Analysis of the Possibility of Energetic Utilization of Biomass Obtained from Grass Mowing of a Large-Area Golf Course—A Case Study of Tuscany

Łukasz Sobol, Arkadiusz Dyjakon, Alessandro Suardi and Rainer Preißmann
Additional contact information
Łukasz Sobol: Department of Applied Bioeconomy, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 51-630 Wroclaw, Poland
Arkadiusz Dyjakon: Department of Applied Bioeconomy, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 51-630 Wroclaw, Poland
Alessandro Suardi: Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e L’Analisi Dell’Economia Agraria (CREA), Centro di Ricerca Ingegneria e Trasformazioni Agroalimentari, Via Della Pascolare 16, 00015 Monterotondo, Rome, Italy
Rainer Preißmann: Deutsche Golf Holding Ltd., Aktienstr. 177, D 45359 Essen, Germany

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 17, 1-22

Abstract: The mowing of sports fields generates a significant amount of waste biomass which requires appropriate management. On the largest scale, this problem affects golf courses with a grass surface area of up to 100 ha. Currently, the main directions for grass clippings management include composting, grass cycling, and waste. A certain alternative may be the energetic utilization of grass clippings, which not only solves the problem of organic waste management, but also brings measurable economic profits in the form of generated electricity and heat. This paper presents a techno-economic analysis of the application of a micro biogas plant, fed with grass clippings from a golf course project in Tuscany, with a grass surface of 111.21 ha. It has been shown that the annual biomass potential is 526.65 t DM ∙year −1 (±45.64 t DM ∙year −1 ), which makes it possible to build a micro biogas plant with an electric power of ca. 46 kW. The potential amount of electricity produced during the year is able to cover 16.95–37.35% (depending on the season) of electricity demand in the hotel resort, which includes two golf courses and practice facilities. The produced heat in the amount of 1388.41 GJ, in turn, is able to cover the annual heat demand in the range of 7.95–17.24% (depending on the season). In addition, the electricity and heat produced exceeds the energy expenditures for mowing, making the energy balance positive. Unfortunately, the analysis showed that the construction of a micro scale biogas plant is economically unprofitable and is characterized (in the period of 10 years) by negative IRR and ROI (−17.74% and −34.98%, respectively). However, it should be emphasized that with the additional income resulting from the avoidance of fees for the export and management of organic waste and the reduction of fertilization costs (fertilization of part of the golf course with digestate), the application of a micro biogas plant may turn out to be economically feasible (NPV > 0).

Keywords: grass clippings; turf mowing; waste biomass utilization; biogas; energy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/17/5520/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/17/5520/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:17:p:5520-:d:628832

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().