Chapman, Ella (2023) Greenhouse gas reduction and biogas production potential through anaerobic digestion of biomass waste: an Australian perspective. [USQ Project]
![[img]](https://sear.unisq.edu.au/style/images/fileicons/text.png) |
Text (Project – redacted)
Chapman_E_Trzcinski_Redacted.pdf Download (3MB) |
Abstract
Compared to other forms of renewables, bioenergy and biogas have seen very little growth over the past decade in Australia. This is not ideal, as the country will likely have to utilise every available renewable energy source to meet the requirements of the Paris agreement and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe) by 2050. Reasons for this lack of growth include low cultural motivation, minimal government support, and no clear knowledge of energy potentials. Therefore, better understanding of biogas potentials generated from anaerobic digestion (AD) of biomass in Australia is necessary.
This project will use open-source data and statistics to determine Australia-wide availability and characteristics of biomass from the selected sources (municipal solid waste (MSW), livestock animal manure and agricultural residues). This will include variables such as city population, crop residue proportion of harvest and animal manure production as well as availability and biogas potential from AD of each waste source. As there is no practical research element in this methodology, most of the allocated project time will be spent verifying and finding multiple credible sources for this data. The key outcomes of the research include Australia wide estimation of potential biogas, biomethane and biofertilizer production, net energy generation and net-GHGe reduction from anaerobic co-digestion (ACoD) of MSW, livestock manure and agricultural residue.
Key results and recommendations include:
• Overall, 5 700 Mm3 /year of biogas could be generated from ACoD of the biomass.
• Results found 58%, 37% and 5% of biogas production was attributed to agricultural residue, livestock manure and MSW, respectively.
• This biogas could supply 10% of Australia’s electricity demand if combined heat and power generators are used, reducing CO2e by 7 Mm3 /year.
• It is recommended that biogas is upgraded to biomethane to supply 46% of residential/commercial gas demand, as this is a ‘hard-to-abate’ sector and cannot be replaced by other renewables.
• An estimated 16 million tonnes of digestate byproduct is generated in ACoD, and with correct handling and management, could be used to completely replace imported synthetic fertiliser in the Australian agricultural sector.
Quantifying overall biogas potential is only half the problem however, and this project highlights several areas of further research required to achieve the potentials calculated. This includes investigation into logistics and cost-benefit analysis of transporting biomass, determining most efficient locations/sizes of reactors, and understanding conflicting uses of biomass and how government legislation will need to be updated to maximise biomass availability.
|
Statistics for this ePrint Item |
| Item Type: | USQ Project |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Current – Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Engineering (1 Jan 2022 -) |
| Supervisors: | Trzcinski, Antoine |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) |
| Date Deposited: | 23 Sep 2025 03:50 |
| Last Modified: | 23 Sep 2025 03:50 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | greenhouse gas; biomass waste |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52935 |
Actions (login required)
 |
Archive Repository Staff Only |
