New paper shows high potential of biogas production from industrial wastewater

April 18, 2021 |

In Belgium, a new paper by the European Biogas Association mapped the opportunities of producing biogas from industrial wastewaters and quantified the biogas production potential of different EU industry sectors. The results show that biogas has a high potential to mitigate methane emissions from wastewater whilst at the same time providing a huge potential source of renewable energy.

This will reduce energy consumption at wastewater treatment installations, provide a solution for the management of sludge and create additional green jobs at local level. The paper includes recommendations to untap the biogas potential from wastewaters.

The findings of this paper show that it is possible to recover around 14 Mtoe (142 TWh) of biogas per year by valorising industrial wastewater from the spirits, biodiesel, pulp and paper, beer, vegetable oils, ethanol, meat, and cheese sectors. However, the large potential of biogas production from industrial wastewater is not yet considered in most studies evaluating the biogas production potential in Europe in 2050 between 87-114 Mtoe (1,008-1,326 TWh). Therefore, this potential can be higher than currently estimated.

 

Category: Research

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