ELECTRICITY GENERATION

A STUDY OF ANAEROBIC DIGESTION AND SHALE GAS AS SOURCES OF ENERGY

CREATED BY: JOSEPH VUTUNG, JACK

MIDDLEHURST, EDUARD FILIP AND GELSTHORPE
ALABO

CONTENTS
WHAT IS ANAEROBIC DIGESTION?
HOW MUCH ORGANIC MATERIAL IS PRODUCED IN THE
UK?

HOW MUCH ENERGY COULD BE GENERATED IN THE UK

USING AD?

HOW MANY PLANTS ARE ALREADY IN USE IN THE UK?

BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS
ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROLS AND COMPLIANCE
CASE STUDY

WHAT IS SHALE GAS?

WHAT IS HYDRAULIC FRACTURING?
MAIN AREAS OF INTEREST WITHIN THE UK
CAN SHALE GAS MEET UKS ENERGY NEEDS? IS

THERE PLENTY OF RECOVERABLE GAS IN THE SHALE

IN THE UK?

POWER GENERATION
CASE STUDIES: PEMBROKE CCGT PLANT AND
BOWLAND BASIN

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

WHAT IS ANAEROBIC DIGESTION?

ORGANIC MATTER IS BROKEN DOWN TO PRODUCE BIOGAS AND BIOFERTILISER
ACHIEVED THROUGH NATURALLY OCCURRING BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES
CONVERSION INTO ENERGY FROM BIOGAS
PRIMARILY USED IN CHP PLANTS - COGENERATION

WHAT IS ANAEROBIC DIGESTION?

NUTRIENT RICH BIOFERTILISERS REPLACING FOSSIL FUEL DERIVED FERTILISERS
EVERY TONNE PREVENTS BETWEEN 0.5 AND 1.0TONNE OF CO2ENTERING THE ATMOSPHERE
RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF THE BEST METHODS FORFOOD WASTE RECYCLING, DEALING WITHFARM WASTE AND
SEWAGE SLUDGE

HOW MUCH ORGANIC MATERIAL IS PRODUCED IN THE UK?

90-100 MM TONNES OF AGRICULTURAL BY-PRODUCTS
16-18 MM TONNES OF FOOD WASTE
1.7 MM TONNES OF DRY SEWAGE SLUDGE

HOW MUCH ENERGY COULD BE GENERATED IN THE UK USING AD?

DEPENDS ON THE FEEDSTOCK MATERIAL AND TYPE OF DIGESTER

1 TONNE OF FOOD WASTE CAN GENERATE ABOUT 300 KWH OF ENERGY
UK'S DOMESTIC FOOD WASTE COULD GENERATE ENOUGH ELECTRICITY FOR 350 000 HOUSEHOLDS
AD COULD GENERATE 10-20 TWH OF HEAT AND POWER PER YEAR BY 2020. BY COMPARISON, DRAXSOLD
27.1 TWH OF ELECTRICITY IN 2012

3.8-7.5% OF THE RENEWABLE ENERGY MARKET BY 2020

HOW MANY PLANTS ARE ALREADY IN USE IN THE UK?

LONG HISTORY IN THE WATER INDUSTRY,
TREATING 66% OF UK'S SEWAGE SLUDGE

SHOWCASING RAPID GROWTH

100 NON-WATER INDUSTRYANAEROBIC
DIGESTERS

CURRENT PLANT LOCATIONS ILLUSTRATED

ON THE BIOGAS MAP

BENEFITS

TURNS WASTE INTO A RESOURCE

PRODUCES FUELS AND FERTILISERS
CHEAP, RENEWABLE ENERGY
EASY TO MAINTAIN AND OPERATE
BENEFITS MANY DIFFERENT SOCIAL GROUPS

DRAWBACKS

AD PLANTS ARE 24-HOUR OPERATIONS

NOISE,DUST, LEAKS
RELEASES CO
TOXIC BY-PRODUCT RISK
2

ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROLS AND COMPLIANCE

PLANTS MUST BE OPERATED WITHIN STRICT LEGISLATIVE REQUIREMENTS
A BIOGAS PLANT WILL NOT CAUSE POLLUTION TO AIR, LAND AND WATER UNLESS IT IS VERY POORLY
MAINTAINED AND OPERATED

POSSIBILITY OF EXPLOSION AND REAL POSSIBILITY OF FIRE

REGULATORY AUTHORITIES WILL MONITOR AN AD PLANT VERY CLOSELY IN ORDER TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE

CASE STUDY: BIOGAS FROM CHICKEN LITTER

HOW COULD ANAEROBIC DIGESTION POWER A HYDRAULIC FRACTURING OPERATION VIA CHICKEN
LITTER?

ESTIMATED CHICKEN POPULATION: 50 BILLION

1000KG OF CHICKEN LITTER CAN BE EXPECTED TO YIELD ALMOST
200M3 OF BIOGAS (0.2M3/KG)

HEATING VALUE OF AROUND 6KW/M

A 2000M DIGESTION TANK CAN PROCESS NEARLY 17 TONS/DAY
3

CHICKEN LITTER, YIELDING 3400M3 BIOGAS /DAY

1M BIOGAS YIELDS 2.1KWH ELECTRICITY

3

BIOGAS FROM CHICKEN LITTER

BENEFITS

HIGHLY RELIABLE, LACK OF MECHANICAL FAILURES

LOW MAINTENANCE COSTS, PASSIVE SYSTEM
CAN BE BUILT ABOVE OR BELOW GROUND
WASTE DISPOSAL HELPING THE COMMUNITY
GREEN AND RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE

BIOGAS FROM CHICKEN LITTER

DRAWBACKS

1000KG CHICKEN LITTER CONTAINS APPROX. 27KG

NITROGEN, WITH 10KG IN SOLUBLE FORM (NH3-N) WHICH
IS CORROSIVE.

NH3-N IN CONCENTRATIONS OF >4KG/M IS KNOWN TO

3

INHIBIT THE DIGESTION PROCESS

SOLUTION: DILUTE WITH 5M WATER PER 1000KG

3

CHICKEN LITTER

CONVERSION PROCESS

OPERATING PLANT
EQUIPMENT NEEDED TO PROCESS AND CREATE
BIOGAS FROM CHICKEN LITTER:

PRE-TREATMENT TANK
FEEDING PUMPS
DIGESTER
STORAGE TANK
BIOGAS STORAGE TANKS
BIOGAS PUMPS

OPERATING PLANT

POWER REQUIREMENTS
A LAND RIGS POWER CONSUMPTION IS AROUND 2 MW
(48 MWH/DAY)

A 2000M

CAPACITY DIGESTION TANK CAN PRODUCE

AROUND 7MWH

TO KEEP THE RIG RUNNING 24 HOURS, AROUND 7 TANKS

WOULD BE NEEDED TO PRODUCE ~23,800M3
BIOGAS/DAY, CREATING AROUND 50MWH

ONE GENERATOR CAN PRODUCE 2.8 MW (+1 BACKUP)

WHAT IS SHALE GAS?

UNCONVENTIONAL RESERVOIRS ARE
SHALE GAS FORMATIONS

SHALE GAS IS NATURAL GAS TRAPPED

WITHIN SHALE ROCK FORMATIONS

SUCCESSFULLY APPLIED IN THE US

WHAT IS HYDRAULIC FRACTURING?

STIMULATING THE UNDERGROUND FORMATIONS TO RELEASE THE
OIL AND NATURAL GAS

USUALLY PERFORMED AT THE START OF THE LIFE OF A WELL

LASTSBETWEEN THREE TO FIVE DAYSAFTER COMPLETION
OPERATIONS

WHAT IS HYDRAULIC FRACTURING?

ON AVERAGE 99.95% WATER AND SAND WITH A SMALL
PROPORTION OF ADDITIVES

THE FORCE OF THE WATER CREATES A WATER FLOW

WHICH ACTS AS A DELIVERY MECHANISM FOR THE
SAND

THIS CREATES PASSAGEWAYS THROUGH WHICH

NATURAL GAS CAN TRAVEL TO GET TO THE WELLBORE.

MAIN AREAS OF INTEREST WITHIN THE UK

CARBONIFEROUS UNITS (BOWLAND SHALE FORMATION)

JURASSIC ROCKS (WEALD BASIN),
MUCH OLDER LOWER PALAEOZOIC ROCKS (WALES AND
CENTRAL ENGLAND) MAY BE PROSPECTIVE IN SHALE GAS

CAN SHALE GAS MEET THE UK ENERGY NEEDS?

IS THERE PLENTY OF RECOVERABLE GAS IN THE SHALE IN THE UK?
IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE SHALE GAS RESOURCES IN UK ARE VERY LARGE
A BETTER UNDERSTANDING WILL COME FROM FURTHER GEOLOGICAL RESEARCH, SUCH AS THAT CARRIED OUT BY
THE BGS

POWER GENERATION
NATURAL GAS IS A MAJOR SOURCE OFELECTRICITY GENERATION
COMBINED CYCLE POWER GENERATION (CCGT) USING NATURAL
GAS IS THE CLEANEST AVAILABLE SOURCE OF FOSSIL FUELS POWER

BURNING NATURAL GAS PRODUCES 45% LESS CO2 THAN COAL

THE UK'S PEAK ELECTRICAL DEMAND IS CURRENTLY 57.5 GW AND
EXPECTED TO GROW BY 35 GW BY 2020

CASE STUDY: PEMBROKE CCGT PLANT

PEMBROKE COMBINED CYCLE GAS TURBINE (CCGT) POWER

PLANT IS LOCATED IN WESTWALES,UK

IT WAS BUILT WITH AN ESTIMATED INVESTMENT OF 1BN AND

WAS OFFICIALLY OPENED ON 19 SEPTEMBER 2012

IT IS ONE OF THE LARGEST AND MOST EFFICIENT GAS-FIRED

POWER STATIONS IN EUROPE

HAS

A TOTAL GENERATING CAPACITY OF 2,160MW AND

THERMAL EFFICIENCY OF 60%

CASE STUDY: BOWLAND BASIN

ESTIMATED

AMOUNT OF UNDERGROUND RESOURCES IS

BETWEEN 2.8 AND 39.9 TCM

ABOUT 15-20 PERCENT OF RESOURCES IN THE BOWLAND SHALE

COULD BE TECHNICALLY RECOVERABLE

INDUSTRY ESTIMATES SUGGEST SHALE GAS IN LANCASHIRE

ALONE COULD DELIVER 6BN OF GAS A YEAR FOR THE NEXT
THREE DECADES.

PRODUCTION OPERATIONS COMMENCE IN A COUPLE OF YEARS

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
INDUCED SEISMICITY (LANCASTER 2011).
GROUNDWATER AND SOURCE WATER CONTAMINATION
POTENTIAL PATHWAYS FOR CONTAMINATION: POOR WELL-DESIGN AND WELL

CONSTRUCTION, OR THE MIGRATION OF CONTAMINANTS ALONG NATURAL

PATHWAYS INTO OVERLYING AQUIFERS

RISKS MUST BE REDUCED TO A MINIMUM

IMPACT ON GROUNDWATER
THERE ARE TWO POTENTIAL IMPACTS ON GROUNDWATER:
- THE SUPPLY AND CONSUMPTION OF WATER FOR FRACKING
PROCESSES
- CONTAMINATION OF GROUNDWATER

A DETAILED RISK ASSESSMENT IS REQUIRED BEFORE ANY

AUTHORISATION OR PERMIT IS GRANTED FOR SHALE GAS

EXTRACTION

EXPERTS

HAVE CONSISTENTLY FOUND THAT HYDRAULIC

FRACTURING POSES NO DIRECT RISK OF CONTAMINATING
GROUNDWATER

 BOTH RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES SUCH AS ANAEROBIC DIGESTION AND SHALE GAS COULD
PROVIDE VIABLE ALTERNATIVES TO CURRENT PRIMARY ENERGY SOURCES.

HOWEVER, THE INTRACTABLE PROBLEMS OF HOW TO GENERATE MORE ELECTRICITY MORE CHEAPLY
AND WITH LESS CARBON WILL NOT BE SOLVED IN THE SHORT TERM.

Q&A