Article
Environmental Sciences
Rahul Ravi, Marcella Fernandes de Souza, Anne Adriaens, Ruben Vingerhoets, Hongzhen Luo, Miet Van Dael, Erik Meers
Summary: The Russo-Ukrainian war has raised concerns about the European Union's energy security due to its heavy reliance on Russian natural gas. The RePowerEU initiative aims to increase biomethane production to replace natural gas, aligning with the EU's emission reduction goals. However, using energy crops as biogas feedstock raises land-use concerns. This study investigates the environmental impacts of using roadside grass clippings as an alternative feedstock for biogas production in Northwest Europe and provides insights for sustainable energy strategies.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Ahmad Naquash, Muhammad Abdul Qyyum, Junaid Haider, Awais Bokhari, Hankwon Lim, Moonyong Lee
Summary: This review evaluates conventional biogas upgrading technologies and finds that cryogenic technology is the most energy- and cost-intensive, but can provide dual benefits when integrated with liquefaction. Other emerging cryogenic technologies in biogas upgrading need further exploration and discussion.
RENEWABLE & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Pennapa Tonrangklang, Apichit Therdyothin, Itthichai Preechawuttipong
Summary: This research focuses on the financial feasibility of local biogas aggregation for producing biomethane on various scales and provides decision-making support for investors and governments in promoting the use of renewable and sustainable sources of energy. The results indicate the existence of 10 potential biomethane production areas in Thailand, with good return on investment for plants producing more than 6 tons/day even without government funding.
ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Elena Surra, Isabel A. A. C. Esteves, Nuno Lapa
Summary: The study compared the environmental benefits of different uses of biogas, and found that AcoD of hOFMSW + MCW resulted in higher biogas and methane yields, leading to overall better environmental performance.
BIOMASS & BIOENERGY
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Daniel J. Fernandes, Ana F. Ferreira, Edgar C. Fernandes
Summary: This study assesses the potential of using cow manure for anaerobic digestion to produce biogas or biomethane in Portugal. The spatial analysis reveals that the central and southern regions of Portugal have the highest availability of cow manure. The thermodynamic model shows that the Leziria do Tejo region has the highest potential for biogas and biomethane production. The economic analysis provides the average national selling prices for biogas and biomethane. The life cycle assessment highlights concerns regarding toxicity impacts and resource consumption in this type of system.
RENEWABLE & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Rizwan Rasheed, Fizza Tahir, Abdullah Yasar, Faiza Sharif, Amtul Bari Tabinda, Sajid Rashid Ahmad, Yubo Wang, Yuehong Su
Summary: There are progressive trends in biogas scrubbing technologies, which aim to provide cleaner biomethane by removing CO2. This study focuses on the life cycle analysis (LCA) of a modern commercial-scale biogas scrubbing-filtration system made of fibreglass reinforced composite material. It evaluates the environmental sustainability of the system under different feedstock ratios and identifies the significant impacts in terms of climate change and fossil depletion.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Pietro Marconi, Lorenzo Rosa
Summary: This study quantifies the potential of biomethane as an energy source and its role in reducing natural gas use and imports. The findings indicate that biomethane can partially substitute natural gas, especially for certain European countries where the potential is greater.
RENEWABLE & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Levent Bilgili
Summary: Alternative marine fuels are increasingly being studied by international organizations like IMO for their environmental performances. Biogas was identified as the most sustainable fuel option, despite concerns about production, transfer, and storage. Methanol, ammonia, and biodiesel were found to perform worst in terms of environmental damages during their life cycle.
RENEWABLE & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Phumlani Masilela, Anup Pradhan
Summary: The study showed that in agro-industrial settings, biohydrogen performs better in electricity generation systems than in vehicles' operation; in urban settings, biohydrogen used in vehicles' operation also has higher sustainability performance; and in rural settings, biohydrogen used in vehicle operation shows better sustainability performance as well.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Rufis Fregue Tiegam Tagne, Remo Santagata, Donald Raoul Tchuifon Tchuifon, Junie Albine Kenfack Atangana, Francois Rene Ateba, Teodor Vintila, Nche George Ndifor-Angwagor, Solomon Gabche Anagho, Sergio Ulgiati
Summary: This study focuses on the environmental impact assessment of second-generation liquid and gaseous biofuel production in Cameroon, utilizing the Life Cycle Assessment method to identify hotspots in the conversion of biomass to bioethanol and biomethane. The findings will serve as a reference for decision-making in pilot plants and large-scale production, aiming to promote sustainable development of a biomass-energy industry based on avocado seeds, cocoa pods, and peanut shells.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Phoebe-Zoe Morsink-Georgali, Angeliki Kylili, Paris A. Fokaides, Agis M. Papadopoulos
Summary: This paper assesses and compares the environmental impact of using sewage sludge for compost production versus biogas production. The study finds that utilizing sludge for biogas production can save energy and reduce carbon dioxide emissions compared to compost production. Life Cycle Assessment shows that the anaerobic digestion process has a lower environmental impact than the composting process. Therefore, exploiting waste materials to produce useful products adds environmental value to the final product.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Komalkant Adlak, Ram Chandra, Vivek Kumar, Kamal Kishore Pant, Virendra Kumar Vijay
Summary: Activated carbons (AC) are considered as future materials due to their easy preparation, compatibility, and various applications. A lifecycle-based approach was used to compare chemically activated carbon (CAC) and physically activated carbon (PAC). The study found that CACs have a higher environmental impact than PACs, but the impact can be reduced substantially by recovering by-products generated during the production process.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Rohit Gupta, Royce Miller, William Sloan, Siming You
Summary: The study evaluated the technical and economic feasibility of converting organic waste to biomethane in Glasgow, UK, using different biogas upgrading technologies. Biomethane production based on membrane separation technology could meet 0.8% of gas demand for Glasgow households with a conversion efficiency of 83%.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Francesco Pasciucco, Giovanni Francini, Isabella Pecorini, Andrea Baccioli, Lidia Lombardi, Lorenzo Ferrari
Summary: This study conducted a life cycle assessment and life cycle costing of different scenarios for the utilization and upgrading of biogas produced from anaerobic digestion of biowaste. Four configurations were compared and sensitivity analyses were performed. The study found that while biogas combined heat and power (CHP) was the most environmentally friendly option in most impact categories, biogas upgrading-based scenarios had smaller impacts in terms of global warming potential and ozone layer depletion potential. In terms of economic viability, biogas upgrading-based scenarios had the highest net present values, but the combined production of heat, electricity, and biomethane was the most cost-effective option due to biomethane revenues and electricity sales.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Marina Mistretta, Teresa Maria Gulotta, Paola Caputo, Maurizio Cellura
Summary: This study evaluates the energy and environmental performances of electricity generated from Italian anaerobic digestion coupled with combined heat and power plants. It finds that small and medium plants mainly fed by organic by-products have the lowest impacts. Compared to electricity from the grid, biogas electricity has the lowest contribution in some impact categories and largest in others. In terms of global warming potential and cumulative energy demand, the impacts of biogas electricity are about 35% and 38% of that generated by the grid.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Elham Ahmadi Moghaddam, Niclas Ericsson, Per-Anders Hansson, Ake Nordberg
ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIETY
(2019)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Ershad Ullah Khan, Ake Nordberg
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Leandro Janke, Shane McDonagh, Soren Weinrich, Jerry Murphy, Daniel Nilsson, Per-Anders Hansson, Ake Nordberg
Article
Energy & Fuels
Leandro Janke, Shane McDonagh, Soren Weinrich, Daniel Nilsson, Per-Anders Hansson, Ake Nordberg
FRONTIERS IN ENERGY RESEARCH
(2020)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Shan Zhang, Niclas Ericsson, Per-Anders Hansson, Martin Sjodin, Ake Nordberg
Summary: Organic batteries are being explored as a sustainable power source for future flexible devices. This study analyzed the environmental impacts of synthesizing an all-organic battery with conducting redox polymers as electrodes. The results showed that the synthesis of the cathode backbone had the largest environmental impact, and optimizing solvent usage and waste treatment methods could significantly improve the environmental performance of the battery.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Saurav Kalita, Hanna Karlsson Potter, Martin Weih, Christel Baum, Ake Nordberg, Per-Anders Hansson
Summary: This study analyzed the influence of different Salix varieties on soil organic carbon dynamics and climate impacts, illustrating that variety significantly affects SOC sequestration potential, biomass yield, growth pattern, response to fertilization, and climate impact.
Article
Thermodynamics
Leandro Janke, Fabian Ruoss, Alena Hahn, Soren Weinrich, Ake Nordberg
Summary: This study investigated the integration of PtG technology into urban AD plants to produce synthetic CH4 as fuel for buses. By building a dynamic model, different scenarios were assessed to evaluate production costs and total cost of ownership (TCO), revealing that increasing PtG production capacity can reduce costs.
ENERGY CONVERSION AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
George Cheng, Florian Gabler, Leticia Pizzul, Henrik Olsson, Ake Nordberg, Anna Schnurer
Summary: This study investigated the microbial community development within an anaerobic trickle bed reactor during methanation of syngas using different nutrient media. The results showed that different nutrient sources, including undefined medium of different origins, can support the syngas methanation process. Additionally, the dominant microbial community remained relatively stable over time.
APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Shan Zhang, Niclas Ericsson, Martin Sjodin, Hanna Karlsson Potter, Per-Anders Hansson, Ake Nordberg
Summary: Strong interest from researchers and industry is driving the development of flexible energy storage technologies. A study on the environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) of an all-organic battery found that it had inferior environmental performance compared to a flexible lithium-ion battery, mainly due to its low specific energy and high material requirements for electrode backbones. Sensitivity analysis showed that changing scaling-up parameters and the production route of electrode backbone precursors strongly influenced the results. Future research should focus on designing a shorter production chain, reducing material inputs for electrode backbones, increasing battery cycle life, and improving specific energy.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Ershad Ullah Khan, Ake Nordberg, Peter Malmros
Summary: This study assessed the techno-economic performance of integrating membrane distillation (MD) for two-fold concentrations of nutrients and the recovery of process water from digestate at a thermophilic biogas plant. The results showed that with waste heat recovery, MD reduced the energy demand and production costs, indicating its potential economic feasibility in digestate treatment.
Article
Thermodynamics
Linus Engstam, Leandro Janke, Cecilia Sundberg, Ake Nordberg
Summary: This paper examined the use of intermittent renewables and grid electricity for hydrogen production, finding that using a combination of onshore wind and grid electricity can significantly reduce the cost of hydrogen production compared to wind-only operation. It also identified a trade-off between cost and short-term climate impact, with specific marginal emissions exceeding 20 kgCO2eq/kgH2 at minimum cost.
ENERGY CONVERSION AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Saurav Kalita, Jonas A. Ohlsson, Hanna Karlsson Potter, Ake Nordberg, Mats Sandgren, Per-Anders Hansson
Summary: This study assessed the impact of Salix varietal differences on the overall mass and energy balance of a co-digestion system. The results showed that Salix variety had a significant effect on the energy output-input ratio, with unfertilised var. Tordis performing the best and fertilised var. Jorr performing the worst.
BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Reginaldo Geremias, Ake Nordberg
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2020)
Article
Microbiology
Tong Liu, Li Sun, Ake Nordberg, Anna Schnurer