Andrés Martínez-Arce , Wriju Kargupta , Carmen Girón Domínguez , Emmanuel Alepu Odey , Helena McMahon , Jorge Diaz Huerta , Jesko Zimmermann , George Bishop , James Gaffey , David Styles
{"title":"通过爱尔兰食物垃圾厌氧消化生产生物甲烷的综合技术经济和环境评估:市场波动下的最新见解","authors":"Andrés Martínez-Arce , Wriju Kargupta , Carmen Girón Domínguez , Emmanuel Alepu Odey , Helena McMahon , Jorge Diaz Huerta , Jesko Zimmermann , George Bishop , James Gaffey , David Styles","doi":"10.1016/j.seta.2025.104563","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study presents an integrated techno-economic and environmental assessment of a biomethane plant in Ireland, processing 50,000 tonnes of food waste annually via anaerobic digestion (AD), according to the National Biomethane Strategy. SuperPro Designer simulation was employed to quantify material and energy flows, supporting a techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA).</div><div>The levelized cost of biomethane is estimated at 249 Euro/MWh, 2.9 times the 2019 benchmark, due to high capital (30.3 million Euro) and operational (4.2 million Euro/year) costs driven by inflationary effects caused by external events, such as the war in Ukraine. A biomethane selling price of 111.7 Euro/MWh (household gas price) and gate fees above 69 Euro/tonne are required for breakeven. Unfavourable market conditions would inevitably drive the need for policy supports such as renewable energy incentives or carbon credits to achieve profitability.</div><div>The LCA shows a net climate benefit of 46 kgCO<sub>2</sub>eq/tonne. Still, under-estimated methane leaks could offset these gains and cause revenue losses over 100,000 Euro/year. Digestate circularity following the Nitrates Directive presents trade-offs depending on the impact category.</div><div>This integrated analysis reinforces the economic challenges and environmental potential of biomethane production, offering key insights for advancing Ireland’s circular bioeconomy and renewable energy goals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56019,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments","volume":"82 ","pages":"Article 104563"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"An integrated technoeconomic and environmental assessment of biomethane production via anaerobic digestion of food waste in Ireland: Updated insights under market volatility\",\"authors\":\"Andrés Martínez-Arce , Wriju Kargupta , Carmen Girón Domínguez , Emmanuel Alepu Odey , Helena McMahon , Jorge Diaz Huerta , Jesko Zimmermann , George Bishop , James Gaffey , David Styles\",\"doi\":\"10.1016/j.seta.2025.104563\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<div><div>This study presents an integrated techno-economic and environmental assessment of a biomethane plant in Ireland, processing 50,000 tonnes of food waste annually via anaerobic digestion (AD), according to the National Biomethane Strategy. SuperPro Designer simulation was employed to quantify material and energy flows, supporting a techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA).</div><div>The levelized cost of biomethane is estimated at 249 Euro/MWh, 2.9 times the 2019 benchmark, due to high capital (30.3 million Euro) and operational (4.2 million Euro/year) costs driven by inflationary effects caused by external events, such as the war in Ukraine. A biomethane selling price of 111.7 Euro/MWh (household gas price) and gate fees above 69 Euro/tonne are required for breakeven. Unfavourable market conditions would inevitably drive the need for policy supports such as renewable energy incentives or carbon credits to achieve profitability.</div><div>The LCA shows a net climate benefit of 46 kgCO<sub>2</sub>eq/tonne. Still, under-estimated methane leaks could offset these gains and cause revenue losses over 100,000 Euro/year. Digestate circularity following the Nitrates Directive presents trade-offs depending on the impact category.</div><div>This integrated analysis reinforces the economic challenges and environmental potential of biomethane production, offering key insights for advancing Ireland’s circular bioeconomy and renewable energy goals.</div></div>\",\"PeriodicalId\":56019,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments\",\"volume\":\"82 \",\"pages\":\"Article 104563\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":7.0000,\"publicationDate\":\"2025-09-05\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"5\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213138825003947\",\"RegionNum\":2,\"RegionCategory\":\"工程技术\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q1\",\"JCRName\":\"ENERGY & FUELS\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213138825003947","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENERGY & FUELS","Score":null,"Total":0}
An integrated technoeconomic and environmental assessment of biomethane production via anaerobic digestion of food waste in Ireland: Updated insights under market volatility
This study presents an integrated techno-economic and environmental assessment of a biomethane plant in Ireland, processing 50,000 tonnes of food waste annually via anaerobic digestion (AD), according to the National Biomethane Strategy. SuperPro Designer simulation was employed to quantify material and energy flows, supporting a techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA).
The levelized cost of biomethane is estimated at 249 Euro/MWh, 2.9 times the 2019 benchmark, due to high capital (30.3 million Euro) and operational (4.2 million Euro/year) costs driven by inflationary effects caused by external events, such as the war in Ukraine. A biomethane selling price of 111.7 Euro/MWh (household gas price) and gate fees above 69 Euro/tonne are required for breakeven. Unfavourable market conditions would inevitably drive the need for policy supports such as renewable energy incentives or carbon credits to achieve profitability.
The LCA shows a net climate benefit of 46 kgCO2eq/tonne. Still, under-estimated methane leaks could offset these gains and cause revenue losses over 100,000 Euro/year. Digestate circularity following the Nitrates Directive presents trade-offs depending on the impact category.
This integrated analysis reinforces the economic challenges and environmental potential of biomethane production, offering key insights for advancing Ireland’s circular bioeconomy and renewable energy goals.
期刊介绍:
Encouraging a transition to a sustainable energy future is imperative for our world. Technologies that enable this shift in various sectors like transportation, heating, and power systems are of utmost importance. Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments welcomes papers focusing on a range of aspects and levels of technological advancements in energy generation and utilization. The aim is to reduce the negative environmental impact associated with energy production and consumption, spanning from laboratory experiments to real-world applications in the commercial sector.