Policies, implemented and being considered in the UK, promote the use of biogas from anaerobic digestion (AD); however, small-medium scale AD plants, the majority of the UK's AD plants, have little access to energy distribution networks. The opportunity for using biomethane (upgraded biogas) for transportation, is rewarded in the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO), offering the AD plants the lowest cost route to achieving the targets set out in the Biomass Strategy for biomethane. In this study, Life Cycle Assessment is used to demonstrate the environmental benefits of using biomethane for transportation (considering global warming potential and fossil fuel scarcity impacts), compared to a biogas-to-electricity scenario, where the gas grid is not accessible. The results show that biomethane scenarios have significant environmental advantages in selected impact categories, evidencing that biomethane for transportation can decarbonise AD industries and contribute to the Net Zero target in the UK. Biomethane scenarios show greater potential for capturing biogenic CO2. However, biogas upgrading technologies, evolving technically and economically, should be studied further through techno-economic assessments for the appropriate scale and application in AD operations. This study contributes to the UK AD industry and policy makers concerned with the decarbonisation of biogas-to-biomethane routes for the future.

中文翻译：

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沼气利用 – 运输生物甲烷的支持技术的生命周期评估 – 英国案例研究，Bore Hill 农场 Biodigester


英国正在实施和考虑的政策促进厌氧消化（AD）沼气的使用；然而，中小型厌氧消化工厂（英国的大部分厌氧消化工厂）几乎无法接入能源分配网络。使用生物甲烷（升级沼气）进行运输的机会得到了可再生运输燃料义务（RTFO）的奖励，为厌氧消化工厂提供了实现生物甲烷生物质战略中规定的目标的最低成本途径。在本研究中，生命周期评估用于展示与无法接入天然气网的沼气发电场景相比，使用生物甲烷进行运输的环境效益（考虑全球变暖潜力和化石燃料短缺的影响）。结果表明，生物甲烷情景在选定的影响类别中具有显着的环境优势，证明用于运输的生物甲烷可以使厌氧消化行业脱碳，并有助于英国的净零目标。生物甲烷情景显示出捕获生物二氧化碳的更大潜力。然而，沼气提质技术在技术和经济上不断发展，应通过技术经济评估进一步研究，以达到厌氧消化操作的适当规模和应用。这项研究为英国厌氧消化行业和关心未来沼气转化为生物甲烷路线脱碳的政策制定者做出了贡献。