Project: Sustainable biogas production by substituting maize silage with agricultural energy crops

The project is co-financed by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and is implemented within the Operational Program Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014-2020

Project description

Project Sustainable biogas production by substituting maize silage with agricultural energy crops (KK.01.1.1.07.0078), implemented under the call Strengthening Capacities for Research, Development and Innovation KK.011.1.07.

To read more about the project implementation, visit https://biomass2biogas.agr.hr.

The project will include industrial research in biogas production aimed at substituting maize silage as conventional, unsustainable raw material with sustainable energy crops Miscanthus X giganteus, Arundo donax and Sida hermaphrodita.

The project represents a direct step towards establishing a system that would supply existing and future biogas plants with raw material that is more available and economically more advantageous than the presently used maize silage.

The foreseen project duration is 36 months.

Project implementation period

The project is to be implemented from December 23, 2020 to December 23, 2023.

Project purpose (specific objectives)

The purpose is to research different anaerobic processing technologies of these cultures by applying the procedures of innovative anaerobic processing to determine the optimum technology and energy potential of the proposed system and the possibility of fermented residue disposal.

Expected deliverables of the project

  • Publication of 7 scientific papers in the Web of Science indexed journals.
  • Intellectual property protection
  • Establishing permanent cooperation between the Applicant and the Partner

General objectives of the project

  • Determine the possibility of revitalizing abandoned agricultural areas by growing different energy crops to produce second-generation biogas
  • Define the possibility of biomass storage (open warehouses) for a year-round supply of biogas plants with researched raw materials
  • Analyze the composition of the researched biomass as input raw material into the anaerobic digestion as a batch and continuous process
  • Determine the potential of biogas production in relation to the energy culture used, as well as the shares of individual raw materials during anaerobic co-digestion in the batch and continuous process
  • Define the optimal formulation in relation to the percentage ratio of using individual raw materials during anaerobic co-digestion in the fermentor in both co-digestion processes
  • Analyse the fermented residue (digestate) in relation to researched formulations
  • Determine the optimal fermented residue disposal options 
  • Determine the energy potential of the proposed system

For more information about the project, please contact Goran Lukić at info@croteh.eu

For more information about the European structural and investment funds, please visit www.strukturnifondovi.hr

For more information about the Operational Program Competitiveness and Cohesion, please visit http://www.strukturnifondovi.hr/op-konkurentnost-i-kohezija-2014-2020-779

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