Journal: Energy, Sustainability and Society

Authors: Nguyen Thi Thu Thao, Tran Thi Hieu, Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, Le Quoc Vi, Hans Schnitzer, Le Thanh Son, Gerhart Braunegg, Sibylle Braunegg and Le Thanh Hai

IF: 2.811

Abstract:

Background: Economic beneft has been analyzed for the yield of farming products when designing a farming system, while waste treatment also generates proftable energy products for this system. The economic factor is decisive in decision-making for applying waste treatment solutions for a small-scale farming system. A household farming system in the Mekong Delta generates many kinds of organic wastes, but most of the agricultural waste resources are disposed of into the environment.
Methods: This study approaches an analysis of economic–environmental–energy (EEE) efciency for waste treatment of an integrated livestock-orchard (LO) system on a household scale in the Mekong Delta. This novel analysis method is based on the energy content of biomass and its cost. The EEE efciency is optimized to gain objective functions regarding energy yield efciency, system proft, and CO2 sequestration for the treatment model. The algorithms are built for optimizing these objective functions.
Results: The optimization results show the treatment model of pyrolysis and pelleting gain all the objective functions with high efciency. The model is efciently applied for the LO system that generates more than 100 kg of orchard residues and 3000 kg of pig manure. The system with a charcoal oven and pellet machine is capable to gain energy efciency due to its potential biofuel products, such as biochars and pellet products. A treatment model of composting, pyrolysis, and pelleting gives the best performance of overall EEE efciency.
Conclusions: This work has proven economic benefts from integrating biogas tank, charcoal oven, and pellet machine in an integrated LO system. The system contributes not only for reducing CO2 emissions but also for supplementing secondary renewable bioenergy, as well as for increasing incomes and thus supporting livelihoods for the local farming households.