Operation of a Pilot-Scale Biogas Plant Made of Textile Materials and Application of Its Results to a Full-Sized Demonstration Plant

Verónica Hidalgo-Sánchez (), Josef Hofmann, María Emma Borges (), Uwe Behmel, Diana Hehenberger-Risse, Tobias Finsterwalder, Christina Pritscher, Johannes Blattenberger, Tanja Wainz and Maximilian Dillis
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Verónica Hidalgo-Sánchez: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Applied Sciences Landshut, 84036 Landshut, Germany
Josef Hofmann: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Applied Sciences Landshut, 84036 Landshut, Germany
María Emma Borges: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of La Laguna, 38200 La Laguna, Spain
Uwe Behmel: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Applied Sciences Landshut, 84036 Landshut, Germany
Diana Hehenberger-Risse: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Applied Sciences Landshut, 84036 Landshut, Germany
Tobias Finsterwalder: Finsterwalder Umwelttechnik GmbH & Co. KG, 83233 Bernau am Chiemsee, Germany
Christina Pritscher: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Applied Sciences Landshut, 84036 Landshut, Germany
Johannes Blattenberger: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Applied Sciences Landshut, 84036 Landshut, Germany
Tanja Wainz: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Applied Sciences Landshut, 84036 Landshut, Germany
Maximilian Dillis: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Applied Sciences Landshut, 84036 Landshut, Germany

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 8, 1-17

Abstract: In small German farms, there is a technically usable potential of cattle manure and pig manure ranging from 153 to 187 million tons of fresh matter per year. Since 2021 and 2023, new incentives under the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) have been promoting biogas production in small farms. These incentives, applicable to biogas plants up to 150 kWel, include direct compensations for plants up to 100 kWel and market premiums for those up to 150 kWel. A small biogas plant made of textile materials was designed for both pilot and full-scale applications. Compared to conventional concrete biogas reactors, these textile-based reactors offer a simplified construction and operation, eliminating the need for specialized civil engineering. The primary objective of this research is to demonstrate the process engineering feasibility of biogas reactors based on textile materials for small farm biogas plants (30 to 75 kWel). Another goal is to design the construction method in such a way that this type of system can be built by farmers themselves after type testing on site. Operational insights were gathered from the laboratory plant with a 300-L digester volume, using cattle manure and clover grass silage. To adapt the system to the biogas reactor made of textile materials, the reactor was designed without a stirrer. These insights were considered in the design and approval procedure of the full-sized demonstration biogas plant made of textile materials. The full-size demonstration plant digesters underwent an approval procedure from local authorities, featuring treatment volumes of 120 m 3 for the main biogas reactor and 550 m 3 for the digestate reactor in an earth basin style. This new type of biogas plant could be built in small farms for self-sufficiency in electrical and thermal energy or for treating sewage sludge in small-scale communal wastewater treatment and biogas plants.

Keywords: small biogas plant; textile materials; pilot-scale biogas plant; real-sized biogas plant; scaling up; polypropylene (PP); high-density polypropylene (HDPE) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
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