Constructing a Biomass-Data Center Nexus for Circular Economy-Based Energy Systems Integration

Abstract

The dual challenges of energy crises and waste management have spurred interest in a circular economy, where biomass, valued for its carbon neutrality, is crucial. Remote areas, rich in biomass, are also becoming hubs for data center (DC) construction. Despite DCs’ low energy efficiency and production of low-grade waste heat, recovering this heat offers a promising path toward a circular economy. There are few systematic studies on the relationships among DC energy supply, waste heat generation, and renewable energy resources. In this study, we formulate day-ahead, real-time optimal scheduling strategies to provide electricity, heat, and gas using a complementary photovoltaic-biomass system. The biogas production process requires heat to promote the anaerobic reaction, and the adaptation temperature of anaerobic bacteria matches the low-quality waste heat generated from of the DC. We realize a circular economy by coupling a DC and a renewable energy system by directly using the waste heat from the DC and by using the queuing theory of the DC’s delay tolerance workload for partial load response. Moreover, the nonlinearity in the process is linearized by the least squares method. Actual data calculations show that the introduction of biogas can result in a fully renewable energy supply. Based on specific configurations—including a 350 kW PV system, 450 kWh BSS, 250 kW CHP unit, and an AD operating at 20°C to 45°C—the system is tested under 0% and 50% carbon emission scenarios. The DC workload combines delay-tolerant and delay-sensitive tasks, enabling flexible scheduling for energy and heat optimization, the power usage effectiveness (PUE) of the DC decreases from 1.73 to 1.24, operating expenses decrease by 36.06%, and system energy consumption decreases by 44.6%.