Monitoring of agricultural biogas plants in Upper Austria
Abstract
Renewable energies become more and more important as resources of fossil fuels decline. Biogas plants produce renewable energy from anaerobic digestion of animal manures, energy plants and/or organic wastes. Through agricultural biogas plants, biomass becomes an important economic factor in rural areas, agricultural added value increases and new jobs are created. In Austria ca. 25 million tons of animal manures and 15 million tons of energy crop biomass per year are available for anaerobic digestion in agricultural biogas plants. The conversion of biogas in combined heat and power couplings would yield 4,900 GWh electricity and 6,7000 GWh heat. This corresponds to 10 % of Austrian electricity production and to the heat requirement of ca. 450,000 one-family houses. Currently about 120 agricultural biogas plants are operated in Austria. They have a total power of 6 MW. The provincial government of Upper Austria promotes the dissemination of biogas technology. They fund a study on the “monitoring of agricultural biogas plants in Upper Austria”. The study comprises substantial information on the status quo in biogas technology. 10 Upper Austrian agricultural biogas plants are described in detail. The descriptions include details on biogas technology, characteristic values of the process of biogas production, work requirement, optimum technological design, and pre-conditions of an economic operation of agricultural biogas plants. The biogas plants had a performance of 45.5 – 137 kWel.. 40 % of fermentation tanks were vertical digesters, 60 % were horizontal digesters. Hydraulic residence time was 20 – 35 days in the horizontal digesters and 35 – 95 days in the secondary fermentation tanks. In the vertical digesters, hydraulic residence time was 27 – 40 days, and 27 – 40 days in the secondary fermentation tanks. Hydraulic residence time should not fall below 40 – 50 days at 35 – 40 °C in order to guarantee that at least 95 % of the methane potential of organic substrates are exploited. When the digested substrates consisted of more than 50 % animal manures, biogas yield was 44 – 73 m3 biogas per m3 manures. A biogas plant that only digested energy crops achieved a biogas yield of 107 m3 per m3 energy crops. When only organic wastes were digested, biogas yield was 84 m3 per m3 organic wastes. Addition of energy crops and co-substrates increases the biogas yield. However, if co-substrates other than energy crops are added, the price for electricity is reduced by 25 % (Austrian law on green electricity production). Mean work requirement was 823 hours per year. Optimum planning of the biogas plant, a good management and a well adapted degree of automation should keep the work requirement at 1 – 2 hours per day. If the daily work rate fell below 1 hour, this would lead to a reduction on quality of biogas plant management. Economic efficiency requires a plant size of 101 – 500 kWel.. Below this size it will be difficult to operate the plant economically efficient. Investment costs were about 336,000 € (including VAT). Specific investment costs were 5,100 € kWel.-1. With 4,000 – 5,000 € kWel.-1 up to date biogas plants can be built. Incentives e.g. for heat usage, slurry stores and energy crops storage should be given in order to improve economic efficiency of new biogas plants.
agricultural biogas production
Publikationen
Ökostrom aus Biogas: Was Sie über Anlagen-Genehmigung wissen müssen
Autoren: Amon, T., Hopfner-Sixt, K., Amon, B. Jahr: 2003
Newspaper / Magazine article
Ökostrom aus Biogas: Voraussetzungen für einen wirtschaftlichen Betrieb
Autoren: Hopfner-Sixt, K., Amon, T., Amon, B. Jahr: 2003
Newspaper / Magazine article
Landwirtschaftliche Biogasanlagen, 4. überarbeitete Auflage
Autoren: Amon, T., Cadilek, M., Hopfner-Sixt, K., Schoberleitner, W., Swoboda, M. Jahr: 2004
Chapter in collected volumes
Qualität und Verwendung des Gärrestes.
Autoren: Amon, T., Döhler, H. Jahr: 2004
Chapter in collected volumes
Forum Biogas Austria: Network from natural resources to application.
Autoren: Amon, T., Kryvoruchko, V., Amon, B., Hopfner-Sixt, K. Jahr: 2004
Conference & Workshop proceedings, paper, abstract
Biogas Forum Austria-Network of research, extension service, and commercial farms.
Autoren: Amon, T., Amon B., Kryvoruchko V., Hopfner-Sixt K., Moser, A., Zollitsch, W. Jahr: 2006
Conference & Workshop proceedings, paper, abstract
Monitoring of energy crop digestion in Austria.
Autoren: Hopfner-Sixt, K., Amon, T., Milovanovic, D., Amon, B. Jahr: 2006
Conference & Workshop proceedings, paper, abstract
Biogas production from agricultural resources: characteristic values for material and energetic evaluation
Autoren: Hopfner-Sixt, K; Amon, T; Bodiroza, V; Kryvoruchko, V; Milovanovic, D; Zollitsch, W; Boxberger, J Jahr: 2006
Journal articles
European Biogas Initiative to improve the yield of agricultural biogas plants (EU-Agro Biogas).
Autoren: Amon, T., Amon, B., Machmüller, A., Hopfner-Sixt K., Kryvoruchko V., Bodiroza, V. Jahr: 2006
Conference & Workshop proceedings, paper, abstract
Research for climate protection-technological options for mitigation (Reclip:tom).
Autoren: Amon, B., Fröhlich, M., Ramusch, M., Winiwarter W. Jahr: 2006
Conference & Workshop proceedings, paper, abstract
NH3 and GHG emissions from a straw flow system for fattening pigs: housing, and manure storage.
Autoren: Amon, B., Kryvoruchko, V., Fröhlich, M., Amon, T., Pöllinger, A., Mösenbacher, I., Hausleitner, A. Jahr: 2006
Conference & Workshop proceedings, paper, abstract
Monitoring landwirtschaftlicher Biogasanlagen in Österreich – Durchmischungstechnik und Kennwerte wesentlicher Prozessparameter
Autoren: Hopfner-Sixt, K., Amon, T. Jahr: 2006
Conference & Workshop proceedings, paper, abstract
Leistungsvergleich verschiedener Biogasanlagensysteme
Autoren: Hopfner-Sixt, K. Jahr: 2006
Conference & Workshop proceedings, paper, abstract
Project staff
Barbara Amon
Priv.-Doz. Dr. Barbara Amon
barbara.amon@boku.ac.at
Project Staff
01.06.2002 - 30.08.2003