BIOGAS IN ITALY ANDFEEDSTOCK ASSESSMENT FOR HIGH QUALITY BIOGAS

Tartu, 28.11.2012

Mariangela Soldano

CRPA- Research Centre on Animal Production (Italy)

CRPA - Centro Ricerche Produzioni Animali

(Research Centre on Animal Production)

The conduct of research and the establishment and management of services with the aim of promoting technical, economic and social progress in the livestock farming sector and promoting the spread of the most advanced forms of environmentally friendly agriculture

CRPA: The mission

environmental compatibility of the agricultural food production sector

rural development and economics

quality and safety of livestock production

feed, supply and implements for agriculture

CRPA: The issue

Structure

BIOGAS IN ITALY

Biogas in Italy

EurObserv’ER estimates an Italian biogas production of 478.5 ktoe for 2010 (in Europe 10,943.3 ktoe).

About 80% of this biogas production comes from MSW landfills.

The total energy consumption in Italy is more than 190 Mtoe.

Biogas in Italy (CRPA data – may 2011)

Biogas plants on animal manure, agroindustrial residues, energy crops

CRPA carried out a census that identified 521 AD plants (130 are under construction).

About the 58% operate in co-digestion of manure with energy crops (maize, sorghum…) and residues from agro-industry;

With reference to the type of reactor, the most common is the stirred and insulated tank with vertical walls (CSTR = Completely Stirred Tank Reactor)

Almost all the plants are located in the northern regions.

Biogas plants processing animal manure, agro-industrial residues and energy crops (CRPA data – may /2011)

Emilia-Romagna region:63 plants(17 in building),

About 43 MWe installedAbout 95 Mm3 bioCH4

In Italy:521 plants(130 under construction)

About 350 MWe installedAbout 770 Mm3 bioCH4

Emilia-Romagna region:63 plants(17 in building),

About 43 MWe installedAbout 95 Mm3 bioCH4

Estimated in Italy about800 AD plants at the end of 2012!!!!

Animal manure: 130,000,000 t/y Food industry residues: 5,000,000 t/y

(Animal by-products - Cat. 3): 1,000,000 t/y Sewage sludge: 3,500,000 t/y Organic fraction MSW: 10,000,000 t/y Crop residues: 8,500,000 t DM/y Energy crops: 400,000 ha

8 billions m3 CH4/y or 25 TWh/y of EE (3300 MWe)

Biomass

Biogas in Italy:potential

From 2008 RES generation (qualified by GSE-Energy Services Operator) receives GC for the first 15 working years;

From 2008 up to 2012 with biomasses, plants <1 MWe a new Feed-in Tariff 280 €/MWh put in the grid;

From 2013 a less convenient Feed-in-Tariff with a bonus system for 20 years.

Biogas in Italy: Subsidies

In Italy biogas sector is in strong expansion both in terms of the construction of new plants and the foundation of new companies.

The livestock sector could be the driving force for the development of anaerobic digestion on a larger scale.

But the biogas sector needs:

clearer procedures to built, to manage plants and to connect to the grid;

incentives for biomethane as vehicle fuel or injection into the gas grid.

Thus...

BIOMETHANE IN ITALY

- Biogas plant in Malagrotta (Roma landifill)

- Pilot plant in San Giovanni In Persiceto (Bologna)

Malagrotta (Roma)

- In collaboration with IVECO and CO.LA.RI (private consortium of landifill Malagrotta).- It is one of the biggest sanitary landfill in operation in Europe (more than 1,5 million tons/year disposed and/or treated)

The biogas production from the landfill is great enough to generate electric energy and biogas for the refuelling some public and private vehicles.The raw biogas production is 10,000,000 Nm3/year, part is ugrading

to produce 1,800,00 Nm3 bioCH4, part is used in a CHP. The plant is

delivering biogas to a fuel station, which has 8 fuel pumps that are able to operate at the same time.

SAN GIOVANNI IN PERSICETO (BOLOGNA)

• 500 m3/h produced biogas (process temperature 55°C)

• 1.2 MW installed power (only 0,9MW used)

• About 18,500 tons of biomass (Silage maize, triticum agricoltural by-products) per year.

• About 400 Ha cultivated surface.

• A small part (10%) of the biogas produced for CHP, and use it for upgrading and fuel generation.

• 50m3/h of biogas, 28 m3/h of biomethane.

• 28m3/h X 20 h/day X 360 days/year= about 200,000 m3/year of biomethane = about 180,000 equivalent diesel litres / year.

• The biomethane is now used only in SAFE srl cars.

•CNG tractors are already available …

The idea....

Upgrading system...

Why biomethane in Italy?

In Italy the storage capacity of natural biogas at 31 December 2011 is equal to 14.7 billions of m3

The national gas grid is well established and widespread.

33,768 km of Italy's gas transport sistem (The main operator is Snam Rete Gas).

With more than 760,000 car and trucks running on CNG, Italy takes the lead among other European countries regarding the number of natural gas vehicles. According to NGVA, roughly 850 filling station, most of them pubblic, offer natural gas as a vehicle fuel.

Situation of NGV in Europe. Source NGVA Europe December 2011. LD (Light Duty), MD (Medium Duty), HD (Heavy Duty)

In March 2011, Italy introduced Decree No 28/2011 which allows biomethane injection into the gas grid. This law stipulates that the development of natural gas infrastructures is a national priority and the codification of biomethane to natural gas grid injection is also a priority of the Italian Authorities for Energy. The Decree allows biomethane to enter the grid, provided that the necessary requirements are satisfied. A related quality standard hasn't been established so far, but is expexted in near future.

FEEDSTOCKS

Potates

Sugar beet

Onions

Maize silage

Livestock manure

Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP)

Anaerobic digestion is an energy process which allows the highly efficient exploitation of biomass which can be of vegetable or animal origin, derived from waste or dedicated production and wet or dry without distinction, producing a valuable biofuel (biogas/biomethane)

Every anaerobic digestion plant has its own equilibrium depending on the type of biomass loaded and the plant/process parameters adopted. The basic element which has the greatest influence on any kind of analysis, representing the point of departure for any feasibility study for the construction of an anaerobic digestion plant, is the knowledge of the Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP).

Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP)

This parameter expresses the quantity of biogas/biomethane potentially available from the degradation of a biomass and is expressed as Nm3·kgVS-1, that is, normal cubic metres of biogas or methane per kg of volatile solids (or organic matter).

It's important to consider the organic matter and not the weight or the dry matter of the biomass!

Fre

sh

ma

tte

r (f

m)

Water(10-98% fm)

Ashes(2-50% TS)

Volatile solidsVS (50-98% TS)

Total solidsTS(2-90% fm)

+Not degradable(10-70% VS)

Degradable(30-90% VS)

What we use for biogas production

A shes 20 kg

VS/TS in80%

VS/TS in80%

TS

10

0 k

g

VS

Degradable VS(50% VS)

A shes 20 kg

Biogas40 kg

VS40 kg

A shes 20 kg

VS/TS out66,6%

VS/TS out66,6%

AD efficiency50%

AD efficiency50%

In

Out

Digester

VS

80

kg

What’s happen to organic matter in AD process

BMP and chemical analysis: because evaluate them

for...

quantify the biomass needed

verify compatibility with the type of plant and farm structures (storages, mix system, hydraulic retention time....)

the quantity of digestate to manage

the quantity of nitrogen to manage

biomethane production costs

CRPA Lab laboratory: BMP tester

CRPA Lab laboratory: BMP tester

BMP: Informations obtained

Biogas yield: Nm3/ton VS o Nm3/ton f.m.

Methane yield:Nm3/ton VS o Nm3/ton f.m.

Methane percentage: %

Volatile solids degradability: %

Digestate produced: t digestate/t biomass

Nitrogen equivalent: kgN/Nm3CH4

BMP: kinetic process indices

The kinetic process indices can be identified from the analysis of methanogenic potential by batch testing:

Kmax

: the time taken to achieve the maximum production

speed (days)F

max: the maximum anaerobic degradability (%)

F90%

: time taken to achieve 50% of the biogas production

(days)F

90%: time taken to achieve 90% of the biogas production

(days)

Methane yield and degradability (avarage and standard deviation) of different category of biomass

Methane yield

(Nm3/t VSV)Methane

in biogas

(%)

Kmax(days)

Fmax(%)

F50(days)

F90(days)

Sugar beet molasses 393 66 2,8 69 5 15

Soya bean (process residue) 437 63 7,6 82 8 22

Olive press-cake 201 69 11,2 32 11 20

Biogas production accumulate curve and maximum degradetion speed for volatile solids

The Biochemical methane potential, defined by the standard UNI EN ISO 11734:2004, allows to obtain, in addition to the maximum amount of biogas/methane obtainable, all main kinetic parameters of conversion of the organic matter.

In addition to the methane production potential, the main purpose of the test, the production curves can be used to check the presence of possible latencies, inhibition, the speed of degradation (that is, the hydraulic retention time required)

The times of digestion of various by-products are very different from each other and depend on the chemical characteristics of the individual organic matrices.

An example: Pedrotti Farm

Pedrotti farm breeds 700 dairy cattle (milk for Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese).

Total number of heads is about

1600 (190 dry cows and about

700 calves and heifers).

Dairy cattle housing system is cubicle house where chopped straw is used as bedding material (2-3 kg/head/day); liquid manure is produced. Dry cows and part of dairy followers are kept on a deep layer of bedding (straw); farmyard manure is produced.

An example: Pedrotti Farm

AntonioIvano

F22280 m3

F1 2280 m3

FYM

14 t/day

56 t/day

Transport (2 km)

Re

cycl

ing

20

t/d

ay

CHP

Doser

25 t/day

Fresh manure:95 t/day

Total:115 t/day

Storage3000 m3

Separate solid

Pedrotti Farm - scheme

Pedrotti Farm – monitoring dataInput fresh

manure (average)

Input digestate (average)

Outputdigestate (average)

Input-output(average)

Fresh matter (t) 95 20 110,9* 4.1

TS (% fm) 9.70 5.64 5.64

TS (kg/day) 9215 1127 6251 4091

VS/TS (%) 84.0 72.2 72.2

VS (kg/day) 7741 814 4513 4042

Ashes (kg/day) 1474 313 1738 49

TKN (g/kg fm) 3.24 3.40 3.40

TKN (kg/day) 308 68 377 -1* Calculated as input manure minus biogas production

Pedrotti Farm – monitoring data

Energy and gas production Method

Electric energy production (kWh/day) 6480 Measured

Total energy production (kWh/day) 16615 Based on CHP efficiency of 39%

Methane (m3/day) 1682 Calculated

Methane in biogas (%) 54.5 Measured

Biogas (m3/day) 3086 Calculated

Biogas density (kg/m3) 1.33 Calculated

Biogas (kg/day) 4092 Calculated

Input-output VS (kg/day) = 4041 Biogas production (kg/day) = 4092 4092-4041 = 51 (<1% on input VS, not bad!)

Output VS / Input VS (%) = 4513/8554 = 52.8% The AD efficiency (degradation of organic matter) is 100-52.8 = 47.2% (medium/low efficiency)

Input-output TKN (kg/day) = -1 (nitrogen is conserved)

Pedrotti Farm – monitoring data

Pedrotti farm - AD process parameters

• Organic load rate: 7741/3800=2.04 kg VS/m3/day

• Hydraulic retention time: 3800/95=40 days

• Electricity efficiency CHP: 39%

• Biogas / volatile solids: 3086/7.741=399 m3/t VS

• Biogas / digester volume: 3086/3800=0.81 m3/m3

• …

Thank you for your attention!

Mariangela Soldano

CRPA - Research Centre on Animal Production

www.crpa.it

Reggio Emilia (Italy)

(+39 0522 436999, m.soldano@crpa.it)

www.biomaster-project.eu