Bio-waste selection and blending for the optimal production of power and fuels via anaerobic digestion

In this work we select the optimal organic waste or waste blend for the production of chemicals, including DME, methanol, ethanol and FT fuels, and as drop-in fuel via biogas dry or hybrid reforming. Detailed models for biogas production and processing are used to compute the optimal mixture of biomass wastes among cattle and pig slurry, cattle and pig manure, sludge, urban food waste and urban green waste to be digested to obtain the required biogas. Even though the H-2 to CO ratio required by each chemical is different, the biogas composition suggested is similar, 50% methane, 47% CO2. As a source of energy, 70% methane content is targeted. The optimal blend of biomasses is highly dependent on the price of the digestate, an important asset. If the price is given by its components, only sludge is suggested. If we price the digestate as how close we are to the most typical commercial fertilizer, the biomass blend consists of 65% of cattle slurry and 35% urban food waste. (C) 2017 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.