Vol. 36 No. 1 (2023): Revista ION
Articles

Economic and environmental evaluation of biogas technologies utilization and perspectives of multi-criteria analysis

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  • Jean Agustín Velásquez-Piñas,
  • Orly Denisse Calle-Roalcaba,
  • Luis Ramiro Miramontes-Martínez,
  • Leonardo Alexis Alonso Gómez
Jean Agustín Velásquez-Piñas
Universidade Federal de Uberlândia
Orly Denisse Calle-Roalcaba
Universidade Federal de Uberlândia
Luis Ramiro Miramontes-Martínez
Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León
Leonardo Alexis Alonso Gómez
Universidad de los Llanos
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18273/revion.v36n1-2023003

Published 2023-02-28

Keywords

  • Anaerobic digestion,
  • Life Cycle Assessment,
  • Organic waste,
  • Net present value

How to Cite

Velásquez-Piñas, J. A. ., Calle-Roalcaba, O. D. ., Miramontes-Martínez, L. R. ., & Alonso Gómez, L. A. (2023). Economic and environmental evaluation of biogas technologies utilization and perspectives of multi-criteria analysis. Revista ION, 36(1), 29–47. https://doi.org/10.18273/revion.v36n1-2023003

Copyright (c) 2023 Jean Agustín Velásquez-Piñas, Orly Denisse Calle-Roalcaba, Luis Ramiro Miramontes-Martínez, Leonardo Alexis Alonso Gómez

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Anaerobic digestion (AD) technology is a process implemented to produce biogas and digestate by
managing organic waste. The biogas produced can be converted into electricity of renewable feedstock and the liquid fraction into biofertilizer. The proper commercialization of this electricity allows to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GGE) by the substitution of electricity of fossil origin and the biofertilizer can reduce the use of nitrogen fertilizers based on urea. In Latin America, the AD presents operational challenges, which limit the commercialization of these products and compromise the sustainability of these projects on an industrial scale. This paper presents a critical analysis of the main methodologies used to quantify the economic and environmental profitability of AD, complemented by practical and theoretical experiences in Latin America. The economic tools analyzed were the net present value (NPV), the internal rate of return (IRR) and the payback period (PP), which through an analysis of operating and capital costs, and the possible income from the reduction of GGE, allow quantifying the financial viability of these projects. As an environmental performance criterion, the Life Cycle Assessment methodology was analyzed, which allows quantifying all the environmental loads avoided by AD. The information that this work brings together significantly helps to enrich the database on the treatment of organic waste and in the future, it will help decision-making regarding environmental problems.

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