| Abstract [eng] |
Methane released into the environment does significantly more damage to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. This paper focuses on the exploratory analysis and aims to examine the biogas production technology which can be used for energy production. This analysis reviews the biogas, natural gas and electricity sectors and assesses the current situation of livestock farms in Lithuania (the pig farm with total number of 6550 livestock was selected for calculations). Different scenarios of gas microturbine operation are selected for this analysis. These are modeled with the MATLAB/Simulink software package. During the simulation, the operating parameters of the gas microturbine are identified, such as average monthly load capacity, efficiency coefficients of electrical and thermal energy production at the measured load capacity. The amount of energy produced according to the load capacity and efficiency coefficients is also calculated. The calculation of the economic part is performed where the capital investment and expenditures of the project are determined using the comparative investment method. In adition, indicators, such as the cost of produced energy, cash flow and net present value are calculated. The obtained results are used to determine the payback period of the project. Environmental aspects are compared. The results suggest that the capital expenditures of the gas microturbine are higher compared to an internal combustion engine, however, the operating costs are lower. Regardless of whether the biogas power plant is equipped with a gas microturbine or with an internal combustion engine, the payback period of the project is almost the same. Presented results may be beneficial to the shareholders or investors, designers or even farm owners and decision makers. |
