Scale-up operations for biogas production: Analysis on critical factors governing large-scale operations

Abstract

Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a unique process where different microbial species decompose organic materials in the absence of oxygen and has been widely practiced in full-scale facilities all over the world. Several AD techniques have been applied to convert livestock manures, wastewaters, and solid lignocellulosic waste into biogas. Despite the progress on the engineering of AD systems, several challenges exist for the economically and environmentally efficient way to recover carbon in the form of renewable biogas fuel. The complexity of the challenges poses constraints into the understanding of the factors associated to the scale-up of the AD operations. This study aims to review the critical factors of biogas plant project development.