CAPACITY INCREASE AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT STUDIES IN A BIOGAS POWER GENERATION PLANT

Today, biogas, which is a type of renewable energy source, has been increasingly used in various fields around the world. Energy from biogas is an effective and non-externally dependent energy production model that best utilizes the economic and local resources, also the least harmful to the environment with its technologies. In addition, with biogas productions, the contribution to the energy productions can be made by realizing conversion of waste. As it is well known, waste is an inevitable result in the life cycle of the living and it needs to be evaluated successfully for the sustainable energy developments. In today's fast-paced technology, all natural and local wastes used for biogas production, which are not only considered as waste but as resources that awaiting for the conversion to energy. Therefore, it is necessary to convert waste to energy by using biogas technologies to have green energy. At the present time, while the numbers of industrial facilities are increasing rapidly, the improvement and development studies are also increasing accordingly, in the existing facilities. In this study, the improvement efforts that have resulted in success of a biogas plant in Kocaeli-Turkey have been examined in detail. Initially, the production capacity of the biogas plant was 305 kW, then it has been powered by an additional gas engine, which at the power of 415 kW and with this new addition, the plant production capacity has reach the level of 720 kW. The capacity and efficiency increase options that have been carried out during the process are presented in this work in technical and economical point of view.