{"id":430917,"date":"2022-12-27T11:01:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-27T10:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/?post_type=selected&p=430917"},"modified":"2022-12-27T11:01:00","modified_gmt":"2022-12-27T10:01:00","slug":"heat-pumps-could-reduce-biogas-carbon-footprint","status":"publish","type":"selected","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/selected\/heat-pumps-could-reduce-biogas-carbon-footprint\/","title":{"rendered":"Heat pumps could reduce biogas carbon footprint"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

New research suggests that an alternative source of heat could reduce the carbon footprint of a process that turns food waste into power. A University of Glasgow-led team of scientists has demonstrated that using air-source heat pumps to support anaerobic digestion could cut the carbon emitted during biogas production by more than a third, writes the university in a press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why we write about this topic:<\/summary>

However circular, biogas production from waste still releases significant amounts of greenhouse gases into the air. <\/p><\/div><\/details>\n\n\n\n

Anaerobic digestion<\/a> uses microorganisms in oxygen-free conditions to break down biodegradable materials like food waste and sewage sludge to release biogas. This gas is a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide which can be burned to turn turbines, so as to generate low-carbon electricity. Machines called bioreactors maintain the optimal temperature during anaerobic digestion to maximize the amount of biogas generated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers compared the footprint of bioreactors heated by conventional heating systems with one of those heated by air-source heat pumps. In a new paper<\/a>, they outline how they created a computer model of the thermodynamics of heat pumps. In fact, they coupled the model with machine learning-based anaerobic digestion modeling and trained the new system from existing research databases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Testing the model<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To compare the two kinds of bioreactors, scientists compared the carbon footprint over the course of their respective lifespans. Particularly, it is a standardized approach called life cycle assessment. They found that the heat pump system would emit less carbon than the baseline natural gas system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The modeled carbon reduction was up to 28.1 percent in an anaerobic digestion process maintained at a temperature of 55\u00b0C. At a lower temperature of 37.5\u00b0C, the carbon footprint of the process went down by 36.1 percent. <\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>
<\/div><\/div>
Don’t call it waste – it can be turned into hydrogen if you handle it right<\/div>
Circularity is one way to help make the green transition happen. Now, everything can get a second life, and even what we used to consider trash can be a valuable resource.<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Heat pumps to support low-carbon anaerobic digestion <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Siming You, from the University of Glasgow\u2019s James Watt School of Engineering, is the paper\u2019s corresponding author. \u201cThis model is the first technical and environmental assessment of how useful air-source heat pumps could be in decarbonizing the process of producing biogas. The results suggest that there\u2019s a significant role for heat pumps in supporting low-carbon anaerobic digestion.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat kind of decentralized waste recycling could go a long way to helping people produce their own local source of electricity. The research is also part of a larger effort to decarbonize water and wastewater treatment in rural communities,\u201d he concluded. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2084,"featured_media":515648,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[40547,4007,129262,61647],"location":[55977],"internal_archives":[],"class_list":["post-430917","selected","type-selected","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sustainability-nl","tag-biogas","tag-circular-economy","tag-food-waste-4","tag-university-of-glasgow","location-united-kingdom"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":[],"featured_img":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/garbage-can-5398348_1920.jpg","coauthors":[],"author_meta":{"author_link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/author\/mauro-mereu\/","display_name":"Mauro Mereu"},"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 3 years ago","modified":"Updated 3 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on December 27, 2022","modified":"Updated on December 27, 2022"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on December 27, 2022 11:01 am","modified":"Updated on December 27, 2022 11:01 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","tax_additional":{"category":{"linked":["Sustainability<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Sustainability<\/span>"],"slug":"category","name":"Categories"},"post_tag":{"linked":["biogas<\/a>","circular economy<\/a>","food waste<\/a>","University of Glasgow<\/a>"],"unlinked":["biogas<\/span>","circular economy<\/span>","food waste<\/span>","University of Glasgow<\/span>"],"slug":"post_tag","name":"Tags"},"language":{"linked":["EN<\/a>"],"unlinked":["EN<\/span>"],"slug":"language","name":"Tags"},"post_translations":{"linked":[],"unlinked":[],"slug":"post_translations","name":""},"location":{"linked":["United Kingdom<\/a>"],"unlinked":["United Kingdom<\/span>"],"slug":"location","name":"Locations"},"internal_archives":{"linked":[],"unlinked":[],"slug":"internal_archives","name":"Internal Archives"}},"series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/selected\/430917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/selected"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/selected"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2084"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/515648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=430917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=430917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=430917"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=430917"},{"taxonomy":"internal_archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal_archives?post=430917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}