Environmental impact evaluation related to energy plant by renewable sources and its reduction
abstract
Assessment biomass availability and energy production of anaerobic digestion plants in Emilia Romagna Region treating agricultural and agro-industrial residues.
Description
The agricultural and agro-industrial by-products and residues, animal manures and various types of organic wastes by agrarian economy are renewable energy sources for biogas production by anaerobic digestion. The zootechnical and agricultural fields are very important for regional economy because they consume energy and provide notable biomass amount and range. The study compares biomass availability and water footprint of energy crops with agricultural, agro-food and zootechnical residues to select the biomass that produces biogas energy in the most efficient way. A farm can be independent of any outside energy sources using own biomass residues and organic waste working out the relative expensive treatment. In this way it makes a short supply chain with the use of the digestate as substitute for chemical fertilizers. The knowledge of energy territorially potential by biomass is useful to frame policy for the development of region.
The study encompasses the experimentation about an anaerobic digestion system of type UASB (Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket) fed on agro-food activities residues. It was investigated the biogas potential of the system treating different waste and wastewaters by a specific company to optimize the energy production.
Keywords
Anaerobic digestion, biogas, energy production, biomass