Environmental assessment of energy production by combustion of biogas provided by the anaerobic digestion of agricultural biomass

This paper tries to compare the environmental impacts of energy production using agricultural biomass and energy production using traditional reactor systems (natural gas and fuel oil) by using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. In order to make this comparison, the impact assessment methods CML 2 BASELINE 2000 (problem oriented method) and ECOINDICATOR 99 (damage oriented method) are used. The heat produced by cogeneration is intended to feed a heating network connected to 16 dwellings. The results show that the use of biogas reduces the emissions taking part in the global warming potential and reduces the global environmental impact.

Keywords: life cycle assessment, LCA, energy production, cogeneration, impact assessment, agricultural biomass, biogas, anaerobic digestion, global warming, energy crops, livestock breeding effluents, environmental impact, heating networks, emissions reduction