IMPROVEMENT OF THE BIOGAS PRODUCTION PROCESS Explorative project ( EP 1 )

BRC is a center of excellence in biogas research funded by the Swedish Energy Agency, Linköping University and a number of external organizations with one-third each. BRC has a very broad interdisciplinary approach, bringing together biogas-related skills from several areas to create interaction on many levels-between industry, academia and society-between different perspectives-between different disciplines and areas of expertise. BRC's vision is: Resource-efficient biogas solutions are implemented in many new applications and contribute to a more sustainable energy supply, improved environmental conditions, and good business opportunities. BRC contributes to the vision by advancing knowledge and technical development, as well as by facilitating development, innovation and business. Resource efficiency is central, improving existing processes and systems as well as establishing biogas solutions in new sectors and enabling use of new substrates. For BRC phase 1, the first two year period from 2012-2014, the research projects were organized in accordance with Table 1, showing important challenges for biogas producers and other stakeholders, and how these challenges were tackled in eight research projects. Five of the projects had an exploratory nature, meaning that they were broader, more future oriented and, for example, evaluated several different technology paths (EP1-EP5). Three projects focused more on technology and process development (DP6-DP8) Table 1. Challenges, exploratory (EP) and technology and process development (DP) projects for BRC phase 1, 2012-2014. Challenges More gas from existing systems New feedstock New sectors Cooperation for improved performance Relevant societal conditions Explorative projects EP1-Improvement of the biogas production process EP2-Systematic assessment of feedstock for an expanded biogas production EP3-Biogas in new industries EP4-Collaboration for improved economic and environmental performance EP5-Municipalities as system builders in energy systems Technology and process development projects DP6-Increased methane production and process stability in biogas reactors DP7-Enzymatic increase of sludge digestibility DP8-Systems and technology for effective use of biofertilizers This is a report from the EP1 project – Improvement of the biogas production process. Please, observe that there are reports and/or scientific papers for the other projects as well. 3 Summary There are several ways to improve biogas production in anaerobic digestion processes and a number of strategies may be chosen. Increased organic loading in existing plants will in most cases demand the introduction of new substrate types. However, to substantially increase the Swedish biogas production new, large-scale biogas plants digesting new substrate types need to be established. Better utilization of existing digester volumes can be linked to:  …