IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v161y2022ics1364032122002702.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An evaluation of feedstocks for sustainable energy and circular economy practices in a small island community

Author

Listed:
  • Reynolds, Jemma
  • Kennedy, Robert
  • Ichapka, Mariah
  • Agarwal, Abhishek
  • Oke, Adekunle
  • Cox, Elsa
  • Edwards, Christine
  • Njuguna, James

Abstract

Maximising the use of anaerobic digestion to generate power from waste feedstocks is becoming a practical way to use waste contributing to the transition from a linear to a circular economy and reducing the carbon footprint. In addition to harnessing the production of biogas generated from anaerobic digestion plants, there are a stream of potential bioresources such as fertiliser, chemicals, gases and bioplastics which may provide sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based products. Island communities are constantly faced with waste management challenges often shipping waste off the island, which increases the 'islands' carbon emissions. This study investigated Orkney Islands as a model example, focusing on establishing whether an anaerobic digestion plant is a feasible sustainable waste management solution through analysis of waste quantities and composition, available technology, community buy-in, environmental impacts and economics. A survey of waste revealed 76,000 tonnes/annum of waste on Orkney over a variety of organic, textile and plastic categories which could generate 5 M m3 biogas and 11 M kWh electricity per year. Four scenarios of producer clusters for anaerobic digestion plant operations were modeled and showed an average of 19 years for investment pay back, demonstrating that significant investment would be required to make the project economically viable for the business. A life cycle analysis was performed, and the project found that anaerobic digestion produces the greatest environmental benefits for processing waste compared to landfill or producing animal feed. This study demonstrates the contributions of anaerobic digestion in the community and represents a blueprint on how communities can reduce waste and develop a circular economy. The benefits of implementing a combined heat and power plant were explored and the study found that the community would profit. The anaerobic digestion plant will provide a constant base load of energy to help fill the gaps created with other intermittent energy supplies (wind and tidal). The inclusion of a waste disposal system on the island significantly reduces the communities carbon footprint due to removing the need to ship waste to the Shetland Island for disposal. The energy produced in the combined heat and power plant can supply many end users, such as 97% of energy needs for the largest distillery on the island, 4 compressed natural gas trucks for the island or a 1-acre greenhouse. However, individual efforts will not be enough to create the change that is needed, community and regulatory collaborations are essential to create a circular economy in Orkney and significantly reduce the carbon footprint.

Suggested Citation

  • Reynolds, Jemma & Kennedy, Robert & Ichapka, Mariah & Agarwal, Abhishek & Oke, Adekunle & Cox, Elsa & Edwards, Christine & Njuguna, James, 2022. "An evaluation of feedstocks for sustainable energy and circular economy practices in a small island community," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:161:y:2022:i:c:s1364032122002702
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2022.112360
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032122002702
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2022.112360?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gabriel D. Oreggioni & Baboo Lesh Gowreesunker & Savvas A. Tassou & Giuseppe Bianchi & Matthew Reilly & Marie E. Kirby & Trisha A. Toop & Mike K. Theodorou, 2017. "Potential for Energy Production from Farm Wastes Using Anaerobic Digestion in the UK: An Economic Comparison of Different Size Plants," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-16, September.
    2. Huppes, Gjalt & Ishikawa, Masanobu, 2009. "Eco-efficiency guiding micro-level actions towards sustainability: Ten basic steps for analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(6), pages 1687-1700, April.
    3. Marczinkowski, Hannah Mareike & Østergaard, Poul Alberg, 2019. "Evaluation of electricity storage versus thermal storage as part of two different energy planning approaches for the islands Samsø and Orkney," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 505-514.
    4. Tayibi, S. & Monlau, F. & Bargaz, A. & Jimenez, R. & Barakat, A., 2021. "Synergy of anaerobic digestion and pyrolysis processes for sustainable waste management: A critical review and future perspectives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    5. Nina Tsydenova & Alethia Vázquez Morillas & Álvaro Martínez Hernández & Diana Rodríguez Soria & Camilo Wilches & Alexandra Pehlken, 2019. "Feasibility and Barriers for Anaerobic Digestion in Mexico City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-21, July.
    6. Jones, Philip & Salter, Andrew, 2013. "Modelling the economics of farm-based anaerobic digestion in a UK whole-farm context," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 215-225.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Arezoo Ghazanfari, 2023. "An Analysis of Circular Economy Literature at the Macro Level, with a Particular Focus on Energy Markets," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-24, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sean O’Connor & Ehiaze Ehimen & Suresh C. Pillai & Gary Lyons & John Bartlett, 2020. "Economic and Environmental Analysis of Small-Scale Anaerobic Digestion Plants on Irish Dairy Farms," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-20, February.
    2. Østergaard, P.A. & Lund, H. & Thellufsen, J.Z. & Sorknæs, P. & Mathiesen, B.V., 2022. "Review and validation of EnergyPLAN," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    3. Whiting, Andrew & Azapagic, Adisa, 2014. "Life cycle environmental impacts of generating electricity and heat from biogas produced by anaerobic digestion," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 181-193.
    4. Maruf, Md. Nasimul Islam, 2021. "Open model-based analysis of a 100% renewable and sector-coupled energy system–The case of Germany in 2050," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    5. Min-Hwi Kim & Dong-Won Lee & Deuk-Won Kim & Young-Sub An & Jae-Ho Yun, 2021. "Energy Performance Investigation of Bi-Directional Convergence Energy Prosumers for an Energy Sharing Community," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-17, September.
    6. Claudia Marcela Betancourt Morales & Jhon Wilder Zartha Sossa, 2020. "Circular economy in Latin America: A systematic literature review," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2479-2497, September.
    7. Aurélien Bruel & Jakub Kronenberg & Nadège Troussier & Bertrand Guillaume, 2019. "Linking Industrial Ecology and Ecological Economics: A Theoretical and Empirical Foundation for the Circular Economy," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 23(1), pages 12-21, February.
    8. Oreggioni, G.D. & Luberti, M. & Tassou, S.A., 2019. "Agricultural greenhouse CO2 utilization in anaerobic-digestion-based biomethane production plants: A techno-economic and environmental assessment and comparison with CO2 geological storage," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C), pages 1753-1766.
    9. Hideki Kobayashi & Masahiro Kato & Yukishige Maezawa & Kenji Sano, 2011. "An R&D Management Framework for Eco-Technology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(8), pages 1-20, August.
    10. Dávid Nagy & Péter Balogh & Zoltán Gabnai & József Popp & Judit Oláh & Attila Bai, 2018. "Economic Analysis of Pellet Production in Co-Digestion Biogas Plants," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-21, May.
    11. Carli, Raffaele & Dotoli, Mariagrazia & Jantzen, Jan & Kristensen, Michael & Ben Othman, Sarah, 2020. "Energy scheduling of a smart microgrid with shared photovoltaic panels and storage: The case of the Ballen marina in Samsø," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    12. Salvatore Ammirato & Alberto Michele Felicetti & Cinzia Raso & Bruno Antonio Pansera & Antonio Violi, 2020. "Agritourism and Sustainability: What We Can Learn from a Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-18, November.
    13. Brumana, Giovanni & Franchini, Giuseppe & Ghirardi, Elisa & Perdichizzi, Antonio, 2022. "Techno-economic optimization of hybrid power generation systems: A renewables community case study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    14. BĂTUȘARU Cristina-Maria & SBÂRCEA Ioana-Raluca, 2023. "Harmonizing Circularity: Romania’S Progressive Efforts Towards Circular Economy Integration In Europe," Management of Sustainable Development, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 15(1), pages 62-74, June.
    15. Korhonen, Jouni & Honkasalo, Antero & Seppälä, Jyri, 2018. "Circular Economy: The Concept and its Limitations," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 37-46.
    16. Kunnika Changwichan & Thapat Silalertruksa & Shabbir H. Gheewala, 2018. "Eco-Efficiency Assessment of Bioplastics Production Systems and End-of-Life Options," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-15, March.
    17. Laha, Priyanka & Chakraborty, Basab, 2021. "Low carbon electricity system for India in 2030 based on multi-objective multi-criteria assessment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    18. Matteo Giacomo Prina & Giampaolo Manzolini & David Moser & Roberto Vaccaro & Wolfram Sparber, 2020. "Multi-Objective Optimization Model EPLANopt for Energy Transition Analysis and Comparison with Climate-Change Scenarios," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-22, June.
    19. Xintong Wu & Zhendong Li & Fangcheng Tang, 2022. "The Effect of Carbon Price Volatility on Firm Green Transitions: Evidence from Chinese Manufacturing Listed Firms," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-11, October.
    20. Jerzy Bienkowski & Rafal Baum & Malgorzata Holka, 2021. "Eco-Efficiency of Milk Production in Poland Using the Life Cycle Assessment Methodologies," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(1), pages 890-912.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:161:y:2022:i:c:s1364032122002702. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.