Small-Scale Energy Use of Agricultural Biogas Plant Wastes by Gasification

In Poland, there are 78 biogas plants producing a total electrical power of 85.94 MW. The byproduct of biogas plants is called a digestate. A single biogas plant with a power of 500 kW produces more than 10,000 ton of digestate per year. The goal of this chapter is to present a low-cost method of raw digestate processing with water content of about 94.55%, and also the results of thermal gasification of dried and pelletized digestate. Initial dehydration method is based on mechanical separation of the solid fraction in screw separator with a slot filter. Pre-dewatered digestate had been dried in biodrying process in semi-technical scale bioreactor. Afterward, the digestate was dried in tubular dryer and pelletized. The chapter covers the energy consumption for each stage of preparation of digestate for thermal gasification process. The gasification tests were conducted in fixed bed downdraft reactor. The chapter also features the physicochemical properties of digestate used in gasification process. The result of research on the gasification of drier digestate was gaseous fuel that does not differ from the quality of fuels obtained from the thermal treatment of other types of biomass

Development in energy generation technologies and alternative fuels for agriculture

Energy use is now seen as one of the key indicators of sustainable development. Renewable energy sources should contribute to the energy security. Agriculture can also play a dual role as an energy user and as an energy supplier in the form of bioenergy. Advanced technologies and alternative fuels can be used to improve the efficiency of agricultural production, while minimizing energy consumption in the farming sector

Geothermal, wind and solar energy applications in agriculture and aquaculture

The agri-food chain consumes about one third of the world’s energy production with about 12% of it for crop production and nearly 80% for processing, distribution, retail, preparation and cooking. The agri-food chain also accounts for 80-90% of total global freshwater use where 70% alone is for irrigation. Additionally, on a global scale, freshwater production consumes nearly 15% of the entire energy production. It can therefore be argued that making agriculture and the agri-food supply chain independent from fossil fuel use has a huge potential to contribute to global food security and climate protection not only for the next decades but also for the coming century. Provision of secure, accessible and environmentally sustainable supplies of water, energy and food must thus be a priority. One of the major objectives of the world’s scientists, farmers, decisions makers and industrialists is to overcome the present dependence on fossil fuels in the agro-food sector. This dependency increases the volatility of food prices and affects economic access to sustenance. This book provides a critical review of recent developments in solar, wind and geothermal energy applications in agriculture and the agro-food sector such as processing, distribution, retail, preparation and cooking

Renewable energy sources in the Region of Warmia and Mazury in north-eastern Poland

The region of Warmia and Mazury in Poland is fourth largest voivodeship which occupies 7,7 % of the country’s territory. The Region of Warmia and Mazury in north-eastern Poland is situated at a distance from conventional energy sources. Therefore, the Region is a Polish leader in power generation from renewable energy sources. The structure of electrical grids in the Region of Warmia and Mazury is poorly developed and insufficient. Therefore, electric power infrastructure should be expanded and modernized as part of energy sector development to increase energy efficiency as well as electricity and heat production from renewable energy sources. The Region of Warmia and Mazury is characterized by a considerable discrepancy between energy generation and energy use. It recent years, electricity consumption exceeded energy production more than 10-fold. The region has to purchase energy from external sources and develop new generation methods, in particular those that rely on renewable resources of energy. In Warmia and Mazury, the most popular renewable energy sources include biomass, wind turbines, solar and photovoltaic panels, hydropower, heat pumps and geothermal energy. The region is characterized by distributed energy generation in small polants that carter mostly to local needs. The University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn has developed, in collaboration with the Warmia and Mazury Energy Agency, a renewable energy strategy for 2010-2020 in the Region of Warmia and Mazury. The strategy is consistent with the Polish Energy Policy and the national plan for the use of renewable energy sources. In the region Warmia and Mazury, efforts are being made to generate 14,000 TJ of energy from renewable sources ( approx. 18,4 % of energy consumption in the region) and 1,700 GWh of electricity (approx. 49 % of energy consumption in the region), reduce CO2 emissions in the energy sector by 1,530,000 tons, and the decrease energy consumption per unit of GDP (PLN 1 million) from 1.94 TJ to 1.67 TJ by 2020

The use of Scots pine waste biomass for heating purposes

Scots pine (Pinus Sylvestris) is a very popular tree species in north-eastern Poland. Pines are frequently encountered in allotment gardens in the proximity of residential buildings. Pine biomass should not be composted because the produced humus has acidifying properties. For this reason, the management of pine waste biomass poses a problem. The article proposes a solution for managing pine waste biomass for heat generation. In the study, pine waste biomass was composed of needles, cones and dry branches. The biomass potential of Scots pine was determined. Waste biomass was harvested in spring when most allotment gardens are cleared after winter. The biomass yield of several trees was determined (in kg and dm3), and the average yield per tree was calculated. The average proportions of different biomass fractions in mixed waste biomass were also determined. The specific heat of different biomass fractions (needles, branches, cones) was determined for two scenarios. In the first scenario, waste biomass was harvested during a prolonged dry spell, and in the second scenario, waste biomass was harvested immediately after rainfall. The energy potential of waste biomass was determined. The harvested biomass was burned in an open fireplace in a cottage with an area of 48 m2. The time required to burn 10 m3 of biomass and the resulting increase in indoor temperature were measured. The environmental impact of burning Scots pine biomass was determined