Electricity generation from biogas of anaerobic wastewater treatment plants in Brazil: an assessment of feasibility and potential

Abstract Electricity production is essential for development, but it is necessary to reduce fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions. Alternative energy sources are thus needed, especially renewable ones. In this context, biogas from anaerobic digestion becomes an important renewable fuel that is excellent for distributed generation. This study presents a concise method for analyzing the economic viability and energetic potential of energy generation by biogas from anaerobic wastewater treatment plants. This method could be replicated with any municipal solid waste (MSW) connected to a population. We evaluated the contributing population size that is necessary for the financial viability of installing such a plant to generate electricity in Brazil. Population and energy consumption projections in Brazil were used to analyze the maximum production potential of these power plants. The results indicate economic viability for only cities with population greater than 300,000 and that the energy potential could supply nearly 0.25% of the residual fuels according to the Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology. This energy potential consists of all the energy that could be produced by waste in Brazil by 2020, such as sugar cane bagasse and agroforestry residues. Such power plants could produce about 1 [TWh] of electricity by the year 2040. This energy potential could become higher if these plants became viable for smaller populations, which indicates a need for public policies regarding the feasibility of biogas plant projects in Brazil.

[1]  L. Olsson,et al.  Waste(d) potential: a socio-technical analysis of biogas production and use in Sweden , 2015 .

[2]  Péter Bakonyi,et al.  Review on the start-up experiences of continuous fermentative hydrogen producing bioreactors , 2014 .

[3]  Silvia Alves Assumpção de Oliveira,et al.  Avaliação de 166 ETEs em operação no país, compreendendo diversas tecnologias. Parte 1: análise de desempenho , 2005 .

[4]  Cheng Zhao.  Effect of Temperature on Biogas Production in Anaerobic Treatment of Domestic Wastewater UASB System in Hammarby Sjöstadsverk. , 2011 .

[5]  G. Carrosio.  Energy production from biogas in the Italian countryside: Policies and organizational models , 2013 .

[6]  Electo Eduardo Silva Lora,et al.  Techno-economic analysis and environmental impact assessment of energy recovery from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in Brazil , 2014 .

[7]  H. Carrère,et al.  Pretreatment methods to improve sludge anaerobic degradability: a review. , 2010, Journal of hazardous materials.

[8]  Yi Wang,et al.  Comparative performance of two upflow anaerobic biohydrogen-producing reactors seeded with different sludges , 2007 .

[9]  Tanja Kähkönen,et al.  Challenges to renewable energy: A bulletin of perceptions from international academic arena , 2014 .

[10]  Geraldo Lúcio Tiago Filho,et al.  The electric energy potential of landfill biogas in Brazil , 2014 .

[11]  J. Baeyens,et al.  Principles and potential of the anaerobic digestion of waste-activated sludge , 2008 .

[12]  T. Buadit,et al.  Biogas production and greenhouse gases reduction from wastewater at mahidol university, Salaya campus, Thailand. , 2013 .

[13]  Linnea Hjalmarsson,et al.  Biogas as a boundary object for policy integration - the case of Stockholm , 2015 .

[14]  Mikael Lantz,et al.  The prospects for an expansion of biogas systems in Sweden--Incentives, barriers and potentials , 2007 .

[15]  G. Venkatesh,et al.  Economic–environmental analysis of handling biogas from sewage sludge digesters in WWTPs (wastewater treatment plants) for energy recovery: Case study of Bekkelaget WWTP in Oslo (Norway) , 2013 .

[16]  Mohd Azlan Hussain,et al.  Development of biohydrogen production by photobiological, fermentation and electrochemical processes: A review , 2014 .

[17]  L. Ranieri,et al.  The sustainability of anaerobic digestion plants: a win–win strategy for public and private bodies , 2015 .

[18]  Electo Eduardo Silva Lora,et al.  Techno-economic analysis of municipal solid waste gasification for electricity generation in Brazil , 2015 .

[19]  Reginaldo Ferreira Santos,et al.  Brazil's Potential for Generating Electricity from Biogas from Stillage , 2011 .

[20]  Van Rooijen,et al.  Pioneering in Marginal Fields: Jatropha for Carbon Credits and Restoring Degraded Land in Eastern Indonesia , 2014 .

[21]  E. Lora,et al.  Estimate of the electric energy generating potential for different sources of biogas in Brazil , 2009 .

[22]  D. Elango,et al.  Production of biogas from municipal solid waste with domestic sewage. , 2007, Journal of hazardous materials.

[23]  Marianne Mintz,et al.  An overview of biogas production and utilization at full-scale wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the United States: Challenges and opportunities towards energy-neutral WWTPs , 2015 .

[24]  Giuseppe Genon,et al.  Global and local emissions of a biogas plant considering the production of biomethane as an alternative end-use solution. , 2015 .

[25]  Giti Taleghani,et al.  Technical¿economical analysis of the Saveh biogas power plant , 2005 .