Renewable Energy 88 (2016) 171e184

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Renewable Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene

Thermodynamic and exergoeconomic analysis of energy recovery

system of biogas from a wastewater treatment plant and use in a
Stirling engine
Antonio Colmenar-Santos*, Gloria Zarzuelo-Puch, David Borge-Diez,

n García-Die
Concepcio
guez
Department of Electrical, Electronic and Control Engineering, UNED C/Juan del Rosal, 12 e University City, 28040, Madrid, Spain

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The aim of this research it is to show how the biogas biomethanisation from primary and secondary
Received 10 April 2015 treatment of activated sludge from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), can be an alternative
Received in revised form renewable energy option from fossil fuels, which offers competitive advantages and points out new
26 August 2015
horizons for the use of this fuel. This will allow to achieve some important priorities of energy plans in
Accepted 1 November 2015
Available online xxx
EU countries: to reduce the organic matter deposited in landfills and CO2 emissions and to find viable
solutions to minimize the environmental impact of sewage sludge (SS).
This study analyses the biogas combustion and energy recovery processes from a thermodynamic,
Keywords:
Biogas
thermoeconomic and exergetic point of view.
Sludge The results show that the boiler of the process is the main source of irreversibility and exergy
Thermoeconomic destruction. Moreover, the energy and exergy economic value of exhaust gases from the combustion
Exergetic chamber, are significant and worthwhile to be exploited. For this reason, the present study explores the
Anaerobic digestion applicability and suitability of integrating a Stirling engine in such process. The study reveals that it is
Stirling engine possible to create a small micro-cogeneration system which leads to sustainable waste management and
energy savings in the treatment plant itself.
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction development involves proper management of waste resulting from

The growing interest in the use of alternative energy sources,
both to reduce foreign energy dependence of a country and to cover
the increase in global energy demand, has led to the optimization of
processes for their use. Moreover, to achieve sustainable
Abbreviations: B, boiler; BOE, official state bulletin of Spain; CIEMAT, Center for
Energy, Environmental and Technological Research; CORINAIR, core inventory of air
emissions; d. m., dry matter; EU, European Union; EUROSTAT, statistical office of the
European Communities; EWL, the European waste list; E2020, European strategy
for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth; GW, gigawatt; Ha, hectare; HRB, heat
recovery boiler; ktoe, kilo tonnes oil equivalent (¼4.18  1013 J); LHV, lower heating
value of fuel [kcal/Nm3]; MAGRAMA, Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and
Environment; Mtoe, million tonnes oil equivalent; NMVOC, non-methane volatile
organic compounds; NTU, number of transfer units; PER, renewable energy Spanish
plan; PNIR, Spanish integrated plan of waste; PNLD, Spanish plan of sewage sludge;
ppm, parts per million; RNL, Spanish register of sludge; SS, sewage sludge; VOCs,
volatile organic compounds; WWTP, wastewater treatment plant.
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: acolmenar@ieec.uned.es (A. Colmenar-Santos).
human activities.
In the European Union (EU), the strategy for energy and climate
change [1] provides the basis for improving the energy efficiency of
their Member States and increasing the share of renewable energy
in their energy mixes. In addition, the Strategy 2020 [2] presents
the objectives and the means to transform today's economy, based
on the intensive use of resources, into a new model of growth based
on their efficient use.
Sewage sludge (SS), LER code 190805 [3,4], is liquid waste (over
95% water) generated in the wastewater treatment [5], whether
domestic or industrial origin [6] and must be managed according to
current regulations on waste. Biomethanisation transforms the
organic matter in the sludge into a gas mixture or biogas. The
biogas generated by anaerobic digestion contains a high percentage
of methane (50%e75%) [7,8], so that energy can be tapped. During
biomethanisation nutrient-rich fertilizer products are also obtained
and can be used as a component of substrates and to increase the
organic matter content of soils [9].

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2015.11.001
0960-1481/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
172 A. Colmenar-Santos et al. / Renewable Energy 88 (2016) 171e184

Nomenclature Q_ CC heat lost in the boiler (kW)

Q_ max; CC maximum heat energy transferred in the boiler (kW)
b_ Flow exergy, (kW) Q_ CRC heat lost in the heat recovery boiler (kW)
C production unit cost of the flow (V/h)
Q_ maximum heat energy transferred in the heat recovery
C_
max; CR
exergetic cost of the flow (V/kWh)
boiler (kW)
C_ ED cost of the exergy destruction (V/kWh) Ru universal ideal gas constant (kJ/(kmol$K))
dSCV/dt entropy change of the control volume, (kW/K)
s0 standard molar entropy (kJ/kmol K)
ef heat transfer effectiveness
s0 entropy at dead state conditions (kJ/(kmol K))
eCH chemical molar exergy of the exhaust gas, (kJ/kmol)
si ðT; Pi Þ gas mixture molar entropy (kJ/(kmol$K))
eTM thermomechanical molar exergy of the exhaust gas (kJ/
T temperature (K)
kmol)
TF equipment surface temperature (K)
E_ D exergy destroy (kW) T0 temperature at dead state conditions (K)
h specific enthalpy(kJ/kg) _
W power (kW)
h0 enthalpy at dead state conditions (kJ/kg)
Yi mole fraction of i flow
m_ mass flow rate (kg/s)
Mi molar mass of i flow (kg/kmol) Z_ CT total costs (V/h)
Ni moles of i flow (kmol) Z_ CC cost rate of the boiler (V/h)
Pi partial pressure of i flow (atm) Z_ CRC cost rate of the heat recovery boiler (V/h)
P0 pressure at dead state conditions (atm) ε exergetic efficiency (%)
Pm mixture pressure (atm) h energetic efficiency (%)
Q_ heat energy (kW) s_ entropy generated (kW/K)

In Spain, according to data from the National Register of sludge
(RNL) [10], about 900 000 tons of dry matter (d. m.) of sludge are
produced annually, of which approximately 20% is dry matter,
which represents 4.5 million t sludge/year. Fig. 1 shows the evo-
lution of the sludge produced in Spain and its destination during
the last five years, according to the latest data available from the
RNL.
Both the II National Plan of sewage sludge wastewater treatment
plant EDAR II PNLD, (2007e2015) [11] and the Integrated National
Waste Plan 2008e2015 [12] refer to the hierarchy principle in the
SS management, which implies, in this order: (i) reduction in the SS
production, (ii) prioritization of land application of SS for fertil-
ization and recycling of nutrients and organic matter, (iii) utiliza-
tion of other forms of recovery, including energy, (iv) landfilling.
As it is shown in Fig. 1, the major destination of the sludge
produced in Spain is for agricultural applications. However, in the
renewable energy Plan 2011e2020 (PER 2011e2020) [13], the op-
tion to convert the SS into biogas, energetically recoverable, arises.
This is this reason why this paper analyses if it is possible to get
useful energy from this process, becoming the biogas an alternative
renewable energy option from fossil fuels and offering competitive
advantages for producers and for the energy industry.
It is estimated that, in Spain, it would get 150 000 tons of oil
equivalent (toe) per year, i.e. a gross production of 546 GW/ha,
based on the SS-WWTP in populations with more than 100 000
equivalent inhabitants (energy maximum potential available is of
the order of 317 000 toe/year) [14].
In Europe, about 13.4 million tonnes oil equivalent (Mtoe) of
biogas primary energy were produced during 2013, representing a
10.2% growth over the previous year [15]. Table 1 shows the data of

Fig. 1. Evolution of sewage sludge production in Spain. Source: RNL. Data 17/02/2014.
 A. Colmenar-Santos et al. / Renewable Energy 88 (2016) 171e184 173

Table 1
Primary energy production of biogas in the EU in 2012 and 2013 (in ktoe). Source [15].

Country 2012 2013c

Landfill gas Sewage sludge gasa Other biogasb Total Landfill gas Sewage sludge gasa Other biogasb Total

Germany 123.7 372.1 5920.4 6416.2 108.8 392.8 6215.3 6716.8

United Kingdomd 1533.9 269.7 0.0 1803.6 1538.2 286.2 0.0 1824.4
Italy 370.6 42.0 766.1 1178.8 410.8 48.5 1356.1 1815.4
Czech Republic 31.7 39.4 303.8 374.9 28.9 39.6 502.5 551.1
Franced 279.1 79.6 53.3 412.0 280.0 80.0 105.0 465.0
Netherlands 29.9 53.1 214.5 297.5 24.6 57.8 220.3 302.8
Spaind 140.8 33.8 116.2 290.8 124.0 29.8 102.4 256.1
Poland 53.7 79.3 60.8 193.8 61.8 91.2 98.2 251.2
Austria 3.8 18.2 184.3 206.4 3.7 18.4 174.6 196.8
Belgiumd 32.4 17.2 108.0 157.7 29.2 15.5 97.2 141.9
Swedend 12.6 73.6 40.6 126.8 13.6 79.3 43.7 136.6
Denmarkd 5.6 21.3 77.9 104.7 5.3 20.3 74.4 100.0
Greece 69.4 15.8 3.4 88.6 67.5 16.1 4.8 88.4
Hungary 14.3 18.7 46.8 79.8 14.3 20.1 47.8 42.2
Slovakia 3.1 13.8 45.1 32.0 3.4 14.8 48.5 66.6
Portugal 54.0 1.7 0.7 56.4 61.8 2.7 0.8 65.3
Finland 31.6 13.9 12.4 57.9 31.7 14.6 13.2 59.5
Irelandd 43.0 7.5 5.4 55.9 43.1 7.5 5.4 56.0
Latviad 18.4 5.7 27.8 51.9 18.4 5.7 27.9 52.0
Slovenia 6.9 3.1 28.2 38.1 7.1 2.8 24.8 34.7
Romaniad 1.4 0.1 25.9 27.3 1.5 0.1 28.4 30.0
Croatia 2.0 3.1 11.4 16.6 2.1 3.2 12.8 18.0
Lithuania 6.1 3.1 2.3 11.6 7.1 3.6 4.8 15.5
Luxembourg 0.1 1.3 12.0 13.4 0.1 1.3 11.4 12.8
Cyprus 0.0 0.0 11.4 11.4 0.0 0.0 12.0 12.0
Estoniad 2.2 0.7 0.0 2.9 5.4 1.8 0.0 7.2
Bulgaria 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1
Malta 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0
EU 2870.3 1187.0 8079.0 12370.1 2892.3 1253.6 9232.7 13 378.7
a
Urban and industrial.
b
Decent tralised agricultural plant, municipal solid waste methanisation plant, centralised co-digestion plant.
c
First estimation.
d
Whenever the information was not available, the breakdown between the different types of biogas was estimated by EurObserv'ER for the year 2013 on the basis of the
breakdown observed in 2012.

biogas primary production in the EU in 2012 and 2013 (in ktoe) and
the distribution of the source contributions of biogas. Three coun-
tries dominate the European biogas sector: Germany, UK and Italy,
which represent 75% of the installed capacity and most of the pri-
mary energy production, although with completely different
models. While Germany has chosen to promote the development of
agro-industrial plants treating waste and energy crops, United
Kingdom and Italy, like Spain, have focused on the production of
biogas from landfill degasification. Although the expansion of
biogas energy usage has continued across the EU during 2013, the
biogas sector's momentum was more sluggish than in 2012 (16.9%
between 2011 and 2012, giving an additional 1.8 Mtoe) and it is
expected to lose some of its impetus in 2014 in a number of
countries whose sector expansion controlling policy changes will
limit the future use of energy crops [15].
In Spain, the largest share in the biogas production corresponds
to landfills, with 131 600 tep, followed by industrial plants, with
100 000 tep and water treatment plants, with 28 800 tep. With the
implementation of European waste management regulations [16],
PNIR [9], the Spanish law on waste and contaminated soils [17], the
waste prevention Spanish program [18] and the potential for
technological development of anaerobic digesters, it is expected to
reverse this trend in the coming years, so that waste from agri-
culture, livestock and wastewater treatment plants will represent a
higher percentage in biogas production. Today in Spain the po-
tential biogas generation is estimated at 1.8 Mtoe and, by 2014, it is
expected that the installed electric power from biogas reaches 200
ktoe, with the goal of 55 ktoe for thermal energy [11].
The article is structured into seven sections. The first section is
the present introduction. In the second section, the anaerobic
digestion process of sludge from a wastewater treatment plant and
the main features and uses for biogas obtained are exposed. In the
third section, the scheme proposed for the energy recovery of
biogas from SS-WWTP can be seen and the combustion reaction is
studied, especially the temperature at which the exhaust gases
from the boiler is obtained. The fourth and fifth sections are
devoted to energy, exergy and thermoeconomic analysis of the
biogas combustion and recovery processes. The sixth section pre-
sents the possibility of using exhaust gases to the operation of a
Stirling engine and the creation of a microgeneration system. The
seventh and final section presents the conclusions of the analysis
and some aspects of future research.
2. Sludge from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP)
An inevitable consequence of human activity is the generation
of wastewater. The modified characteristics from the starting wa-
ters and the presence of contaminants require a treatment prior to
return to nature or reuse, so that environmental damage and risks
to human health can be avoided.
In WWTP, wastewater is subjected to physical, chemical and
biological processes to improve its quality and to discharge the
treated effluents, but, in turn, a large amount of sludge is generated.
The sludge composition is variable and depends on the quality of
the wastewater at source, which determines the potential uses and
management. Traditionally, there are three ways for SS manage-
ment: landfilling, incineration and agricultural use [19]. Currently,
in European countries, there is a change in the way this sludge is
managed because the law provides restrictions on the deposit of
organic matter in landfills [20] and incineration [21], and due to the
174 A. Colmenar-Santos et al. / Renewable Energy 88 (2016) 171e184

Table 2
Total sewage sludge production (thousands tonnes of d. m.) in EU countries. 2014. d ¼ definition differs; : ¼ not available. Source: EUROSTAT.

Country 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Czech Republic 207 206 211 180 179 172 203d 216d 220 207 196d 218
Germany : 2429 : : 2261 2170 2049 2035 1982 1955 1780d :
Spain 853 892 987 1012 1092 1121 1065 1153 1156 1205 1205d :
France : 654 : : 1060 : : : 1087 : 966d :
Netherlands 346 358 365 353 354 359 373 353 353 350 351 :
Austria 315 : 323 : 305 : 255 : 254 : 263d :
Poland 360 397 436 447 476 486 501 533 567 563 527 519
Slovakia 56 53 51 54 53 56 55 55 58 59 55 59
Sweden 222 220 243 220 210 210 207 217 214 212d 204d :
United Kingdom : 1537 1544 1656 1721 1771 1809 1825 1814 1761 1419d :

soils protective regulations [22], which limits other forms of
management such as composting and direct application to crops.
The trend is to reduce [23] or total ban on landfilling (like in
Switzerland and Austria) and to reduce its agricultural application
without pretreatment.
As shown in Table 2, the sludge production in the EU has been
generally increasing over recent years, which highlights the need to
develop technologies to enhance the sludge and reduce its envi-
ronmental impact.
2.1. Anaerobic digestion
Biomethanization or anaerobic digestion is a microbiological
fermentation of organic matter performed in the absence of oxy-
gen. The organic compounds are converted by bacterial action into
[24]: (i) A gas mixture or biogas, consisting mainly of methane
(CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2); (ii) Traces of other gases, such as
hydrogen (H2), nitrogen (N2), hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and steam;
(iii) A mixture of mineral products such as potassium (K) and cal-
cium (Ca), called digestate, difficult to degrade [25].
The oldest and widely spread application of anaerobic digestion
is the treatment of SS. The process by which biogas is formed can be
divided into four stages [26]: hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis
or dehydrogenation and methanogenesis. During the final stage of
generation of biogas, methanization, especially acetic acid, but also
hydrogen and carbon dioxide are converted into methane in an
anaerobic environment with organic products resulting from the
above steps [27e30].
The techniques for waste anaerobic digestion are classified ac-
cording to the type of digester, the working temperature and the
number of stages. The most common types are complete mix and
plug flow. The first one is the most widely used in Europe. It is
typically applied to wet processes (less than 10% d. m. in the interior
of the digester, which means less than 20% total solids), the feed-
stock is fed continuously or semicontinuously and the concentra-
tion of any substance is similar in all points of the tank, using a
mixer [30].
2.2. Biogas characteristics and uses
Biogas is a gas mixture in which the methane (CH4) and carbon
dioxide (CO2) dominate in a typical 60:40 ratio, along with water
vapor and a fraction less than 1% of trace gas [29]. Biogas may also
contain small and variable quantities of other compounds like
hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and other sulfur compounds (sulphides,
disulphides, thiols), siloxanes (organic silicon compounds),
ammonia (NH3), aromatic and halogenated compounds and hun-
dreds of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) [31e34]. Its composi-
tion varies depending on the feedstock used and its heating value is
determined by the CH4 content. Table 3 summarizes biogas
composition in terms of its components and the substrate used. It
can be seen that the highest methane content occurred in the gas
from the sewage sludge and agricultural waste, while the lowest
methane and highest nitrogen contents are found in the landfill gas.
Thus, the quality of the biogas produced in the anaerobic
digestion process of the SS-WWTP increases with the percentage of
methane in the gas mixture [25,30]. It is therefore important to
have biogas purification systems [30], by removing the CO2 and
other gases in the mixture as to produce a high concentration of
methane and similar uses to those of natural gas [30]. The main
energy characteristics of biogas are shown in Table 4.
Once biogas is obtained, depending on its purity, there are
different techniques to use it [15,30]:
(i) Heat generation from combustion, which can be used to treat
and produce leachate evaporation;
(ii) Electricity generation by combustion engines, turbines,
boilers; alone or mixed with another fuel;
(iii) Integration into natural gas networks;
(iv) Use as a vehicle fuel;
(v) Use as fuel in fuel cell systems;
(vi) Incorporation as a backup fuel in solar thermal power plants.

Table 3
Biogas composition in terms of its components and the substrate used. Source [31e34].

Component By volume By substrate used

Agricultural waste Sewage sludge Industrial waste Landfill gas

Methane, CH4 50e75% 50e80% 50e80% 50e70% 45e65%

Carbon dioxide, CO2 25e45% 30e50% 20e50% 30e50% 34e55%
Water vapor, H2O 1e2% Saturated Saturated Saturated Saturated
Carbon monoxide, CO 0e0.3% 0e1% 0e1% 0e1% Traces
Hydrogen sulphide, H2S 0.1e0.5% 100e700 ppm 0e1% 0e8% 0.5e100 ppm
Nitrogen, N2 1e5% 0e1% 0e3% 0e1% 0e20%
Hydrogen, H2 0e2% 0e2% 0e5% 0e2% 0e1%
Oxygen, O2 0.1e1% 0e1% 0e1% 0e1% 0e5%
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) 0.1e0.5% 0e1% 0e1% 0e1% 0e1%
Siloxanes 0.1e0.5% 0e1% 0e1% 0e1% 0e1%
 A. Colmenar-Santos et al. / Renewable Energy 88 (2016) 171e184
Table 4
Biogas energy characteristics. Source [30].
LHV of biogas with 60% of CH4
Density of methane
LHV of methane by weight
Methane LHV by volume
Average gross electricity production per m3 of biogas (60% methane)
Average heat production
3. Description of the combustion and recovery process of
biogas using a Stirling engine
3.1. Process equipment
An outline of four main equipment is proposed: gasometer or
storage tank of biogas produced at the WWTP; combustion boiler
(B); heat recovery boiler (HRB) from the steam produced during
combustion; Stirling engine.
The biogas stored in the gasometer of a WWTP (1) is used as fuel
in the boiler, where air is also introduced as oxidizer (2). After such
combustion, a water vapor flow (5) is obtained, which is used as a
high-temperature source in a Stirling engine. The exhaust gases
from the boiler (3) instead of being discharged through chimney
are used to feed a heat recovery boiler, where thermal energy is
exchanged between the gases and water vapor from the Stirling
engine (6). Once the heat exchange in the heat recovery boiler is
produced, the steam (7) is recirculated to the engine and the
combustion gases (4) are released to the outside through chimney
(Fig. 2).
The gasometer is the element where biogas production is
stored; the anaerobic digestion is carried out in mesophilic range
[31] so the temperature at which the biogas is collected is 35  C. The
service pressure may vary between 0.5 and 200 bar, however, it is
usually stored at pressure below 10 bar, since equal or greater
pressures than 10 bar have a high energy cost. The gasometer [35]
consists of a double membrane of plastic material that optimizes
the operating conditions and safety. The outer membrane protects
the gasometer against atmospheric conditions, such as solar radi-
ation and rain, while the inner membrane is in direct contact with
biogas. There is an air chamber between the two membranes which
together with a blower and a relief valve keep the biogas pressure
constant. It is installed on the tank walls of the digester and it has a
double function: to store the biogas generated during digestion and
to serve as a deck for the digester. The biogas is conducted to the
Fig. 2. Outline of equipment of the combustion and biogas recovery processes:
gasometer, boiler, heat recovery boiler and Stirling engine.
175
5500 kcal/Nm3
0.67 kg/m3
13 187 kcal/kg
8835.29 kcal/Nm3
2.07 kW h
2.3 therm/m3 (2.67 kW h)
gasometer in the lower part and the occupied volume is controlled
by an ultrasonic meter placed at the top of the inner membrane.
The oxidation of fuel (biogas) with the oxidizer (oxygen present
in the air) takes place in the boiler. The air at ambient temperature
and pressure 0.027 bar is introduced in excess of the stoichiometric
amount necessary to ensure complete combustion. Biogas is
incorporated into the boiler under the same conditions of pressure
and temperature it was stored, as they match with the service re-
quirements of the boiler. It is a steam boiler [36], firetube, three-
pass system with burner and water-cooled rear chamber. The
boiler hull consists of a cylindrical body in a horizontal position. It
has a wavy hull where the combustion takes place by the action of
the burner which is connected to the rear chamber. Hence the gases
are fed to a tubular beam, where they change direction to enter
another tube bundle, ending the tour in a smoke box. The gas circuit
arrangement in countercurrent to the water circuit provides a heat
transfer by forced convection that causes the production of steam
which is then used channeling it to the Stirling engine arranged for
it. The water circuit is composed of a bundle of tubes, along with
two side pipes that regulate the entry and exit of water distribution.
A group of two pumps supplies power to the system.
The heat recovery boiler acts as a heat exchanger between the
gases produced in the combustion of biogas and steam from the
boiler. It is a heat recovery steam boiler (HSRB), firetube, with a hull
similar to the boiler and also contains a multi-tubular bundle for
heat transfer and an upper chamber where steam forms and is
collected [37]. Gas circulates from a frontal chamber equipped with
an adjustable bridle chamber leading to a rear section where it ends
in another chamber from which fumes are expelled. For the water
circuit, the steam formed in the boiler is used. This steam is con-
ducted to the Stirling engine, where the temperature undergoes a
significant drop in order to fulfill the technical specifications of the
HSRB. Once the heat exchange is produced, the steam is recircu-
lated to the Stirling engine.
The Stirling engine is a mechanical device which operates on a
closed regenerative thermodynamic cycle with cyclic compression
and expansion of the working fluid at different temperature levels.
The working fluid is controlled only by changing the internal vol-
ume, no valves and, in general, there is a net conversion of heat to
work and back [38]. The high-temperature source is the steam that
comes from the boiler and from the heat recovery boiler and the
low-temperature source is the steam entering the heat recovery
boiler. A fundamental and distinctive part of this engine is the
presence of an element called regenerator, which is responsible for
storing thermal energy during a certain part of the cycle and
returning to the working fluid the same amount of energy during
another part of the cycle in a process at constant volume, thereby
saving fuel and increasing efficiency [39].
3.2. Input data for combustion and thermodynamic, exergy and
thermoeconomic analysis
Table 5 shows technical specifications of the gasometer, boiler,
heat recovery boiler and Stirling engine selected in the study.
Table 6 shows the input data for the thermodynamic,
176 A. Colmenar-Santos et al. / Renewable Energy 88 (2016) 171e184

Table 5  20% of air (Ex) is introduced in excess of the stoichiometric

Technical specifications of process equipment. amount necessary
Gasometer SATTLER DMGS B9122/250 [35]  The relative humidity if dry air (RH) is 60%. The moisture in the
Capacity (m3) 2150 air does not react with anything; it simply shows up as addi-
Pressure (mbar) 25 tional H2O in the products. Therefore, we can simply balance the
Boiler CERNEY C/M 4000/11 [36]
Steam production (kg/h) 3798
combustion equation using dry air and then adding the moisture
Working pressure (bar) 8.5 to both sides of the equation.
Efficiency (%) 88.4  Biogas and air are considered under conditions of ideal gas
Steam temperature at working pressure ( C) 175.45  It is considered 1 kmol of biogas
Heat recovery boiler CERNEY MCD RG-CEY 236/10 [37]
Gases flow (kg/h) 2703
Flow of steam production (kg/h) 398 The combustion reaction in terms of undetermined coefficients
Working pressure (bar) 8.5 is:
Inlet water temperature ( C) 50
Whispergen Stirling engine [40] 65:324% CH 4 þ 34:672% CO2 þ 0:003% H 2 S þ 0:0001% NH 3
Energy production (kW) 1
Efficiency (%) 96 þ ð1 þ ExÞ$ðath $ðO2 þ 3:76 N 2 Þ þ Nw Þ/x CO2 þ ðy
þ ð1 þ ExÞNw ÞH 2 O þ z SO2 þ w N 2 þ ðath $ExÞ O2
(1)
thermoeconomic and exergetic analysis.
where: ath, kmoles number of theoretical air required for the
combustion reaction (air stoichiometric coefficient); Nw, kmoles
3.3. Reaction combustion in the process boiler number of water present in the air due to the relative humidity; x,
kmol number of CO2 in the products; y, kmol number of H2O in the
In this part, the conditions of biogas combustion in the boiler are products; z, kmol number of SO2 in the products; w, kmol number
studied, in particular, the temperature at which the exhaust gases of N2 in the products.
are obtained, since its magnitude and the amount of air during the The unknown coefficients in Eq. (1) are determined from mass
process are two variables that significantly influence the design and balances. The results are: ath ¼ 1.307 kmol; Nw ¼ 6.609; x ¼ 1;
performance of the devices. y ¼ 1.307 kmol; z ¼ 0.00003 kmol; w ¼ 5.895 kmol. The air e fuel
Combustion is a rapid chemical reaction between the oxygen in ratio AF) can be expressed as:
the air and a combustible material, biogas in the case under study,
during which heat and light are released [41]. In the combustion massair Molesair xMair
the following assumptions are performed: AF ¼ ¼ (2)
massbiogas Molesbiogas xMbiogas

 Combustion is complete Substituting values into (2) gives: AF ¼ 8.402.

 It is considered that the air consists of 21% oxygen and 79%
nitrogen
 The molar masses of C, H2, O2, N2, S2 and air are 12 kg/kmol, 2 kg/
kmol, 32 kg/kmol, 28 kg/kmol, 64 kg/kmol and 29 kg/kmol,
respectively
 N2 is assumed to be inert and not react to form NOx type
compounds
 CO2 is assumed to not oxidize in order to ensure complete
reaction
In any combustion process, flame temperature is one of the most
important properties that controls the rate of chemical reaction and
also has a significant influence on the design and performance of
combustion devices. The maximum attainable flame temperature
for any given initial condition is the adiabatic flame temperature
[42]. Considering the chemical equilibrium and energy balance in
combustion reaction, a steady flow, adiabatic conditions, no work
interaction, constant volume, reactants and products are consid-
ered ideal gases whose enthalpies depend only on the temperature,

Table 6
Input data for the analysis with respect to state points in Fig. 3.

Biogas composition [34]

Methane, CH4 Carbon dioxide, CO2 Hydrogen sulphide, H2S Ammonia, NH3
65.324% by volume 34.672% by volume 0.0030% by volume 0.0001% by volume
Data of biogas (1) stored in the gasometer which enters the boiler
Pressure P1 (kPa) 850
Temperature T1 ( C) 35
Lower heat value LHV (kcal/Nm3) 6587.6
Specific heat at constant pressure cp (kJ/kmol$K) 0.035
Data of air (2) which it is used as oxidizer in the boiler
Pressure P2 (kPa) 2.7
Temperature T2 ( C) 20
Relative humidity RH (%) 60
Excess air Ex (5) 20
Data of exhaust gases (3) flow generate in the boiler
Pressure P3 (kPa) 850
Temperature T3 ( C) 904
Data of steam (5) generated in the boiler
Pressure P5 (kPa) 850
Temperature T5 ( C) 175.45
Data of steam (6) leaving the high-temperature source of the Stirling engine and enters the heat recovery boiler
Pressure P6 (kPa) 850
Temperature T6 ( C) 50
 A. Colmenar-Santos et al. / Renewable Energy 88 (2016) 171e184 177

the adiabatic flame temperature can be calculated using [43]:
X X
Nproductos $Hproductos ¼ Nreactivos $Hreactivos
where N is the number of moles of products and reactants and H is
the enthalpy of each element measured in kJ/kmol.
Table 7 summarizes the data and calculations, with which, by
applying (3), the adiabatic flame temperature obtained is equal to
1042  C. This value will not be reached under operation conditions,
since combustion is often incomplete, due to heat loss in the system
and the dissociation of some gases at high temperatures, resulting
in unwanted products. To counteract these effects, it is always
necessary to provide more air during combustion in boilers [44], to
ensure complete combustion and safe operating conditions. Com-
plete combustion occurs when there is sufficient oxygen to convert
all of the carbons to carbon dioxide and all of the hydrogen to water.
Incomplete combustion means that there is either unburned or
partially reacted fuel, i.e., carbon monoxide, hydrogen, etc. [45].
Therefore, the boiler efficiency also depends largely on the
excess air rate [46]. If the air flow is too low, there will be a rapid
accumulation of CO in the flue gas and, in extreme cases, smoke will
be produced (for example, unburned carbon particles). When the
excess air ratio increases, the concentration of O2 in the main
combustion area also goes up, the temperature of the flame in the
boiler rises and the temperature in the radiation zone drops and, as
a consequence, the boiler efficiency is affected. The excess air must
be sufficient to complete combustion but as low as possible to
reduce the amount of unnecessary air that it is heated and gener-
ates a greater loss of thermal energy in the exhaust gases, with the
associative negative impact on the efficiency of the process [47].
For the study, a 20% excess air was considered, whereby the
temperature of exhaust gases of the boiler is 904  C. It is a good e
realistic result, since combustion equipment keep the biogas
combustion products for three seconds at temperatures between
800  C and 1000  C. This thermal process ensures that the available
energy of the products obtained in the combustion process is
effective, excluding inert components, which are not altered.
4. Energy and exergy analysis
The energy analysis is based on the first law of thermodynamics,
which refers to the conservation of energy in a system given its
conversion from one form to another. Although it lets you design
and optimize thermal systems, does not adequately describe the
factors that make the process leave its ideal behavior behind.
However, the exergy analysis, based on the second law of ther-
modynamics, allows the calculation of the irreversibilities or, what
is the same, the exergy destruction in the main components of the
process and, the assessment of their variation according to the
(3) operating conditions [49]. As a result, the most sensitive compo-
nents are identified, so it is useful to define action strategies aimed
at improving the energy efficiency of the process [50]. Exergy is a
measure of power quality because it measures the maximum useful
work that could be obtained by a system at a given state that in-
teracts with the environment to reach the equilibrium between
them [50,51].
The energy and exergy analysis of the combustion and recovery
process of biogas from the SS-WWTP using a Stirling engine is
applied to each equipment involved in the process. The following
simplifications have been taken into account:
 Combustion is a steady process
 One-dimensional flow inside the pipes
 Temperatures and pressures in the tubes are constant
 Changes in kinetic and potential energy flows are negligible
 Biogas, air and steam flows are considered to have ideal gas
properties
 It is estimated that the air mass flow entering in the combustion
boiler is:
m_ air ¼ m_ biogas ð1 þ ExÞ (4)
 Air composition is taken as: 45.67% N2, 20.35% O2, 3.12% H2O and
0.03% CO2
 Biogas enthalpy is calculated based on its component elements,
considered as ideal gases with constant specific heats
 Biogas specific heat is taken equal to methane specific heat,
since it is the major component
 Boiler and heat recovery boiler are considered without adiabatic
losses
 Combustion in the boiler is complete
 During the biogas combustion reaction there are two exergy
contributions: thermomechanical contribution, which is evalu-
ated by the exergy flow and contribution due to the chemical
exergy
 Temperature and pressure of dead state are related to actual
environmental conditions, taken as standard conditions:
T0 ¼ 298 K; P0 ¼ 1 atm
For the process considered, the basic equations of thermody-
namics (mass balance, energy balance, entropy balance, exergy
balance and exergy flow of the fluid streams of the system) can be
expressed as [52]:
X X
Mass balance : _ in ¼
m _ out
m (5)

Table 7 X X
Energy balance : W_  Q_ ¼ _ out $hout 
m _ i $hi
m (6)
Calculations to obtain the temperature of the boiler exhaust gases.

Substance Ni, (kmol) Mi, (kg/kmol) Hi, (kJ/kg) [48] Ni$Mi$Hi, (kJ)
X Q_ X X
Reactants Entropy balance : 0 ¼ þ _ out $sout 
m _ in $sin þ s_
m
CH4 0.65324 16 4645 48 548.79 TF
CO2 0.34672 44 8933 136279.00
(7)
H2S 0.00003 34 872.60 0.8918
NH3 0.000001 17 1884.0 0.0321
N2 5.895 28 5.36 885.04 X T
 X X
O2 1.568 32 4.75 238.33 Exergy balance : 0 ¼ 1  0 $Q_  W
_ þ bin  bout
TF
H2O 6.609 18 13 432.00 1.5979 $106
Products  E_ D
CO2 1.00 44 7962.00 350226.00
SO2 0.00003 64 3951.00 7.58592 (8)
N2 5.895 28 977.40 161402.00

Exergetic flow : b_ i ¼ m
O2 0.2614 32 904.20 7560.00
H2O 7.916 18 11 561.00 1.6473$106
_ i $ððhi  h0 Þ  T0 $ðsi  s0 ÞÞ (9)
178 A. Colmenar-Santos et al. / Renewable Energy 88 (2016) 171e184

The equations of energy efficiency (h) and exergy efficiency (ε) of various elements: biogas flow and exhaust gases flow. The
studied to complete the analysis of the equipments involved in the highest exergy flow, i. e., the highest capacity to do work, corre-
combustion process can be expressed as [52]: sponds to biogas (14 264.0 kW), followed by exhaust gases from the
boiler (3261.0 kW), which shows that the choice of tapping its
Energy in the equipment energy potential in HRB is an optimal and feasible solution. The
Energy efficiency : h ¼ (10) steam exergy flow increases after passing through the HRB, which
Inlet total energy
ensures that the Stirling engine works in perfect and proper con-
ditions. The lowest exergy flow corresponds to air (68.00 kW),
Exergy in the equipment negligible compared to other flows, since no useful work of its
Exergy efficiency : ε ¼ (11)
Inlet total exergy employment is expected, but as oxidizer in the combustion
reaction.
The calculation of the outlet temperature of the exhaust gases in
Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 show the flows of energy and exergy of the
the HRB (T4) is made from the heat balance of the equipment with
process by a Sankey and a Grassmann diagram, respectively.
the effectiveness e NTU method [53e55]. This method is based on
Table 12 summarizes the energy and exergy results of the biogas
the calculation of a dimensionless parameter called effectiveness
process in the boilers. In terms of entropy generated in the boiler,
(ef), defined as the ratio of the actual heat transfer rate to the
losses are calculated based on the performance of the boiler, which
maximum possible heat transfer rate. Heat transfer will reach its
means that under the working conditions imposed, they amount to
maximum value when any of the following occurs:
1.43 kW, generating an entropy of 6.699 kW/K. The same calcula-
tion under adiabatic conditions indicates that the entropy pro-
(i) The cold fluid is heated to the inlet temperature of the hot
duction is 6.698 kW/K. Such a trivial difference is the result of lower
fluid or
losses in operating conditions, which shows that the entropy
(ii) The hot fluid is cooled to the inlet temperature of the cold
generated is mainly due to internal irreversibilities of the process.
fluid.
Considering that the losses in the HRB represent 30% of the entropy
production in adiabatic conditions, the results show that when
These two boundary conditions will only be simultaneously
there are no losses, an entropy of 0.018 kW/K is generated and
achieved when the ratios of heat capacities of both fluids (product
when there are losses (38.11 kW), the entropy production has a
of their mass flows by its specific heat at constant pressure), are
value of 127.00 kW/K; therefore the entropy generated is not only
identical. Table 8 summarizes the results of the study, with which
the result of internal irreversibilities of the system, but also a part of
temperature of 874  C (1147 K) for the exhaust gases of the HRB has
it is invested in the irreversibility of the process. The irreversibility
been obtained.
in the process has also been studied to quantify the difference
In Table 9 and Table 10 the equations used for the analysis of the
between the maximum amount of work that can be expected and
boiler and the heat recovery boiler, are respectively described. In
the actual amount of work obtained in the process. In the case of
each graphic the points of the process are indicated according to
the boiler, the rate of exergy destruction in an adiabatic process is of
[Fig. 3].
9153.0 and of 9154.0 kW, in a non-adiabatic one; value almost equal
Table 11 shows the input data and the results obtained from the
in both cases since the estimated losses are very small. Not so in the
energy and exergy analysis. For the exergy analysis the inlet and
HRB, where the rate of irreversibility under adiabatic conditions
outlet flows of each boiler have been examined [Fig. 3]. In the
(110.90 kW) is significantly lower than that calculated when there
combustion boiler two exergetic contributions have been recorded,
are losses (139.10 kW).
chemical and thermomechanical, in those flows that are mixtures

Table 8
Effectiveness e NTU method results for the HRB with respect to state points in Fig. 3.

_ (kg/h)
Mass flow rates m Specific heat at constant pressure cp (kJ/kg K) Heat capacity rate C (kW/ C) Temperature T (K)

Hot fluid (h); flow 3e4 m_ h ¼ 2703 cph ¼ 1:14 Ch ¼ m_ h $cph ¼ 223:7 T3 ¼ 1177
T4 ¼ 1147
Cold fluid (c); flow 6e7 m_ c ¼ 2703 cpc ¼ 1:87 Cc ¼ m_ c $cc ¼ 56:51 T6 ¼ 323
T7 ¼ 448.45
Actual heat transfer rate (kW) 7089.00
qreal ¼ Cc $ðTcs  Tce Þ ¼ Ch $ðThe  Ths Þ (12)

Maximum possible heat transfer rate (kW) 48 270.00

qmax ¼ Cmin $ðThe  Tce Þ (13)

Heat transfer effectiveness (%) 14.69

qreal
ef ¼ (14)
qmax

Capacity ratio 0.6089

C
c ¼ min (15)
Cmax

NTU 0.1666
   
1 ef  1
NTU ¼ $ln (16)
c1 ef $c  1

Overall heat transfer coefficient (k/m2$K) 0.2015

Cmin $NTU
U¼ (17)
Heat transfer surface area
Table 9
Energy and exergy relations of the boiler with respect to state points in Fig. 3.

Component Energetic and exergetic balance equations

Boiler (B) Mass balance

m_ 1 þ m_ 2 ¼ m_ 3 þ m_ 5 (18)

Energy balance
Q_ B ¼ m
_ 3 $h3 þ m
_ 5 $h5  m
_ 1 $h1  m
_ 2 $h2 (19)

Energetic efficiency
Q_ B
h¼ (20)
Q_ max;B

Exergetic efficiency
E_ D B
εB ¼ 1  (21)
b_ 1

A. Colmenar-Santos et al. / Renewable Energy 88 (2016) 171e184

Entropy balance
X Q_ B
0¼ _ 3 $s3 þ m
þm _ 5 $s5  m
_ 1 $s  m
_ 2 $s2 þ s_ (22)
TF B

Specific entropy of element i of a

gas mixture Yi $Pm
si ðT; Pi Þ ¼ s0i ðT; P0 Þ  Ru $ln (23)
P0

Exergy destroyed
X T0

E_ D B ¼ 1 Q_ B þ b_ 1 þ b_ 2  b_ 3  b_ 5 (24)
TF B

E_ D B ¼ T0 $s_ (25)

Chemical molar exergy of the

0 1
biogas ð1þExÞ$ath
yCH4 $yO2 $ycN
eCH biogas ¼ g 0CH4 þ ð1 þ ExÞ$ath $g0O2 þ ð3:76$ath $ð1 þ ExÞÞg0N2  a$g0CO2  b$g0H2 O  c$g0N2  d$g0O2 þ Ru $T0 $ln@ d A (26)
yO2 air $ycN2 air yaCO2 air $ybH2 Oair

Thermomechanical molar exergy of

   
the biogas eTM ¼ hCH4  h0CH4  T0 $ sCH4  s0CH4 (27)
biogas

Exergetic flow of biogas

 
eCH biogas
b_ 1 ¼ þ eTM biogas $m_ 1 (28)
MCH4

Exergetic flow of air

   
b_ 2 ¼ h2  h02  T0 $ s2  s02 (29)

Exergetic flow of exhaust gases

 
eCH þ þeTM
b_ 3 ¼
gases gases
$m_ 3 (30)
Mgases

Exergetic flow of steam

   
b_ 5 ¼ h5  h05  T0 $ s5  s05 (31)

179
180 A. Colmenar-Santos et al. / Renewable Energy 88 (2016) 171e184

Table 10
Energy and exergy relations of the heat recovery boiler with respect to state points in Fig. 3.

Component Energetic and exergetic balance equations

Heat recovery boiler (HRB) Mass balance

_6 ¼m
m _7 (32)

m _4
_3 ¼m (33)

Energy balance
Q_ HRB ¼ m
_ 6 ðh7  h6 Þ (34)

Q_ HRB ¼ m
_ 3 ðh4  h3 Þ (35)

 
Q_ ma
x; HRB ¼ Cm
ın Tin h  Tin c (36)

Energetic efficiency
Q_ HRB
h¼ (37)
Q_ ma
x;HRB

Exergy destroyed
X T0
    
E_ D HRB ¼ 1 Q_ HRB þ b_ 3  b_ 4 þ b_ 6  b_ 7 (38)
TF HRB

Exergetic efficiency
b_ 3  b_ 4
ε¼ (39)
b_ 7  b_ 6

Entropy balance
X Q_ HRB X X
0¼ þ m_ in $sin  m_ out $sout þ s_ (40)
TF HRB

Chemical molar exergy of

! ! ! !!
the exhaust gas YCO2 YH2 O YN2 YO2
eCH gases ¼ Ru $T0 $ x$ln þ y$ln þ w$ln þ ðath $ExÞ$ln (41)
YCO2 air YH2 O air
YN2 air YO2 air

Thermomechanical molar

exergy of the exhaust
eTM gases ¼ Ni $ (42)
gases

Exergetic flow of inlet

 
exhaust gases eCH þ þeTM
b_ 3 ¼
gases gases
$m_ 3
Mgases

(30)
Exergetic flow of outlet
 
exhaust gases eCH þ þeTM
b_ 4 ¼
gases gases
$m_ 4 (43)
Mgases

Exergetic flow of inlet

   
steam b_ 6 ¼ h6  h06  T0 $ s6  s06 (44)

Exergetic flow of outlet

   
steam b_ 7 ¼ h7  h07  T0 $ s7  s07 (45)

As regards the cost of the destroyed exergy, it differs in each
boiler and is higher for the B, since in this subsystem the irre-
versibility rate is higher. It must therefore be concluded that there
is some useful work that could be used but is not, with an estimated
cost of 192.20 V/kWh. The same cost in the HRB is about 100 times
lower, which shows that the potential useful work in this boiler is
better used, as revealed by its efficiency parameter.
After obtaining the values of the exergy flows and exergy
destroyed, the exergy efficiency of the two boilers in real operating
condition has been evaluated, in order to ascertain the ability to
transform resources into products. The B has the lowest efficiency
(35.83%), according to the high rate of irreversibility in it. The HRB
exergy efficiency is 44.18%. The exergy destruction in this case is
very small (139.19 kW) and the energy potential of the exhaust
gases of combustion is used, as a result of a previous process.
5. Thermoeconomic analysis
Thermoeconomics or exergoeconomics is a tool for analysis,
evaluation and design, which integrates the principles of various
disciplines such as thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer
and economy. It is based on the principle of exergetic cost,
assigning monetary values to the energy flows, thermodynamic
inefficiencies and irreversibilities within the system [56]. It allows
the designer to optimize the costs of achieving a profitable system
without neglecting their efficiency and performance. The advan-
tage of thermoeconomic study is that it provides information that
cannot be obtained with the usual energy and economic analyses,
since they do not include all the interacting variables separately.
One of the most developed methods for assessing energy con-
version systems is the SPECO method (specific energy cost)
 A. Colmenar-Santos et al. / Renewable Energy 88 (2016) 171e184 181

the equipment.
The economic balance of costs for a system operating at steady
state can be expressed as:
X X
C_ out þ C_ work ¼ C_ ina þ C_ heat þ Z_ (46)

where:
P_
 C : Sum of costs inflows (V/h)
P _ in
 Cout : Sum of costs outflows (V/h)
 C_ work : Costs of work flows (V/h)
 C_ heat : Costs of heat flows (V/h)
Fig. 3. Outline of mass flow rate in the process.
 _ Costs associated with investment, operation and mainte-
Z:
nance (V/h).

presented by Lazzaretto and Tsatsaronis [57]. In this method, the
cost of adding a stream exergy is determined and assigned to the
unit that makes use of the exergy. This means that a component
will get the exergy of a stream at different costs, depending on the
components that provide exergy for that stream [49]. This tool
provides simple and unambiguous procedures using a matrix
formulation that facilitates fast problem solving. The SPECO
method consists of three steps: (i) Identification of exergy flows; (ii)
Definition of inputs and outputs; (iii) Definition of cost equations
[58].
For the analysis costs are evaluated individually for each
component. Individual analysis reflects the general situation and
highlights the components that, to a greater or lesser degree, in-
fluence the performance of the system studied. One can thus un-
derstand the process of the cost estimation, as well as the flow and
thus, what the most profitable and feasible options to optimize
overall system are [59].
In the study, the system formed by combustion and recovery
process of biogas from the SS-WWTP is divided into two sub-
components, individually analyzed. This allows the estimation in
economic terms of the cost of procurement and production of flows
into and out each subsystem based on the exergetic value of each of
them, their unit costs and costs of operation and maintenance of
To know the final unit cost of steam production for each boiler,
the exergy flows (b ) should be evaluated both input and output
[Fig. 4]. According SPECO method [57] the principles F and P should
be applied. The principle F indicates that the cost (cost per exergy
unit) associated with removing specific exergy of a fluid stream
must equal the average specific cost at which removed exergy is
supplied to the same current in components upstream. The prin-
ciple P states that each exergy unit is supplied to any stream
associated with the “product” at the same average cost.
Thus, in the boiler the cost of steam production has been esti-
mated considering:
(i) The unit cost for the air flow is 0.00 V/h, as it is a natural
resource of great availability.
(ii) The exhaust gases have a small associated cost as they are not
released into the atmosphere, but transported to the HRB.
In the HRB, to assess the cost of steam production rate, it has
been assumed that:
(i) The exhaust gases entere at the same unit cost as B dropouts.
(ii) The unit cost of the exhaust gases to leave the HRB is 0.00
V/h, as they are released directly to the atmosphere through

Table 11
Data, thermodynamic properties, energy and exergy values in the process with respect to state points in Fig. 3. ̇

State Fluid Pressure Temperature Mass flow rate Enthalpy h Standard molar Molar entropy Chemical exergy Thermomechanical Exergetic
P (kPa) T ( C) _ (kg/s)
m (kJ/kg) entropy s0i (kJ/kmol K) si (kJ/kmol K) eCH (k J/kg) exergy eTM (kJ/kg) flow b_ (kW)

1 Biogas 850 35 0.66 e e e 21 068 328.10 14.264

1 CH4 850 35 0.43 4645.00 186.16 112.3 e
1 CO2 850 35 0.22 8.933 213.80 71.01 e
1 H2S 850 35 1.98$106 872.60 205.60 0.0082 e
1 NH3 850 35 6.6$107 1884.0 193.33 0.00029 e
1 O2 850 35 205.04 388.90
1 N2 850 35 191.61 1318.00
2 Air 2.70 25 0.79 10.11 396.65 1706.90 85.00 e 68.00
3 Exhaust 850 904 0.75 e e e 595.10 3748.00 3261
gases
3 CO2 850 904 0.06 7962.0 271.80 280.60 e
3 H2O 850 904 0.22 11.561 236.70 306.30 e
3 SO2 850 904 5.14$106 3951.0 308.30 0.01185 e
3 N2 850 904 1.01 977.4 229.70 1267.00 e
3 O2 850 904 0.04 904.2 245.20 66.97 e
4 Exhaust 850 874 0.75 e e e 595.10 3483.00 3062
gases
4 CO2 850 874 0.03 8132 271.48 280.20 e
4 H2O 850 874 0.11 11.882 234.38 303.30 e
4 SO2 850 874 2.66$106 4.068 307.98 0.01184 e
4 N2 850 874 0.52 816.3 229.50 1 26.00 e
4 O2 850 874 0.02 754.8 244.98 66.92 e
5 Steam 850 175.45 0.11 4405.0 188.83 6.655 e 17349.00 1918
6 Steam 850 50 0.11 209.40 188.83 12.625 1380
7 Steam 850 175.45 0.70 2777.0 188.83 119.79 1918
182 A. Colmenar-Santos et al. / Renewable Energy 88 (2016) 171e184

indicator of the benefit involved in the use of exhaust gas in such

facilities, not only in terms of energy, but also economic.

6. Advantages of using a Stirling engine

As discussed in section 3.1 where the process and equipment of

Fig. 4. Energy flows in the process (Sankey diagram).
Fig. 5. Exergy flows in the process (Grassmann diagram).
chimney. Also the unit cost of the steam produced in the CB is
assigned to water entering the HRB to become steam.
With these considerations, the equations of the equipment cost
can be expressed as:
Boiler:
Csteam $b_ 5 þ Cproducts $b_ 3 ¼ Cbiogas $b_ 1 þ Cair $b_ 2 þ Z_ boiler
Heat recovery boiler:
C int steam $b_ 6 þ Cout gases $b_ 4 ¼ Cout steam $b_ 7 þ Cint gases $b_ 3
þ Z_ heat recovery boiler
To obtain the total production cost, to the cost of fuel used for
generation must be added the cost of investment, operation and
maintenance associated which, once usage hours or component life
have been estimated, is determined by the expression of total cost
calculated as:
combustion and recovery of biogas from SS-WWTP were described,
the exergy potential of the steam generated in the boiler can be
used as an external source of heat for a Stirling engine, taking
advantage of the temperature difference between two reservoirs
and using steam to do an expansion power and to produce energy.
After the compression process during stroke engine, the steam
reaches the low-temperature source of the motor and it leads to the
heat recovery boiler, where after an exchange with the exhaust
gases of the boiler recovers again the proper temperature to
become the high-temperature source of the Stirling engine [Fig. 4].
The advantage of this configuration is that the biogas does not
enter the engine cylinder or come in contact with the working fluid,
which results in fewer corrosion problems for the engine. In addi-
tion, better emissions controls can be achieved in an external
combustion process that is geared toward heat exchange as
opposed to power production [60].
This external combustion engine, compared to internal com-
bustion ones, has the advantage of not demanding many re-
quirements on the biogas quality, which allow low methane gas to
be used [60].
The Stirling engine used in the study is a Whispergen Stirling
[40] four-cylinder engine that can produce, in nominal terms, 1 kW
of electric power and 8.0 kW of thermal energy at 60e80  C, which
can be increased up to 14.5 kW if the burner is used. The temper-
ature of the rating work of the engine is 500  C and, since the
exhaust gases leave the boiler at 904  C, it can be used for micro-
generation, as described in a paper presented by the manufac-
(47) turers of Stirling engine [61]. Although the amount of energy pro-
vided by the engine is relatively low compared with the
magnitudes considered in the process, it should not be forgotten
that both, the energy cost of the engine (low fuel consumption),
and the production of steam, is really low, so energy would cost
practically nothing.
(48)
As a result, the Stirling engine is a promising alternative, taking
into account that it is an external combustion engine with possi-
bilities for better combustion control and the potential to use
multiple fuels. Therefore, with proper design, Stirling engines are
expected to be less expensive and less polluting than Diesel engines
[62].

Z_ þ Z_ OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE 7. Conclusions

Z_ TOTAL COST ¼ INVESTMENT ðV=hÞ
TOTAL USAGE HOURS
(49)
The results are presented in Table 13. The thermoeconomic
analysis of the production and utilization process of biogas from the
SS-WWTP has allowed the quantification of the economic value of
exergy flows of each process and the exergy destroyed. The unit
cost of steam production in the boiler has been estimated at 0.7065
V/h and in about half, 0.4268 V/h, in the HRB. This is another
This is a study of the combustion of biogas from the anaerobic
digestion of activated sludge from a wastewater treatment plant, to
obtain exhaust gases which can be used in a heat recovery boiler to
produce steam that can be considered as the high temperature
reservoir of a Stirling engine. This process is an energy option that
offers competitive advantages and points out new horizons for the
use of this fuel. Although a basic configuration has been analyzed,
more complex arrangements of energy use, based on the

Table 12
Energetic and exergetic results of the process boilers.

Equipment Q_ (kW) TF (K) s_ (kW/K) h (%) E_ D (kW) ε (%)

Boiler (adiabatic) 0.00 e 6.699 88.40 9153.00 e

Boiler 1.43 1175 6.698 e 9154.00 35.83
Heat recovery boiler (adiabatic) 0.00 e 0.01836 e 110.90 e
Heat recovery boiler 38.11 1155 127.00 e 139.10 44.18
 A. Colmenar-Santos et al. / Renewable Energy 88 (2016) 171e184 183

Table 13 high quality renewable fuel, for industrial applications and, in turn,
Boiler and heat recovery boiler thermoeconomic analysis. would achieves the commitments to reduce environmental impact.
Boiler Besides the economic benefits already mentioned in the analysis
Production costs of flows of the costs of steam production, this process also involves mac-
Flow m_ ðkg=sÞ _
bðkWÞ C (V/h) _
CðV=kWhÞ roeconomic benefits because decentralized energy can be gener-
1 0.67 0.0210 299.50
14264.00
ated, which reduces import and environmental protection costs
2 0.80 0.0000 0.00 and favors energy diversification using biomass.
68.00
3 0.75 0.0075 24.46
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