ASSESSMENT OF THE POTENTIAL OF BIOMETHANE PRODUCED FROM THE FRENCH MUNICIPAL SLUDGE

Transcription

1 ASSESSMENT OF THE POTENTIAL OF BIOMETHANE PRODUCED FROM THE FRENCH MUNICIPAL SLUDGE September 2014 Study carried out on behalf of ADEME and GrDF by GREENBIRDIE and CRIGEN (GDF SUEZ) Contract n 1206C0100 Technical coordination : Olivier THEOBALD Circular Economy and Waste Division - Products and Material Efficiency Department ADEME Angers Marie-Laure CHARLOT Strategy delegation Strategy and territories Division - GrDF Paris En partenariat avec : SYNTHESIS 1

2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study was co-financed by ADEME and GrDF and carried out in 2014 by GREENBIRDIE and the Research Center of GDF SUEZ (CRIGEN). GREENBIRDIE and CRIGEN gratefully acknowledge water and sanitation experts contacted as part of this study for their inputs and contributions: Fabien ABAD, Agence de l Eau Rhône Méditerranée Corse, Emmanuel ADLER, Cabinet ACONSULT, Gildas BOUFFAUD, Communauté d agglomération Grenoble Alpes métropole, Hubert BUTZ, Syndicat des Eaux et de l Assainissement Alsace Moselle, Clotilde CARRON, FNCCR, Pierre COURSAN, Degrémont, Charly DUPERRIER, Agence de l Eau Rhin Meuse, Arnaud EHRENFTEIN, Strasbourg WWTP, Jean-Christophe FAMEL, GEDIA, Cécile GALLIAN, Agence de l Eau Artois Picardie, Céline LACOUR, ONEMA, Céline LAGARRIGUE, Agence de l Eau Rhône Méditerranée Corse, Anne-Laure MILL, Agence de l Eau Artois Picardie, Frédéric PIERRE, Strasbourg WWTP, Michel RIOTTE, SIAAP, Laure SEMBLAT, FNCCR. GREENBIRDIE and the CRIGEN Assessment of the potential of biomethane produced from the french municipal sludge - Synthesis - 5 pages The synthesis is available on-ligne media library Any representation or reproduction of the contents herein, in whole or in part, without the consent of the author(s) or their assignees or successors, is illicit under the French Intellectual Property Code (article L 122-4) and constitutes an infringement of copyright subject to penal sanctions. Authorised copying (article 122-5) is restricted to copies or reproductions for private use by the copier alone, excluding collective or group use, and to short citations and analyses integrated into works of a critical, pedagogical or informational nature, subject to compliance with the stipulations of articles L L incl. of the Intellectual Property Code as regards reproduction by reprographic means. 2

3 SYNTHESIS To achieve the goals of renewable energy production by 23% in 2020 and by 32% in 2030 (Law project on energy transition), the French Government is committed to strongly support all the local renewables sectors and in particular the anaerobic digestion. This sector can recycle organic waste into renewable energy while respecting local needs and issues. The objective of this study is to consider the potential of biomethane injectable into the gas grid from Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) sludge in 2020 and in To meet this goal, the following approach was followed: Wastewater is all sewage from the population but also industrial and commercial activities. The wastewater treatment can be achieved collectively in a wastewater treatment plant or individually (independent sanitation). The organic pollution in wastewater is usually expressed in Population Equivalent. Metropolitan France has 19,521 active wastewater treatment plants (data from portal sanitation, 2014) out of which 85 currently have an anaerobic digestion plant on site for sludge treatment. The entire theorical methanogenic potential from all the sludge WWTP is 2.13 TWh / year. To estimate the wastewater treatment plants liable to digest sludge, the approach used in this study is to determine the breakeven points of an anaerobic digestion plant installed on different sectors-types of wastewater treatment. The different ways of biogas recovery are sized and compared. It is considered that a case is profitable if its internal rate of return is at least 10 % (compared to a reference case). This approach is characterized by: A literature review of technical and economic characteristics of the various treatments found at a WWTP including anaerobic digestion and biogas recovery associated, A return of experience and collect of opinions from various experts in the field of sanitation, A technical and economic analysis of the various defined cases in relation to a reference case (without anaerobic digestion plant). 3

4 According to the technical and economic assumptions adopted, the study concludes the following thresholds profitability: 60,000 PE for upgrading biogas to injectable biomethane compared to the reference case without anaerobic digestion plant, 45,000 PE for upgrading biogas to injectable biomethane on a WWTP with an anaerobic digestion plant over 15 years, 150,000 PE for upgrading biogas to injectable biomethane on a WWTP with an anaerobic digestion plant over 15 years and a recovery of a part of the biogas by cogeneration (double recovery), Between 180,000 and 300,000 PE for the valorisation of the biogas by cogeneration compared to the reference case without anaerobic digestion plant. Below this threshold, the use of sludge from wastewater treatment plants in co-digestion in territorial anaerobic digestion plants may be considered depending on local opportunities. Thus the technical and economic potential of the French sludge treatment plants of more than 60,000 PE represents a resource of 1.25 TWh / year in The WWTP between 5,000 and 60,000 PE eligible for sludge digestion in territorial anaerobic digestion unit would represent an energy feedstock of 0.58 TWh / year. For 2020 and 2050, the real injection potential was estimated using different scenarios to take into account the technical, economic and regulatory requirements that may affect the development of the sector. The results of the study indicate that the potential for production of biomethane for injection on the French natural gas grid from the sludge of wastewater treatment plants: In 2020: 0.06 to 0.54 TWh / year, In 2050: 0.60 to 1.41 TWh / year. Below this threshold, the use of sludge from wastewater treatment plants in co-digestion in territorial anaerobic digestion plants represents a potential: In 2020: about 0.03 TWh / year, In 2050: 0.20 to 0.40 TWh / year. The figure below illustrates the potential of biogas from WWTP sludge for injection into the gas grid in 2020 and 2050 : Main results of this study are presented in the following figure : 4

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6 ABOUT ADEME The French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) is active in the implementation of public policy in the areas of the environment, energy and sustainable development. The Agency provides expertise and advisory services to businesses, local authorities and communities, government bodies and the public at large, to enable them to establish and consolidate their environmental action. As part of this work ADEME helps finance projects, from research to implementation, in the areas of waste management, soil conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energy, air quality and noise abatement. ADEME is a public agency under the joint authority of the Ministry for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, and the Ministry for Education, Higher Education and Research.