Frank Hensgen

Life cycle assessment of the integrated generation of solid fuel and biogas from biomass (IFBB) in comparison to different energy recovery, animal-based and non-refining management systems

The study compares energy production from semi-natural grasslands by the integrated generation of solid fuel and biogas from biomass (IFBB) through mechanical separation of the biomass with the dry fermentation (DF) and hay combustion system (HC). In addition, traditional use for beef cattle production and non-refining systems of landscape conservation, i.e. mulching and composting, are considered. Highest conversion efficiency (45-54% of the gross yield), net savings of fossil fuels (44-54 GJ ha(-1)) and net savings of greenhouse gases (2.9-3.7 t CO(2-eq)ha(-1)) are obtained by HC and IFBB. Potentials of DF are limited due to low digestibility of the mature biomass.

Mineral concentrations in solid fuels from European semi-natural grasslands after hydrothermal conditioning and subsequent mechanical dehydration

The integrated generation of solid fuel and biogas from biomass (IFBB) is particularly designed for the conversion of semi-natural and high biodiversity grassland biomass into energy. This biomass is problematic in common energy conversion techniques, e.g. biogas conversion or combustion, because of its chemical composition. The IFFB process separates the material into a fibre rich solid fuel and a fluid, which is rich in minerals and highly digestible constituents and is used for anaerobic digestion. Biomasses from 18 European semi-natural grassland sites have been processed in an IFBB prototype. The impact of different chemical and botanical parameters on mass flow of mineral plant compounds and their concentrations in the fuel has been investigated. Fuel quality was significantly influenced by chemical and botanical parameters and the quality could be significantly improved during processing. Biomass with a high grass proportion and fibre content showed the best fuel qualities after IFBB treatment.

Integrated generation of solid fuel and biogas from green cut material from landscape conservation and private households

Green cut material is a potential source of renewable energy which is not fully exploited through conventional energy recovery systems. A new energy conversion process, the integrated generation of solid fuel and biogas from biomass (IFBB), which includes mechanical separation after hydro-thermal conditioning, was investigated. Ash softening temperature and lower heating value of the solid fuel were increased through the IFFB process in comparison to the untreated raw material. The net energy yield of IFBB at 40 °C conditioning temperature ranged between 1.96 and 2.85 kWh kg(-1) dry matter (DM) and for the direct combustion between 1.75 and 2.65 kWh kg(-1) DM. Conversion efficiencies for the IFBB system were 0.42-0.68 and for direct combustion 0.42-0.63. The IFBB system produces storable energy from material which is nowadays not used for energy conversion.

Energetic conversion of European semi-natural grassland silages through the integrated generation of solid fuel and biogas from biomass: energy yields and the fate of organic compounds.

Twelve European habitat types were investigated to determine the influence of the IFBB technique (integrated generation of biogas and solid fuel from biomass) on the fate of organic compounds and energy yields of semi-natural grassland biomass. Concentration of organic compounds in silage and IFBB press cake (PC), mass flows within that system and methane yields of IFBB press fluids (PF) were determined. The gross energy yield of the IFBB technique was calculated in comparison to hay combustion (HC) and whole crop digestion (WCD). The IFBB treatment increased fibre and organic matter (OM) concentrations and lowered non-fibre carbohydrates and crude protein concentrations. The PF was highly digestible irrespective of habitat types, showing mean methane yields between 312.1 and 405.0 LN CH4 kg(-1) VS. Gross energy yields for the IFBB system (9.75-30.19MWh ha(-1)) were in the range of HC, outperformed WCD and were influenced by the habitat type.

Element concentrations in urban grass cuttings from roadside verges in the face of energy recovery

Grass from municipal roadside verges is a potential yet largely unused resource for bioenergy recovery, which is mainly due to its unknown elemental composition. Therefore, we measured the concentration of 16 elements (Ca, K, Mg, N, Na, P, S, Al, Cd, Cl, Cr, Cu, Mn, Pb, Si and Zn) in a material from the city of Kassel harvested in different management intensities. The element concentrations were mainly close to reference values of agricultural or nature conservation grassland and usually within the range of literature data. Concentrations of most elements, including heavy metals, were below limiting values. Only N and Cl concentrations in the raw material exceeded the limiting values for combustion, but washing and dewatering of the biomass with the “integrated generation of solid fuel and biogas from biomass” technique resulted in concentrations in the press cake well below the limiting values. Considering the element concentrations of grass from urban roadside verges, utilisation for energy recovery may be possible, provided an appropriate technology is applied.

Mild hydrothermal conditioning prior to torrefaction and slow pyrolysis of low-value biomass

The aim of this research was to establish whether hydrothermal conditioning and subsequent thermochemical processing via batch torrefaction or slow pyrolysis may improve the fuel quality of grass residues. A comparison in terms of fuel quality was made of the direct thermochemical processing of the feedstock versus hydrothermal conditioning as a pretreatment prior to thermochemical processing. Hydrothermal conditioning reduced ash content, and particularly nitrogen, potassium and chlorine contents in the biomass. The removal of volatile organic matter associated with thermochemical processes can increase the HHV to levels of volatile bituminous coal. However, slow pyrolysis only increased the HHV of biomass provided a low ash content (<6%) feedstock was used. In conclusion, hydrothermal conditioning can have a highly positive influence on the efficiency of thermochemical processes for upgrading low-value (high-ash) biomass to a higher quality fuel.

Soil substrate utilization pattern and relation of functional evenness of plant groups and soil microbial community in five low mountain NATURA 2000

Background and aimsSpecies rich, semi-natural grassland systems provide several ecosystem functions. The goal was to assess how aboveground composition and evenness affects soil substrate utilization pattern and soil microbial functional evenness.MethodsAt five German NATURA 2000 grassland sites, the interactions of plant functional groups (graminoids, forbs and legumes) and belowground microbial functional evenness were investigated in relation to soil properties and sampling date. Functional evenness of soil microorganisms was measured with high spatial resolution by community level physiological profiling (CLPP) using multi-SIR (substrate-induced respiration) at three sampling dates during the vegetation period. Evenness indices were used to compare plant functional group diversity and soil microbial functional diversity.ResultsAll sites differed in the consistently high soil microbial functional evenness, which was strongly predicted by soil pH, but not by plant functional groups or aboveground plant dry matter production. However, soil microbial functional evenness was particularly decreased by an increasing legume proportion and showed seasonal changes, probably driven by shifts in resource availability and soil water content.ConclusionsOur results suggest that changes in soil chemical properties or in a single key plant functional group may have stronger effects on soil microbial functional evenness than changes in plant functional group evenness.

Evaluation of 3D point cloud-based models for the prediction of grassland biomass

Abstract Farmers, as well as agronomists, are intrigued by efficient quantification of grassland biomass at field-scale. Canopy surface height (CSH) based non-destructive grassland biomass estimation over a larger area has important advantages compared to destructive methods. 3D point clouds generated from remote sensing (RS) data offer a systematic methodology to derive CSH and estimate grassland biomass. This study evaluated 3D point clouds derived from a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-borne structure from motion (SFM) approach for grassland biomass estimation over three grasslands with different composition and management practice in northern Hesse, Germany. TLS data, UAV-borne images and reference biomass data were collected two days before each harvest from the selected grasslands in 2017. Three levels of linear empirical models (i.e. sampling date-specific, grassland-specific and global) were developed to estimate grasslands fresh and dry biomass using CSH derived from TLS and SFM 3D point clouds. The aforementioned three level models resulted in an average nRMSE of 17.2%, 25.3%, and 28.7% respectively for the grassland dry biomass estimation based on CSH from TLS data. Similarly, models based on CSH from SFM data estimated dry biomass with somewhat higher average nRMSE of 19.5%, 27.1%, and, 36.2% respectively. In general, models with 3D point clouds from UAV-borne SFM was slightly outperformed by models with TLS point cloud data. This study also identified that the utilisation of UAV-borne SFM developed digital terrain model as a reference layer to derive CSH could enhance the performance of the models with SFM data. Furthermore, the performance of the biomass estimation models was affected by both species richness and sward heterogeneity of the grasslands. Overall, these results disclosed the potential of 3D point cloud derived from RS for estimating field-scale grassland biomass.