Energies

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Among all the available renewable energies, electrical energy obtained from biomethane combustion has become widespread. Biomethane is well-known to originate from the anaerobic treatment of various carbon-based components. Taking into account the urge of employing more and more renewable energy, it becomes of interest to optimise anaerobic process technologies with the aim of maximising the amount of methane potentially extracted from carbonaceous resources. This can occur not only through the invention of novel anaerobic technologies but also through the development of mathematical models and control strategies for optimal operational performance. In this scenario, feedstock composition and availability play an essential role. Aside from maximizing biomethane production from bioresources, additional challenges originate when aiming at its rational utilisation in the function of the actual need of it, also considering the contextual availability of other renewable energies. With this context, it is important to analyse the overall carbon footprint of anaerobic technologies considering the losses of methane and the carbon dioxide generated from methane combustion, especially compared to the use of other energy sources.

This Special Issue would like to collect all the original research and review works dealing with:

Experimentation and optimisation of innovative anaerobic technologies;
Engineering techniques for biogas production enhancement;
Novel mathematical modelling approaches applied to anaerobic technologies;
Ground-breaking control strategies aimed at optimising the energy production and utilisation from bioresources through anaerobic treatment;
Carbon footprint analysis of anaerobic technologies.

Works dealing with biomethane production from bioresources, such as domestic and industrial wastewaters or solid wastes, are all welcome.

Dr. Riccardo Boiocchi
Prof. Dr. Marco Ragazzi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

biomethane
anaerobic process
mathematical modelling
process control
carbon footprint
optimisation

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

Jump to: Review

19 pages, 5204 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Landfill Biogas Recovery and Its Contribution to Greenhouse Gas Mitigation

by Dek Vimean Pheakdey, Vongdala Noudeng and Tran Dang Xuan

Energies 2023, 16(12), 4689; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16124689 - 13 Jun 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1705

Abstract

This study assesses the biomethane (CH₄) generation and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from municipal solid waste landfilling in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with a focus on the impact of fugitive CH₄ emissions and operation processes in four landfilling scenarios: simple dumping (S1), improved management with leachate treatment (S2), engineered landfill with flaring (S3), and engineered landfill with energy recovery (S4). The study also considered the environmental benefits of carbon sequestration and landfill gas utilization. The LandGEM and IPCC FOD models were used to calculate CH₄ generation over the period of 2009–2022, and it was found that approximately 18 and 21 M kg/year of CH₄ were released, respectively. The energy potential from CH₄ recovery was 51–61 GWh/year. Overall, GHG emissions in S2 were the highest, amounting to 409–509 M kg CO₂-eq/year, while S1 had lower emissions at 397–496 M kg CO₂-eq/year. Flaring-captured CH₄ in S3 could reduce GHG emissions by at least 55%, and using captured CH₄ for electricity production in S4 could mitigate at least 83% of GHG emissions. Electricity recovery (S4) could avoid significant amounts of GHG emissions (−52 to −63 kg CO₂-eq/tMSW). The study suggests that landfill gas-to-energy could significantly reduce GHG emissions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Energy Recovery through Anaerobic Processes and Environmental Protection)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

23 pages, 1070 KiB

Open AccessReview

Carbon Footprint and Energy Recovery Potential of Primary Wastewater Treatment in Decentralized Areas: A Critical Review on Septic and Imhoff Tanks

by Riccardo Boiocchi, Matia Mainardis, Elena Cristina Rada, Marco Ragazzi and Silvana Carla Salvati

Energies 2023, 16(24), 7938; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16247938 - 06 Dec 2023

Viewed by 1187

Abstract

The present work is a critical review on the carbon footprint and energy recovery potential of septic and Imhoff tanks for primary wastewater treatment. From an online search of research papers, a lack of up-to-date research about gas emissions from Imhoff tanks emerged. Additionally, available literature data should be extended to incorporate the effect of seasonal variations, which may be relevant due to the fact that both systems work under environmental conditions. The literature generally agrees on the positive effect of temperature increase on biogas and methane production from both septic and Imhoff tanks. Additionally, sludge withdrawal is an important operational feature for gas production in these reactors. More recently, the application of electrochemical technologies and the installation of photovoltaic modules have been studied to enhance the sustainability of these decentralized solutions; in addition, sludge pretreatment has been investigated to raise the obtainable methane yields due to limited sludge biodegradability. Further research is needed to assess the effective sustainability of biogas collection and valorization from existing septic and Imhoff tanks, considering the limited biogas generation and the implementation of these systems in decentralized wastewater treatment scenarios (rural or mountain areas). Contrary to the intensive research on greenhouse gas mitigation strategies applied to centralized systems, solutions specifically designed for gas emission mitigations from septic and Imhoff tanks have not attracted the same scientific interest up to now. More generally, given the widespread application of these two options and their potential significant contribution to the overall carbon footprint of wastewater treatment technologies, much more research must be performed in the future both on the quantification of gas production and on the applicable strategies to reduce their carbon footprint. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimal Energy Recovery through Anaerobic Processes and Environmental Protection)

► Show Figures