Examining European semi-natural grassland silages and urban green cut as input sources for the integrated generation of solid fuel and biogas from biomass

To act against the negative effects of climate change, the European Union (EU) has increased its efforts in the field of renewable energies. This led to the definition of national and EU wide targets for the share of energy from renewable sources in gross final consumption of energy by the year 2020 for each EU-Member state and the Union as a whole. To reach these aims without jeopardising other important aims like food security and nature conservation, sustainable systems of recovery of renewable energy have to be developed. One possibility is the “integrated generation of solid fuel and biogas from biomass” (IFBB). Its core element is the mechanical separation of the biomass into a solid fuel for combustion and a liquid for anaerobic digestion. This study investigated the technology on a prototype scale for a variety of European semi natural grasslands and urban green cut biomasses. The quality of the derived energy carriers and the parameters influencing these qualities were in the research focus. In addition, the IFBB system was compared to other energy recovery systems.