Biogas for environmental and climate protection | |
The carbon footprint for generating energy from biogas is neutral as, during burning, only as much carbon dioxide is produced as is absorbed by plants, including grain for feeding, during their growth. The majority of the carbon taken on via the feed is also present in the animals' faeces, meaning that it can be used in biogas plants (liquid or solid manure). Thus, biogas plants avoid the harmful carbon dioxide emissions that would otherwise be emitted by fossil fuels. | |
Environmental protection:Less CO2 as compared with fossil energy: | In addition, by fermenting animal faeces, methane and nitrous oxide emissions that are created during open storage or spreading on agricultural land are avoided. Methane is 23 times more harmful to the climate than carbon dioxide.
|
Less CO2 as compared with energy from maize: | Generating energy from maize is CO2-neutral in itself. Due to extensive use of machines and chemicals, cultivation, fertilisation, treatment, harvesting and silaging entail CO2 emissions of 0.104 kg/kWh (best case). When performance is compared, if you take an assumed overall output of 3 MW/h and 8,200 output hours, you get a difference in favour of the GMS alpha bio energy plant of 2.558.400 kg/a CO2 |
Avoiding ammonia emissions: | Poultry faeces are well known for containing a high proportion of nitrogen. Every year, almost 1,000,000 t of poultry manure is produced in Lower Saxony alone. This is largely delivered as fertiliser to remote agricultural regions of Germany. This fertiliser contains approx. 35,000 t of nitrogen! 10% of this = 3,500 t outgases as ammonia (NH3), even in the case of proper agricultural practice. During periods in which it cannot be worked into the land straight away (during winter and first growth), the manure is largely stored in the open at the edge of fields or set-aside areas. Here, around another 5,000 t of ammonia escapes. Continuous processing of poultry manure at GMS alpha bio energy plants gets rid of the problematic remains of commercial poultry all year round, thus avoiding environmentally damaging ammonia emissions. |
Avoiding nitrification of groundwater | Due to the high volume of poultry manure and its use as fertiliser, the leaching of ammoniacal nitrogen caused by open storage or delayed application is unavoidable. Nitrification increases in the groundwater in the area surrounding the manure! Rivers and lakes suffer considerably through high nutrient inputs (eutrophication). |