Cost assessment of biodigester implementation and biogas-produced energy

Abstract

This study aimed at assessing the costs incurred in building different biodigester models (Indian, Chinese, and Canadian) in Cascavél - PR, Brazil. We also determined costs related to biogas production from goat, bovine, and swine dungs in semi-confinement systems. For this purpose, we evaluated farms with herds of 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 animals of each group. The biodigesters' volume were based on each animal amount of excrement and, then, we calculated the costs for building and implementing each model, as well as costs associated to annual energy production on the number of animals used. The lowest cost was observed for Canadian biodigester with respect to both building and implementation, ranging from R$ 2,104.00 to R$ 7,266.00. Power generation using swine waste had the lowest costs varying 0.015 to 0.050 R$/ kWh with Canadian model. The largest annual energy production was recorded for bovine dung, varying 24,090 to 120,450 kWh/year for the 3 studied models.