The prospects for biogas integration with fuel cells in the United Kingdom
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Torija, S
Castillo-Castillo, A
Brandon, NP
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Anaerobic digestion (AD) presence is emerging in the UK because it has numerous environmental benefits as a waste management strategy and produces valuable biogas. This work shows that up to 5.5% of UK primary energy could be met by biogas, representing 14.4% of gas consumption. Fuel cells (FCs) are the most efficient and environmentally benign energy convertor of any device of equivalent scale and in addition are well suited for biogas utilization, which has worldwide led to the emergence of numerous integrated commercial applications. Thus, biogas coupling with fuel cells is proposed as a unique and virtuous AD scheme. A techno-economic model has been developed for the two types of AD plants with the highest development prospects in the UK, namely livestock and food waste plants, whose performance and feasibility at different scales are scrutinized under several policy scenarios, some of which incorporate supportive mechanisms for the introduction of FCs. Results confirm that conventional AD projects can already be profitable in the current market environment, while projects involving FCs proved environmentally superior, virtually suppressing harmful pollutant emissions and decreasing the CO2 emissions from using grid electricity and natural gas, at a reasonable avoided carbon cost in the best suited cases.
Date Issued
2015-12-22
Date Acceptance
2015-11-06
Citation
Fuel Cells, 2015, 16 (1), pp.55-79
ISSN
1615-6854
Publisher
Wiley-VCH Verlag
Start Page
55
End Page
79
Journal / Book Title
Fuel Cells
Volume
16
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim. This is the accepted version of the following article: Torija, S., Castillo-Castillo, A. and Brandon, N. P. (2016), The Prospects for Biogas Integration with Fuel Cells in the United Kingdom. Fuel Cells, 16: 55–79, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/fuce.201500047.
Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (E
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000370741400007&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Grant Number
Ref: YEP122
EP/L014289/1
Subjects
Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Technology
Electrochemistry
Energy & Fuels
Anaerobic Digestion
Biogas
Biogas Potential
Biomass
Fuel Cells
Renewable Resources
Waste-to-Energy
FUEL-CELL
ANAEROBIC-DIGESTION
TECHNOECONOMIC ANALYSIS
LIVESTOCK MANURE
ENERGY
WASTE
ELECTRICITY
GENERATION
PLANTS
HEAT
Energy
Publication Status
Published