| Title |
Investigating the effects of whiskey-barrel derived biochar addition to anaerobic digestion at a distillery: A study on energy yield and system efficiency |
| ID_Doc |
16930 |
| Authors |
Hackula, A; Ning, X; Collins, G; Jackson, SA; O'Leary, ND; Deng, C; O'Shea, R; Murphy, JD; Wall, DM |
| Title |
Investigating the effects of whiskey-barrel derived biochar addition to anaerobic digestion at a distillery: A study on energy yield and system efficiency |
| Year |
2024 |
| Published |
|
| DOI |
10.1016/j.ecmx.2024.100654 |
| Abstract |
Closed-loop systems enable circular economy systems and applications in the food and beverage sector to enhance decarbonisation. Whiskey distillation by-products are amenable to anaerobic digestion and thus facilitate resource recovery and circularity. Furthermore, biochar derived from whiskey barrels can be used as a carbonaceous additive within anaerobic digestion to enhance biomethane production. In this paper, biochar produced from the pyrolysis of discarded whiskey barrels at 300 degrees C, was shown to enhance biomethane production by up to 15 %. A kinetic analysis revealed that the biochar reduced the biomethane lag time by up to 42 %. The mass and energy balance of this integrated anaerobic digestion-pyrolysis system was evaluated. The overall system efficiency was assessed at 68 % of all input energy (expressed on a primary energy basis); utilisation of renewable electricity could increase this efficiency to 71 %. Biochar from discarded whiskey barrels can provide a decarbonisation pathway for whiskey distilleries but may be constrained by the total resource available. |
| Author Keywords |
Biomethane; Anaerobic digestion; Biochar; Pyrolysis; Circular economy |
| Index Keywords |
Index Keywords |
| Document Type |
Other |
| Open Access |
Open Access |
| Source |
Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) |
| EID |
WOS:001283949700001 |
| WoS Category |
Thermodynamics; Energy & Fuels; Mechanics |
| Research Area |
Thermodynamics; Energy & Fuels; Mechanics |
| PDF |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecmx.2024.100654
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