Anaerobic digestion technology provides a new approach to treat organic waste while generating greenhouse gas ( GHG ) savings. Moreover, the methane gas produced during the process can be used to generate electricity. In order to ensure that Australia stays on its trajectory towards a carbon neutral future, the use of anaerobic digestion technology to treat its abundant organic waste streams should be considered . Thirty million tonnes ( Mt ) of organic waste was produced in 2017. The use of anaerobic digestion to treat 1 tonne of waste could result in 0.143 tonne of CO 2 -e in GHG saving s . In contrast, other more widely employed waste disposal methods such as landfilling, composting and incineration may generate GHG emissions. Additionally, the use of methane for electricity production also generates the least GHG emissions per MWh. This is approximately 3 times lower than crude oil, 4 times lower than black coal and 5 times lower than brown coal. However, the adoption and implementation of anaerobic digestion technology in Australia face several immediate constraints. Firstly, anaerobic digestion technology is deemed unprofitable, incurring high initial capital cost, operating costs and extremely long payback periods. Secondly, there is a lack of government support in terms of a national target for biogas production via anaerobic digestion. This review will provide an in-depth analysis into the current state of the Australian biogas sector. In addition , the review discusses the opportunities to make anaerobic digestion technology more financially viable and to accelerate the growth of the Australian biogas sector.
Pickin, J., et al. (2018) National Waste Report 2018. Department of the Environment and Energy of Australian Government, Canberra.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2020) Agricultural Commodities, Australia, 2018-19. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra.
Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (2020) Australian Crop Report. Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Canberra.
Ahmad, B., Yadav, V., Yadav, A., Ur Rahman, M., Yuan, W.Z., Li, Z., et al. (2020) Integrated Biorefinery Approach to Valorize Winery Waste: A Review from Waste to Energy Perspectives. Science of the Total Environment, 719, 137315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137315
Wine Australia (2019) National Vintage Report 2019. Adelaide, South Australia, Wine Australia Head Office.
Dastjerdi, B., V. Strezov, R. Kumar, and M. Behnia (2019) An Evaluation of the Potential of Waste to Energy Technologies for Residual Solid Waste in New South Wales, Australia. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 115, 109398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2019.109398
Lu, H.R., Qu, X. and El Hanandeh, A. (2020) Towards a Better Environment—The Municipal Organic Waste Management in Brisbane: Environmental Life Cycle and Cost Perspective. Journal of Cleaner Production, 258, 120756. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120756
Sustainability Victoria (2020) Bioenergy Infrastructure Fund Grants. Victoria State Government, Victoria.
United States Environmental Protection Agency (2020) LFG Energy Project Development Handbook. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington DC.
Emission Assurance Reduction Committee (2018) Landfill Gas Method Crediting Period Review Report. Department of Agriculture, Canberra.
Energy Information Administration (2019) Biomass explained Waste-to-energy Municipal Solid Waste. Energy Information Administration, Washington DC.
Kristanto, G.A. and Koven, W. (2019) Estimating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Municipal Solid Waste Management in Depok, Indonesia. City and Environment Interactions, 4, 100027. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cacint.2020.100027
Y. El Gnaoui, F. Karouach, M. Bakraoui, M. Barz and H. El Bari (2020) Mesophilic Anaerobic Digestion of Food Waste: Effect of Thermal Pretreatment on Improvement of Anaerobic Digestion Process. Energy Reports, 6, 417-422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2019.11.096
Surendra, K.C., Devin Takara, Andrew G. Hashimoto and Samir Kumar Khanal (2014) Biogas as a Sustainable Energy Source for Developing Countries: Opportunities and Challenges. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 31, 846-859. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2013.12.015
Zaidi, A.A., Feng RuiZhe, Yue Shi, Sohaib Z. Khan and Kashif Mushtaq (2018) Nanoparticles Augmentation on Biogas Yield from Microalgal Biomass Anaerobic Digestion. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 43, 14202-14213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2018.05.132
Santos, L.A.D., Rebeca Beltrão Valença, Leandro César Santos da Silva, Sávio Henrique de Barros Holanda, Anderson Felipe Viana da Silva, José Fernando Thomé Jucá, et al. (2020) Methane Generation Potential through Anaerobic Digestion of Fruit Waste. Journal of Cleaner Production, 256, 120389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120389
Dalpaz, R., Odorico Konrad, Carlos Candido da Silva Cyrne, Henrique Panis Barzotto, Camila Hasan and Marildo Guerini Filho (2020) Using Biogas for Energy Cogeneration: An Analysis of Electric and Thermal Energy Generation from Agro-Industrial Waste. Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, 40, 100774. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seta.2020.100774
Phong, N.T. (2012) Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Composting and Anaerobic Digestion Plants. INRES, Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation. Bonn, D-53115.
Gebrezgabher, S.A., Miranda P.M. Meuwissen, Bram A.M. Prins and Alfons G.J.M. Oude Lansink (2010) Economic Analysis of Anaerobic Digestion—A Case of Green Power Biogas Plant in The Netherlands. NJAS-Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, 57, 109-115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.njas.2009.07.006
Carlu, E., Truong, T. and Kundevski, M. (2019) Biogas Opportunities for Australia. ENEA Consulting, Bioenergy Australia.
Sustainability Victoria (2019) Greenhouse Gases from the Waste Sector and Opportunities for Reduction. Sustainability Victoria, Victoria.
Australian Department of the Environment and Energy (2019) Australian Energy Update 2019, in Australian Energy Statistics. Department of the Environment and Energy, Canberra.
Queensland Government (2018) Biofutures, Queensland Biofutures 10-Year Roadmap and Action Plan. Queensland Government, Queensland.
Clean Energy Council (2020) Clean Energy Australia Report 2020. Melbourne.
NSW Government (2020) Bioenergy in NSW. https://energy.nsw.gov.au/renewables/renewable-generation/bioenergy
Victoria State Government (2020) Bioenergy. Victoria State Government, Victoria.
Australian Renewable Energy Agency (2020) Bioenergy Roadmap. Australian Renewable Energy Agency, Canberra.
Government of South Australia (2020) Clean Energy Transition. Government of South Australia, Adelaide.
Australian Government (2020) Renewable Energy Target Scheme. Australian Government, Canberra.
Department of Environment and Energy (2019) Australian Energy Statistics, Table O Australian Electricity Generation, by Fuel Type, Physical Units. https://www.energy.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019_aes_table_o_march_2019.pdf
Alexander, S., Harris, P. and McCabe, B.K. (2019) Biogas in the Suburbs: An Untapped Source of Clean Energy? Journal of Cleaner Production, 215, 1025-1035. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.01.118
Thi, N.B.D., Lin, C.-Y. and Kumar, G. (2016) Electricity Generation Comparison of Food Waste-Based Bioenergy with Wind and Solar Powers: A Mini Review. Sustainable Environment Research, 26, 197-202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.serj.2016.06.001
Clean Energy Council (2020) Project Tracker. https://www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/resources/project-tracker
Australian Renewable Energy Agency (2020) Large-Scale Solar. Australian Government, Canberra.
Australian Renewable Energy Agency (2020) Wind Energy. Australian Government, Canberra.
Australian Renewable Energy Agency (2020) Goulburn Abattoir Powering Itself Using Bioenergy. https://arena.gov.au/news/goulburn-abattoir-powering-using-bioenergy/?fbclid=Iw AR0be03SIl3qatWWr_ihftOG8Nx0SyFhAe1KFDsBKi5oYt-PaHdqKLKqzqI
Australian Government (2020) Quarterly Update of Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory: March 2020. Australian Government, Canberra.
Hanna, E. (2016) Climate Change—Reducing Australia’s Emissions. Parliament of Australia, Canberra.
Office of Environment and Heritage (2016) Achieving Zero-Net emissions by 2050. Office of Environment and Heritage, Sydney.
ReWaste (2020) How Will ReWaste Change My Business? http://www.rewaste.com.au/rewaste-and-your-business/
Paolini, V., Francesco Petracchini, Marco Segreto, Laura Tomassetti, Nour Naja & Angelo Cecinato (2018) Environmental Impact of Biogas: A Short Review of Current Knowledge. Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A, 53, 899-906. https://doi.org/10.1080/10934529.2018.1459076
Vivid Economics (2013) Analysis of Electricity Consumption, Electricity Generation Emissions Intensity and Economy-Wide Emissions. A. C. C. Authority. Canberra ACT 2601.
Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V (FNR) (2019) Bioenergy in Germany Facts and Figures 2019. Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. 18276 Gülzow-Prüzen, Germany.