Optimized biogas production by utilization the primary agriculture products: - manure and lignocellulosic crop and crop-byproduct materials: How to optimize the Biogas production by integrating sustainable land use biomass

The research work presented here consists of 5 years of integrated research conducted at 2 research groups at University of Life Science, Ås by Oslo and at Aalborg University, Department of Energy Technology. It consists of lab. scale trials, tests at full scale biogas installations as well as field surveys, including implementation steps. Feedstock’s for biogas plants consists of a broad variety of biological materials. The focus of the research work lays, where the resource base are tremendous big, and where the biomasses still has a large negative environmental pressure on the surrounding natural areas. This can be release of greenhouse gasses or by leaching nitrate or phosphorous to the water environment. Animal manure recycled at the wrong time and the wrong place during the year still has a huge negative impact on the water environment all over Europe. Closing this cycle means 9-12 month storage facilities, and often a better greenhouse gas balance by integration anaerobic digestion and thereby tapping the biogas from the easy digestible organic feedstocks. Manure in combination with lignocellulosic biomasses like straw, fibres-byproducts and grass-types will increase the biogas production carbon-nitrogen robustness remarkably. But to make a higher value out of lignocellulose as feedstock, there is a need for introducing the right pre-treatment methods. Mechanical – Physical and/or Chemical pretreament of lignocellulosic biomasses undergo these years remarkable research and implementation steps. To deconstruct the cellulosehemicellulose-lignin complex needs pretreatment methods, where mechanical deconstruction, along different kinds of “pressure cooking” and hydrolysis stems are in the focus. Various results will be showed, including biogas potentials in pretreated willow woodchips. The research groups have been discovering new feedstock’s from field surveys, specifically all kinds of permanent grassland types from natur concervation areas. These biomass types will be increasing the coming decades for natur concervation purposes. Scrublands where non-wanted vegetation are increasing, due to low numbers of animals for nature conservations form the segment of sheep’s and cattle’s are increasing. These non-easy fermentable biomasses need the deconstruction steps to be valuable feedstock’s in conjunction with manure types. A well composed mixture of these heterogeneous biomasses can comprise as 90-100% of the feedstock composition for high yielding biogas production. Several examples from our research will be documented, like surveys of permanent grasslands resources. Lab scale and full scale testing of grassland feedstock’s, gas potentials and full scale biogas yields. Trials of willow tree woodchips and wheat straw pre-treatment methods of the “pressure cooking “ types. Trials for process analytical technology (PAT) improvements have been documented at full scale biogas plants of how to monitor input feedstock concentration as TS – VS concentrations by on-line measurements. The gained results are promising. The R&D&D work demonstrated at the integrated biogas test-centre facilities and at biogas development full scale platforms are by purpose to develop the biogas sector in an even more sustainable direction. Better carbon footprint and socio-economical results for the society investments in the biogas sectors, where cheap and environmental friendly methods, to be developed, are solving mutual problems. Recycling the products to highly needed society products as power, heat or transportation fuels in the integrated RES-sectors and as highly valuable bio fertilizers moving nitrogen and phosphorous from unwanted areas to food production areas.