LAYMAN REPORT. Program: LIFE+ Environment Policy and Governance 2009 Project reference: LIFE+ 09 ENV/ES/000451

Transcription

1 LAYMAN REPORT Program: LIFE+ Environment Policy and Governance 2009 Project reference: LIFE+ 09 ENV/ES/000451

2 The high prices and low reserves of petrol sources makes necessary to look for new and sustainable fuels such as the biodiesel, which production and use is increasing every year (the worldwide production increases 2,9 million tons per year, reaching 22,92 millions in 2012 and 9 millions in Europe). PROJECT SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES With the previous objective, new regulations Directive 2009/28/CE and Royal Decree 1957/2011, which encourage the use of sustainable raw material in the production of biodiesel, have opened an opportunity for the use of WVO, which is much cheaper than pure vegetable oils and more environmental friendly that the biodiesel coming from intensive crops, since it contributes to recycle a residue generated in houses, catering and food sectors, which improper management can contaminate 1000 L of water per liter of WVO released and implying a cost of 2,4 /l at sewage treatment plants. However, the refining of WVO in the biodiesel production generates new wastes that must be also treated properly trying to avoid environmental problems, being necessary to look for technical, economic and environmental viable production processes (saving energy cost and valorizing residues). Looking for the creation of a zero waste cycle from in the production of biosiesel, VALUVIOL consortium established the following objectives to demonstrate complete valorization of residues from refining of WVO: 1. Construction of a prototype technically viable, to demonstrate the economic and environmental feasibility of an improved procedure based on the anaerobic digestion of residues generated from used vegetable oils processing (WVO). 2. Demonstration of the amendment effects of the digestates as growth biostimulaiton in plants and biofertilizer in soils. 3. Demonstgraton of teh added value of the production of syngas using the digestates as a source of electricity cogeneration. VALUVOIL has demonstrated that it is possible to digest the products generated in the production of biodiesel from waste vegetable oils (WVO), and moreover valorize the digestates generated in that anaerobic digestions process as organic amendments for soils and plants and/or as a source of energy when gasified with other oil related raw materials, achieving a zero-waste cycle. However, currently, almost the 80% of the biodiesel consumed in Spain is imported from Argentina, Indonesia and Malasia, where it is produced from palm and soya oil, whose intensive crops are reducing the biodiversity in really valuable habitats and ecosystems. This environmental problems, joined to the negative economic impact on the national biodiesel sector, makes necessary to look for feasible sources for biodiesel production.

3 METHODOLOGY IMPLEMENTED AND RESULTS ACHIEVED During the 1 st half of the project, the most interesting residues and by-products from oil processing plants were collected, characterised and then submitted to different anaerobic digestion assays (RPP and BRP alone or mixed and mixed with other resides as co-substrates) at small scale in order to select the most optimal anaerobic digestion protocol that enhances the highest methane production. ANAEROBIC DIGESTIONS OF WVO The most promising conditions determined at lab scale were scaled-up in one phase (5 Li) and two phases (6 L) biogas reactors, demonstrating that using the proper combinations of samples and inoculums it was possible to obtain methane contents around 64% when using the two-phase system, an 85% of the yield reached at smaller scale was maintained. ONE PHASE LABORAROTY SCALE REACTOR TWO PHASES REACTOR After determining the anaerobic digestion strategy to be followed, VALUVOIL s consortium designed and installed a versatile semi-industrial prototype of 1,000 of capacity and two-phase digestion system with the objective of perform different assays at industrial level and optimize its working keeping similar degradation yields of residues and sub-products from the used vegetable oil processing industry and methane productions to that obtained at laboratory level. The most optimum conditions displayed a generation of 2234 L/day of biogas with a methane concentration of 65%, which even improved the results obtained at lab level, and moreover produce very less organic sludge than conventional physiochemical treatment systems, being a ECOfriendly process where no hazardous sludge were generated.

4 METHODOLOGY IMPLEMENTED AND RESULTS ACHIEVED DIGESTATES VALORIZATION As any industrial process, the WVO anaerobic digestion will also generate a organic rest (digestate) that can be valorized as biostimulantas and biofertilizers with direct applications in plants and soils, and into syngas for an additional and supplementary thermo electric source. AGRONOMIC USE After determining the agronomic quality of the digestates obtained in small scale, semi-scale reactors and semi-industrial assays it was demonstrated that they were not ecotoxic and that their macro and micronutrients content (being N the most abundant) conferred them a certain fertilizer character and an optimum agronomic quality. Germination test with 2 seeds and different soils were carried out to determine the phytotoxic effect, concluding that high dosages had inhibitory effects but when diluted at proper dosages a stimulant effect on root growth and seed germination was obtained. Plant grow assays carried out in growth cambers with differnt species and soils, aslo confrimed the resutls obtained in germination tests, where treated soils showed a higher growth than in control ones, being the highest plant yields obtained at high rates (80 and 120m3/ha). Concerning digestates effect over soils, it was demonstrate that they tended to increase soil microbial biomass and activity, particularly when applied at high dose, being the intensity of this effect depending on soil and digestate characteristics. PRODUCTION OF SYNGAS The high water content (90%) of digestates made neither technical nor economically viable their gasification by themselves, being necessary to use raw material from other oil and biodiesel related industrial processes as co-substrate to enhance the process. After evaluating their energetic properties, individual or mixed, digestates, WVO residues, glycerin, sunflower stover and sewage sludge were gasified at lab scale to determine the operating conditions and most optimum combination of raw materials, being later gasified in a bubbling fluidized bed reactor pilot plant. It was demonstrated that, drying the digestates and mixing them with other wastes generated in the process to reduce the moisture content, for a biodiesel production plant of t/year, it s possible to produce 484 kwe using all waste generated by gasification.

5 BENEFITS AND IMPACT If VALUVOIL s technology was applied, the following potential environmental, economic, social and legal impacts could be obtained: The water and soil pollution derived from the 1 billion and tons of WVO generated every year in Europe and Spain, respectively, could be significantly reduced by the proper treatment of the residues and by-products generated in their refining to produce biodiesel (1 l. of WVO improperly disposed could contaminate l. of water). Boosting the biodiesel production from edible oils versus the production from vegetable raw material (biodiversity maintenance). Decreasing greenhouse gas emissions (45% CO 2 reduction of biodiesel versus petrol fuels) and elimination of volatile compounds and ammonia emissions. Production of environmental friendly product with agricultural benefits. Reduction of electricity and energy consumption thanks to the potential generation of 484 kwe/year obtained from oil wastes and other raw materials (clean energy). Generation of zero residues and promotion of oil recycling. Since the WVO, residues and by-products generated in the biodiesel production could be valorized in a suitable way, biodiesel plans will not depend to the highly fluctuant market related to these products, ensuring their proper management with a suitable economic benefit (saving of 484 kwe/year by means of electricity co-generation). Reduction of the 2,4 /l at sewage treatment plants for oil contaminated water. Decreasing the dependence of petrol fuels and their constant price increase and encouraging the use of WVO in the biofuel production, which is cheaper than edible oil virgin. The incomes obtained from the energy savings will reduce the unfair competitions versus foreign biodiesel importations. Boosting the oil recycling market and valorization of residues generated in other industrial processes. Diversification of agricultural market by introducing new environmental friendly bioproduct. Increase of employment through the improving the collecting and refining WVO and new business lines in the agricultural market. Improvement the national biodiesel sector situation and maintenance of biodiesel plant employees. Reduction of human and animal disease risks: for instance reducing toxicity for workers who handle agrochemicals or reducion oil contaminated water flows for animals. Accomplishment with the sustainable criteria for biofuel productions established in European (Directive 2009/28/EC) and National (Decree 1597/2011) legislations. Compliant with the European Landfill Directive 1999/31/EC and on line with European phytosanitary regulation (200/60/EC, COM/2002/179, 91/414/EEC) Accomplishment with Kyoto Protocol, whose objectives have been extended after 2012 and with 2 nd, 5 th and 6 th thematic strategies of the 6EAP.

6 Apart of the benefits listed in the previous section, the use of VALUVOIL technology will imply an economic positive impact that makes its implementation highly viable. In small WVO treatment plants is recommended to uses digestate as an organic amendment and convert biogas in thermal energy for anaerobic digestion process, however basing on a higher scenario where a treatment plant porcess tons of contaminated oil and generates tons of waste for oil, the most optimum alternative would be use the 60% of this wastes in co-digestion with pig manure and the remaining 40% goes to gasification process together with digestate from anaerobic digestion and glycerol, estimating that the anaerobic digestion produces Nm 3 of biogas for electricity production, while syngas from gasification production is 899 Nm 3 /h. Bearing in mind the cost of the process, i.e. the initial investment for the anaerobic digestion and gasification plan, and the annual costs derived from the operating and maintenance, heat consumption, transport raw and byproducts cost, it seems clear that the benefits obtained from the electric power generation and overall the income for clean oil sale, not only would allow to overcome the initial investement during the first year of implementation, but also, a net income of almost 15 million eruos could be obtained every year. Moreover 7 new employees will be contracted as consequence of the project implementation, with also will improve the social aspect of the biodiesel sector. COST-BENEFITS IMPACT TRANSFERABILITY Although the new Royal Decree Law 2/2013 implies a threat for the renewable energies sector and the WVO oil collection market has changed since the beginning of the project (now recycling companies have to paid for the WVO), nowadays just the 5% of the biodiesel production in Spain comes from WVO, so it seems clear that there is a huge potential market for this alternative, although the cost and incomes obtained will be highly dependent on the future legislation concerning the energetic market of Spain and EU. Therefore, the 1 billion and tons of WVO generated every year in Europe and Spain, respectively, offers a wide market for the implementation of this technology where biodiesel plants are demanding new economic feasible and easy to implement alternatives to process the wastes generated in the biodesel production from WVO. In this sense, VALUVOIL alternative offers the advantage that not only the residues and by-products of WVO are properly processed independently of the fluctuant market of this products, but also an economic benefit is obtained from the savings of electricity consumption. The feasibility of biodiesel plants has a huge dependence on the improvement of its economic sustainability and, in particular, it is necessary to improve the energy efficiency and the incomes obtained from the glycerin (main byproduct) and the valorization of other process residues. So, it seem clear that the results obtained have high transferability potential, since it offers a feasible alternative to those residues and by-products obtained in the process (including glycerin) and moreover, has a high potential to obtain incomes from the saving of money by means of the production of electricity in biogas and syngas production.

7 VALUVOIL TAKES PLACE AT VALUVOIL TEAM

8 Period: 1 st September th February 2013 Total budget: EC financial contribution: (50%).