for break-even must be bridged by, for example, different policy instruments. In general, efficiency of scale favors large-scale plants compared to individual farm-scale ones. However, a large, centralized biogas plant, using manure from numerous farms, is not always more cost efficient than a large, farm-scale plant treating manure from a few neighboring farms. The utilization of the produced heat, electricity prices, and political incentives, all have a significant impact on the economic outcome, whereas the value of the digestate as fertilizer is currently having a minor impact. Utilization of heat is, however, often limited by the lack of local heat sinks, in which case the implementation of a biogas process operating under thermophilic conditions could increase the profitability due to a more efficient utilization of reactor volume by using more process heat. The results from this study could be utilized by policy makers when implementing policy instruments considering biogas production from manure as well as companies involved in production and utilization of biogas. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.}},
  author       = {{Lantz, Mikael}},
  issn         = {{1872-9118}},
  keywords     = {{Biogas; CHP; Electricity; Manure; Economy}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{502--511}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Applied Energy}},
  title        = {{The economic performance of combined heat and power from biogas produced from manure in Sweden - A comparison of different CHP technologies}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2012.04.015}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.apenergy.2012.04.015}},
  volume       = {{98}},
  year         = {{2012}},
}