1

BIOMETHANE DONE RIGHT

AN ADVANCED BIOFUEL

THE SICILY STUDY CASE

Prof. Biagio Pecorino

Responsabile della sezione di Economia agroalimentare dell’università degli Studi di Catania

Università di Catania - Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente (Di3A) -

Sezione di Economia agro-alimentare - Via Santa Sofia, 98-100 - 95123 Catania tel. 0039 0957580322

www.di3a.unict.it –email: pecorino@unict.it

Sommario

SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................... 2

ITALIAN BIOGASDONERIGHT CONCEPT ................................................................................................... 6

BIOMETHANE AS ADVANCED BIOFUEL: SICILY AS CASE STUDY ............................................................ 10

THE STATE OF THE ART OF SICILY AGRICULTURE .................................................................................. 11

THE BIOMETHANE POTENTIAL AND ITS LAND EFFICIENCY IN SICILY .................................................... 13

Monocrops ........................................................................................................................................ 14

Integration biomasses ....................................................................................................................... 15

Integration biomasses: by products and wastes ............................................................................... 15

Livestock effluents ......................................................................................................................... 16

Crop residues ................................................................................................................................. 17

Agro industrial by products ........................................................................................................... 18

Summary of biomethane from different sources ......................................................................... 19

Cover crops ........................................................................................................................................ 20

Cover crops on row crop land ....................................................................................................... 20

Cover crops on marginal lands ...................................................................................................... 24

Biogas from Municipal Organic Waste .............................................................................................. 26

THE EFFECTS ON THE SICILIAN AGRICULTURE AND ECONOMY ............................................................ 27

CONCLUSIONS ....................................................................................................................................... 31

BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................................... 35

APPENDIX I ............................................................................................................................................ 37

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SUMMARY

The Italian Biogas became the third one globally speaking after China and Germanny, with more than

1.400 biogas plants that produce more than 2,2 billion Nmc/year of Biomethane equivalent until now

only in CHP systems and with the creation of 12.000 direct, permanent and qualified jobs last five

years..

The inherent mark that characterizes the Italian biogas is the development of the so called

“Biogasdoneright®1” platform technologies. These technologies and practices allow the complete

restructuring of the farms activities around the anaerobic digestion plants and strengthen the ability

of the farm to produce Food & Feed beside the renewable energy.

These results have been achieved with the use of large proportions of so called “integration

biomasses”. Such biomasses are wastes and by products that often they are an environmental

problem (livestock effluents, agricultural by products, food processing wastes) and crops harvested

from agricultural land that was hold bare during the year ( double cropping) or annually ( set aside

“maggese”).

These “integration biomasses” either if obtained with food & feed crops or not, are to our judgment

the biomasses that should be used in the production of advanced biofuels, since they do not cause

any iLUC effect only, but they allow the farms as a whole to improve their sustainability

performances regarding GHGs emissionpollution and biodiversity compared to the conventional

farming and ultimately thy strengthen the economic competitiveness of the farms.

The agronomic practices of the Biogasdoneright trigger a substantial modification of the farming

practices currently on use at the farms since:

- It induces a higher degree of recycling for livestock effluents and by products

- It fosters the production of silages even when a locallivestock industry is not available, thus

keeping the soil covered almost the whole year and therefore reducing greatly the emissions

of GHGs from the farmland, and improving the photosynthesis activity;

- It increases the number of rotations therefore increasing the biodiversity.

- It improves the soil fertility via increased biomass in the soil (roots, plant parts) and restoring

the organic fertilization via biogas digestate or biofertilizer.

1 The Biogasdoneright name was inspired by the pioneering work made by prof. Bruce Dale (Michigan State University,

US) and published as “Biofuel done right: land efficient animal feed enable large environmental and energy benefits.” (2010). Environ. Technol. 44. 8385-8389, 2010

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- It reduces the costs of chemical fertilizers, the costs input for the production and it diversifies

the output markets.

In a nutshell, the Biogasdoneright feedstocks at the farm not only avoid the creation of monocrop to

bioenergy systems and therefore lowering the food production but also improve the sustainability of

the farm from an environmental and economic point of view and ultimately increasing the Food

Security.

Starting from these simple concepts, five years ago the Italian Biogas sector developed a roadmap to

reach the target of 8 billion Nmc/year of Biomethane through a steady increase of such biomasses.

Sicily is one of the Italian regions that fall behind the roadmap, but due to its strong agriculture

sector and its geography (mediterrenean climate, desertification of the farmland, agro food

productions, etc.) it holds a potential of circa 8% of the national one, thus corresponding to

600.000.000 Nmc/year including in this number circa 40.000.000 Nmc/year of biomethane from

Municipal Organic Waste (MOW).

2020 2025 2030

MOW Biomethane Nmc BioCH4/year 5.000.000 20.000.000 40.000.000

AGRICULTURAL Biomethane Nmc BioCH4/year 95.000.000 280.000.000 560.000.000

SICILIY TOTAL Nmc BioCH4/year 100.000.000 300.000.000 600.000.000

of which Agricultural Biomethane

From Monocoltures Nmc BioCH4/year 26.640.000 71.040.000 124.320.000 % 27% 24% 21%

UAA monocoltures ha 6.000 16.000 28.000 % UAA SICILIY 0,4% 1,2% 2,0%Land efficiency ha/Million Nmc 63 57 50

From INTEGRATION BIOMASSES (Advanced biofuels) Nmc BioCH4/year 68.360.000 208.960.000 435.680.000

% 72% 75% 78%

Residual biomasses Nmc BioCH4/year 40.000.000 70.000.000 85.000.000 % 42% 25% 15%

COVER CROPS Nmc BioCH4/year 28.360.000 138.960.000 350.680.000 % 30% 50% 63%

ha 11.167 54.717 138.084

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This target can be achieved with:

- 20% of Biomethane obtained from monocrops cultivated in row crop land that substitute

food & feed production (2% only of the Sicilian UAA) especially in areas that are becoming

economically marginalized at the today prices level (for example the plains between Catania

and Gela)

- 80% via the so called integration biomasses, thus livestock effluents, agrowastes and cover

crops that without an additional demand created by the AD plant would not be produced.

The outcome of this study, in our perspective, indicates clearly that the “integration biomasses” can

be considered as to all intents and purposes among the ones allowed for the production of advanced

biofuels as clarified in the Annex IX of the new RED 2015/1513. Specifically the cover crops

highlighted in our Plan (Italian sainfoin, Sorghum, cereals and pulses mixtures…), when inserted in a

rotation before or after a cash crop for the market or the stable are suitable to be classified as

biomasses for advanced biofuels in the above mentioned Annex2.

With a clear legislation covering the biomasses suitable for advanced biofuels, Italy with more than 1

billion Nmc/year as CNG/LNG fuel (8 billion Nmc/year forecasts for 2030) and more than 1.200

salespoint has already a consolidated market for the utilization of biomethane as fuel for road

transportation. It must be noticed that Biomethane in this case can not only reduce the emissions

compared of gasoline or diesel, but its production according to the Biogasdoneright principles will

lead also to a stark reduction of the emissions of GHGs from agriculture and agroindustrial systems, it

will improve biodiversity and the economy of the farms thus contributing to secure the food safety

for the EU.

Last but not least the fostering of advanced biofuels based on the above mentioned biomasses, thus

avoiding monocoltures, will trigger investments for 1,2-1,5 billion € and the creation of 3.000-3.500

direct, qualified jobs. Such a development plan, in an historic moment like the current one where

many agroindustrial systems are getting economically marginalized and lead the the closure of farms

and processing industries, can contribute to invert the tide and make of the Sicilian agriculture the

root of economic development in rural areas thanks to the new markets that can open for the farms.

2 'non-food cellulosic material' means feedstocks mainly composed of cellulose and hemicellulose, and having a lower

lignin-content than ligno-cellulosic material; it includes food and feed crop residues (such as straw, stover, husks and shells), grassy energy crops with a low starch content (such as ryegrass, switchgrass, miscanthus, giant cane and cover crops

before and after main crops), industrial residues (including from food and feed crops after vegetal oils, sugars, starches and protein have been extracted), and material from biowaste “

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In this respect a biogas plant can be seen as a real refinery (biogas biorefinery) that valorize different

feedstocks into energy, biomaterials and biofertilizers.

Italy already adopted a law frame for the production of at least 2% of advanced biofuels until 2020:

the Biomethane produced with the “integration biomasses” can therefore play a key role in reaching

this target.

The dissemination of Biogas reifneries also in the territories of Southern Italy is therefore important

also for the higher penetration of intermittent Renewable Energy sources (PV and wind above all)

since the electricity from biogas is programmable and therefore suited to help in stabilizing the

power grid. Moreover the electricity from biogas can allow a larger share of clean electricity to

power the rising electrical mobility with clean energy. This fact can happen with a biogas refinery,

decentralized at the farm site, connected to two different grids (Power and Electricity), able to

produce electricity and thermal energy, biofuels, food & feed all of these in a flexible and

programmable way, adapted at the market conditions.

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ITALIAN BIOGASDONERIGHT CONCEPT

From the beginning, the members of the Italian Biogas Consortium (CIB) have set themselves

some basic questions about the meaning and the role of anaerobic digestion at the farm

level and have drawn up a development plan that would allow the achievement of

significant production of biogas from agricultural matrices while continuing the production

of quality food.

This ambitious yet achievable target is designed around the biogasdoneright®3 concept, thus

the idea that the AD infrastructure at the farm site allows not only the mere production of

biomasses for the biogas plant but keeping the production of Food & Feed but also it

changes completely the agricultural practices from the soil uses to the farming and

fertilization techniques (crop rotations, cover crops, digestate or biofertilizer use, lower

input of chemical fertilizers, recover of maginal lands, improvement of soil fertility).

Since the dawn of the Italian agricultural biogas, we have raised the issue of efficiency in

land use, clarifying the point about "from where biomass come from", by selecting type of

biomasses to be used in the digester without incurring phenomena of "competition" with

food and feed crops, and therefore improving the competitiveness of the farms and their

efficiency also from an environmental point of view.

Today we can proudly state that the Italian agricultural biogas has become the third biogas

in the world after China and Germany, with investments of around 4 billion Euros and

created about 12,000 direct, qualified and permanent employees4.

Therefore the early adopters of the biogasdoneright principles asked themselves how much

first crop land (monocropping or double cropping) could be used for biogas without creating

market imbalances on the Italian food & feed market. Moreover the question was what kind

of biomasses can be applied in the anaerobic digestion as integration supplement of those

that can already be produced at the farm and without lowering the total food & feed

production.

3 National Geographic 2015 “Italians show energy and food can grow in harmony”

4 Irex Annual Report – Althesys 2015

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The result is a roadmap plan for Italy, published for the first time by CIB about 5 years ago,

which regards a production of 8 billion Nmc equivalent biomethane. This could have been

used as raw biogas in internal combustion engines or injected n the gas grid to be used in

cogeneration, in the transport sector as clean fuel or in other industrial applications.

The plan target was to increase the domestic production of fossil natural gas by 1.5 times,

biogas from waste included. This target would bring the rate of national supply over

consumption of natural gas at the time5 at about 25%, three times more than the fossil

methane production were able to ensure. A production equal to 9 times the current of

methane in transport consumption, about 30% of the energy consumed from the Italian

transport sector overall ( gasoline and diesel).

The plan was based on absolute clarity about the biomasses to be used in order to avoid

distortions in the various Italian agricultural territories, where often it exists delicate

balance, different and changing just a few kilometers away from one agro-ecological zone to

another:

a) silage monoculture (first crop) or otherwise double crops intended both for the AD and

produced using up to 400,000 hectares, arable land left for set aside to accomplish set aside

EU obligation few years ago discontinued and that formerly was used to fill sugar quotas6

b) livestock effluents, agricultural by-products, industrial by-products resulting from the

processing of agricultural products;

c) cover crops grown before or after a cash crop for the market or the stable, normally

harvested as silage, grown where before there was no production because there was no

local demand for these biomass as transport costs were too high;

d) perennial crops on marginal land being abandoned, like alfalfa in the Monferrato hills, or

5 Consumption of circa 65 Mrd di Nm3

6 Set aside is not any more mandatory and the sugar beet crop decresed 5 times its area.

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nitrogen fixing tools in annual rotation with cereals to avoid monocultures, as in the case of

Italian sainfoin in rotation with durum wheat in the South.

Five years ago we envisaged the production of 8 billion Nmc of methane equivalent until

2030, by using these above mentioned biomasses. Yet, it was clear since the beginning that

this objective could be achieved only through a real agricultural revolution7 that implies a

radical change in the way we do agriculture starting from the use of the soil, the tillage and

fertilization techniques.

So we placed at the center of our strategy the goal of efficiency in land use, defined as the

ability to support with increasing amounts8 of "integration biomass" those coming from the

use of 400,000 ha ; corresponding to the 3% of the Utilized Agricultural Area (UAA) and it is

the space we estimated the Italian agriculture could leave to diversify the output markets for

the farms without imbalancing the local Food & Feed market, as shown in table 1

Table 1 –Biomethane development scenario and its land efficiency forecasts until 2030

2010 2015 2020 2025 2030

(A) Biometano totale (GNmc/year) 0,70 2,20 4,20 5,50 8,0

(FCLR) - UAA monocrop (ha) 85.000 200.000 250.000 300.000 400.000

(ha/Nmc CH4) 121 91 60 55 50

(C x P) - Monocrop yield (Nmc/ha CH4) 6720 6720 6720 6720 6720

(A/FCLR

) LAND EFFICIENCY (Nmc/ha CH4) 8.235 11.000 16.800 18.333 20.000

(A - I) Monocrop Biomethane (GNmc/year) 0,57 1,34 1,68 2,02 2,69

(I)

Inteegration biomass

Biomethane (GNmc/year) 0,13 0,86 2,52 3,48 5,31

(I)

Integration biomass

Biomethane (%) 18 39 60 63 66

7 Therefore this year Italian Biogas Council congress was called “Agricultural Revolution”

8 “Increasing” sincethe agronomy of Biogasdoneright needs the adoption of new practices therefore it requires time and

efforts. For this reason we forecasted a roadmap with a timeline for lowering the input of monocrops and increasing cover crops and agrowastes. Our estimation for biogas yield optimization are aligned with the results in the fields and will go from 120 ha in 2010 to 50 ha in 2030 for having 1 million Nmc biomethane.

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Today the Italian biogas sector is keeping pace with the roadmap envisaged years ago and

especially it has been able to rely on greater and greater share of integration biomasses. To

our judgement this represent a new pathway to reduce iLUC risks and decarbonize the

agriculture sector and at the same time increase the economic competitiveness even at the

current record low prices of the agricultural commodities that are still the ones of the ´60s of

last century whereas production costs are constantly rising

In order to gain a better understanding of the potential of this methodology, in the following

pages we report a brief study on the potential of the anaerobic digestion in the agricultural

and economic sector in Sicily, an area well known to the Economy university of Catania at

the department for Agriculture, Nutrition and Environment (Di3A)and being a good

playground for the analysis since Sicily is one of the largest EU region, in the middle of the

Mediterrenean sea, with a developed yet suffering agricultural sector and with a large and

untapped biogas potential.

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BIOMETHANE AS ADVANCED BIOFUEL: SICILY AS CASE STUDY

The present document aims at providing details about the Biogas potential in Sicily, showing

its real technical feasibility from a quantitative point of view thanks to the “Biogasdoneright”

approach that, combining already existing technologies, efficient biological processes and

good farming practices, it allows to produce an advanced biofuel with low carbon footprint,

preventing ILUC impacts The plan foresee a major utilization of integration crops and waste biomasses (80%) and to

use only 28.000 ha of land previously used for Food & Feed production, corresponding to

circa 2% of the Sicilian UAA9.

In this specific case, based on the “high efficiency in land use” principle, we rely on a steady

increase in the use of:

a. Integration biomasses (cover crops before or after cash crops)

b. Livestock effluents

c. Other agro and food industry by products and waste streams

And at the same time in a steady decline in the use of first crops or monocrops for the biogas

production on land solely dedicated to the bioenergy production.

In this way we intend to demonstrate with real data and potential assessments the ability of

the Sicilian agriculture sector to meet the target of 560 billion cubic meters of biomethane ,

diverting from the Sicilian Food & Feed production an area of less than 3% of the UAA , thus

de facto preventing any effect of indirect land use change ( ILUC ) and conversely boosting

agricultural entity's ability to continue to be competitive on the Food market and being

sustainable at the same time.

This approach depends on many factors, ranging from work layout at the farm to the existing

markets for the farm outputs, this latter fact that should not be overlooked especially under

the current economic conditions where many agricultural and livestock prices are too low

and force many farms to close, moreover the latest FAO outlook does not forecasts any

significant improvement over the next 10 years10.

9 Utilized Agricultural Area

10 The twelfth joint edition of the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook provides market projections to 2025 for

major agricultural commodities, biofuels and fish. The 2016 report contains a special feature on the prospects for, and challenges facing, Sub-Saharan Africa. Over the ten year Outlook period slowing demand growth will be matched by efficiency gains in production, implying relatively flat real agricultural prices. However, market and policy uncertainties imply a risk of resurgent volatility. The outlook for agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa is for rising food availability, which will support a declining incidence of undernourishment. http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/422106/icode/?utm_campaign=faostatistics&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social%20m

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In addition to the 2030 scenario for biomethane obtained from agro - livestock biomass, at

the end of the document also the potential amount of Biomethane from the Municipal

Organic Waste will be quantified and added to the agriculture biogas to reach the total

target of 600.000.000 Nmc of Biomethane in 2030.

THE STATE OF THE ART OF SICILY AGRICULTURE

The sicilian agriculture encompasses more than 200.000 farms (source: ISTAT 2010), that

means 13,6% of total Italian farms, and they work more than 1,5 million hectares of Total

Agriculture Area (TAA) or 1,4 million hectares of UAA, corresponding to 9,1% of Italian TAA

and 10,8 of UAA respectively.

The UAA in Sicily in the 2010 ascribed a total of 1.387.521 hectares subdivided in 49,1%

cropland, 23,1% grassland and 27,7% forestry (Table 2, source: ISTAT 2010). A big part in the

local agricultural economy is played by orchards such as olives, citrus fruits and grapes. Such

products are commercialized not only as fresh but also created a local processing industry

that is able to export juices, oil and wine.

Table 2 – Sicily: use of farmland (Source: ISTAT 2010).

(hectares) (hectares)

UAA 1.549.417

TAA 1.387.521

Cropland 680.694

Coarse grain cereals 317.044

Pulses 26.173

Potatoes 1.097

Feed roots and brassicas 2.910

Industrial crops 549

Ortive 30.565

Feed crops in rotation 199.605

Set aside (1) 98.617

Others 4.135

Praires and pastures 320.354

Orchards 384.300

Others 2.173

(1) Here are included all the farmland in rotation, tilled or not, that in the year are: - kept bare without any cultivation - covered with native vegetation that can be used as feed or green mulching

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Even considering the raise in the UAA over the last years, a steady decline in the profitability

of the farms has been registered and confirmed also by the data regarding the decline in

farms number from more than 90.000 in the year 2010 to less than 79.000 in 2014 (-13,5%),

highlighting also the risk of closure for further farms.

Based on the techno economical sector analysis on coltures (Source: RICA-INEA 2013) it is

evident that regarding the citrus fruits and fruits in general, the values are aligned with the

national average, ranging from the 1.000 €/ha for the Ceratonia to 7.500 €/ha for the

Lemon. Regarding the viticulture and olivecolture it can be observed that the values are

above the national level for table grapes and table olives (9.375 €/ha VS 8.966 €/ha and

5.149 €/ha VS 4.522 €/ha respectively) and below the national level for wine and olive oil

(2.027 €/ha VS 3.923 €/ha for wine and 1.132 €/ha and 1.464 €/ha respectively).

Regarding the processed products, it can be noticed that the earnings before interest, taxes,

depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) are significantly higher than the national average

(1.459 €/ton and 2.272 €/ton for olive oil and wine in Sicily VS the national average of 1.174

€/ton and 1.551 €/ton respectively.

The activities with the lowest EBITDA are cereals (below 500 €/ha) and feed (mainly between

300 and 400 €/ha). The EBITDA for the livestock industry ranges from 259 €/LU for horses to

766 €/LU for poultry.

With such framework conditions the development of an integrated agrofood and agroenergy

system such as the biomethane is can only bring positive externalities for the regional

development in terms of economy, jobs creation, production and environmental protection.

Such integration represents a real opportunity for the farms to turn some expenditures into

gains. As an example can be seen the food processing industry by-products and wastes, that

are today treated increasing the costs of the final products or illegally discarded into the

environment creating contamination and pollution problems.

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THE BIOMETHANE POTENTIAL AND ITS LAND EFFICIENCY IN SICILY

The term "land efficiency" in the bio-energy context means the total quantity of primary

energy obtainable from a hectare of agricultural land used to produce biomass for bioenergy

(rather than feed or food products).

The land efficiency is calculated from the following formula (freely adapted and adjusted

from the study of Lynd et al, 2007- see bibliography):

Where:

FCLR (First crop

land

requirement)

Land needed (ha) of first crop harvest to reach the desired yearly Biomethane production

A Total production of Biomethane (Nm3/year)

I

Production of Biomethane generated via Integration Biomasses (Nm3/year)

C Biomethane yield as first crop biomass (Mais) (Nm3 BioCH4/ton DM)

P First crop yield (t/ha DM)

From this formula we derive that the “Land Efficiency” of the Biogasdoneright is given by

the ratio between the total year Biomethane production (factor A in the formula,

Nm3/year) and the UAA used for the first crop harvest (the FCLR, ha).

It is clear that "I = integration biomass" is the key factor11 in the formula. From now until

2030, thanks to a steady increase in integration biomasses and a correspondent steady

decline in first harvest crops the Land Efficiency of Biomethane is going to increase over

time.

In the following table it is detailed the scenario of Biomethane development in Sicily until

2030

11

The development of “Integration Biomass” is the key aspect of redesign the farming activities around the AD plant. Thanks to the AD is possible to lower GHGs emissions from conventional farming, increasing productivity, achieve a real “ecological agricultural intensification” and store carbon in the soil

FCLR (ha) = (A - I)/C * 1/P

LAND EFFICIENCYBIOMETANO = A/FCLR (m3 CH4/ha) >> C*P (m3 CH4/ha)

14

Table 3 - Development scenario for the sicilian agriculture and livestock biomethane until 2030

2030

A Obiettivo 2030 (Nmc/year) 560.000.000

(A-I) - Monocrop Biomethane (Nmc/year) 124.320.000

FCLR - UAA Monocrop (ha) 28.000

(C*P) - Monocrop yield Biomethane (Nmc/ha) 4.440

I - Integration biomass Biomethane (Nmc/year) 435.680.000

- From cover crops (Nmc/year) 349.499.642 - By products and agrowastes (Nmc/year) 86.180.358

(A/FCLR) LAND EFFICIENCY (Nmc/ha) 19.980 UAA Monocrop (ha/1 Million Nmc CH4) 50

The production target for the Sicilian biomethane in 2030 (0,56 billion Nm3) equals 7% of

the national target for 2030 (8 billion Nm3).

In the following pages we will provide more details about:

a) The reasons behind the decision to allocate 28.000 hectares for the biomass

production for the AD via monocrops

b) The quantities and kind of integration biomasses that with prudent, reasonable

estimation can be available for AD until 2030 and moreover why these biomasses will

not create any iLUC effect and moreover will strengthen the envoronmnetal and

economic position of Sicilian agriculture sector

Monocrops

In our assumptions we forecast that in Sicily an area of circa 28.000 has to be

diverted gradually to the exclusive production for the digesters, corresponding to

circa 2.0% of the Sicilian SAU, a realistic surface and certainly less than the technical

and economic potential. In the past a substantially larger area was used for the

production of feed for the livestock industry in the plain of Catania and that of Gela;

yet, today with the decline in the livestock industry, this land became marginal and

often abandoned, especially lands characterized by high clay fraction and therefore

not suitable for fruit trees. In these soils intended for the production of biogas, a

sorghum silage as monocrop can yield 4,440 Nm3 of methane / ha, with a production

of 40 t / ha and a productivity of 111 Nm3 CH4 / t of biomass. Given these

assumptions, with 28,000 ha is thus possible to produce (4,440 Nm3 X 28,000 ha),

15

approximately 124.3 million Nm3 of natural gas, or about 22% of the objective Sicilian

2030.

Integration biomasses

The greater part (80%) of the sicilian biomethane target production will be achieved with the

help of integration biomasses, the biomasses that can qualify for the advanced biofuel

scheme as described in the annex IX of the new version of the RED directive 2015/1513.

The integration biomasses can be subdivided in two main categories:

a) by products and wastes , including the biogas from municipal organic waste

b) Biomass from integration crops

Integration biomasses: by products and wastes

Before analyzing in detail of the different residual biomasses from other production

processes, it must be pointed out that everything stated above is possible, feasible and

sustainable over time thanks to the flexibility of anaerobic digestion, an energy conversion

technology, with a broad and versatile application regarding not only the plant size but also

the kind of input biomass. Other biomass to energy industry, perhaps with more complex

solutions from a technological point of view, have failed to solve these problems and to

achieve technological maturity even on small-scale dimension where the anaerobic digestion

is still applicable.

In fact the production of biogas is generated, with optimum and constant energy

performance over time, starting from very diverse biomasses in terms of chemical-physical

quality.

Biogas is indeed a winning technology when it comes to recover energy from residual

biomasses since it can handle very diverse inputs and also a blend of different biomasses in

the so called “diet” of the AD. Moreover biogas it is also an open source technology with all

the benefits that open source can bring.

The "co-digestion of different biomasses" is the best way both to obtain high yields of

energy and to keep within acceptable limits the critical issues arising from the use of

individual matrices that are non-uniform between them and in time.

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The list of the types “residual biomasses" that can be started at the anaerobic digestion

process is wide and varied, and can be grouped into three major categories:

a) the livestock effluents

b) crops residues

c) waste streams and agro-industrial by-products

Livestock effluents

The amount of livestock effluents was estimated from the number of animals breeded

(ISTAT, Animal Husbandry National Registry) and their average weight by unit production

ratio, which relates to animal species, the bred at the growth stage, and the stable layout

considered as predominant for each category. In this regard, it is recalled that the applied

method of calculation is the same as entered in the technical standards for the application of

the former Art. 38 of Legislative Decree 152/99, now Legislative Decree 152/2006 at the

national level: the DM 07.04.2006, recently replaced and augmented with digested by the

recent Decree of 25 February 2016. The different unit rates of manure production are the

result of numerous projects research conducted by CRPA (Animal Production research

Centre) since the early 70s, collected and organized in a systematic way in the book "Sewage

Manual" published by the Emilia-Romagna Region, then updated in 2001 ( "Sewage

livestock. Manual for use agronomic” published by L´informatore agrario).

The species concerned are cattle and buffaloes, pigs and poultry. This translates into a total

production of nearly 5 million tonnes, represented largely by cattle manure (over 4 million

tonnes).

The co-digestion of animal manure and other biomass is the most widespread practice,

according to the census of biogas plants agro-livestock conducted in 2013 (C. Fabbri, 2013),

which actually photographed the national situation at the end of the three years of incentive

with Feed-rate.

For the purposes of the overall object of this study, it was assumed that the anaerobic

digestion of manure become an increasingly common practice which in 2030 will involve

up to 90% of poultry manure (transport costs acceptable for high yields and high content

17

of dry matter); while the recoverable portion of cattle manure is limited (10-20), due to

the spread of the pasture and the cow-calf operation.

The motivations behind these choices are the following:

- The mitigation of GHG emissions from the livestock industry when it is coupled with the AD

are well known and the AD plant became the pillar around which to build a sustainable meat

and dairy industry from an environmental, economic and social point of view. Then a further

growth of AD coupled to livestock can be envisaged.

- The European and national regulatory framework push in this direction. Environmental

policies are very clear in this regard; the economic support tools made available for

agricultural producers (RDP 2014-2020) aimed at improving competitiveness by lowering the

carbon footprint per unit of product weight and in general to reduce pollution by agriculture

and livestock industry.

- The operating cost to dispose livestock industry waste is growing, and therefore the idea to

turn them form a cost to a profit by using them in the Digesters a prerequisite for modern,

environmental concerned farming.

Crop residues

Farming activities produce crop residues suitable for energy use, consisting of all plant parts

that do not represent the main product intended for human food or animal use, such as

stems and leaves, cobs, etc .. The quantification of each agricultural waste product has been

estimated using three essential parameters;

- Total production for each herbaceous crop (average yields for the region - Source ISTAT

2010)

- Relationship between the main product and by-product (different bibliographic sources)

- Fraction or percentage of the residue or by-product already recycled or reused.

While taking into account the inherent error in the calculation procedure adopted, the

residues of herbaceous crops in Sicily has been estimated around 800,000 tons, of which

500,000 t of straw and stalks.

Furthermore it is estimated that about 20% of this crop residues (160,000 tonnes, or 30%

18

of the portion formed by straw and stalks) will / can be converted to biogas (in addition to

the amounts already contained in manure). This is due to the expectation that, in presence

of a digester, the use of bedding material on farms will increase, bringing other

advantages, such as: increase animal welfare through drier and cleaner litter, adopting

stable layout solutions with better bedding also for laying henns. Therefore the AD also

works to improve animal welfare in the livestock industry.

Agro industrial by products

As regards the agro-industrial by-products, the assessment was performed on the productive

sectors that generate good quality of organic residues on regular bases and in significant

quantities; in particular under the spotlight ended industries of manufacturing and

processing of grapes, olives, citrus and tomato industries, meat industry and milk processing.

These are in fact the processing sectors that generate the largest flows.

For each of the sectors of processing and marketing of agricultural products listed above, the

quantitative assessment of the flows of generated by-products was based on the following

elements:

- Quantities of raw materials processed input to the various production cycles (milk,

tomatoes, grapes, olives). The sources used are the official ones, such as ISTAT,

associations, Confindustria, Food, Producers Organization section;

- Definition of "unit rates of waste production per unit weight of raw material input".

It must be noted that the definition of the selected coefficients derives from a specific depth

survey led by CRPA on the agro-industrial sector of the Emilia-Romagna region, where a high

degree of integration in the supply chain is observed.

The production ratios of the various by-products over the raw material input weight were

measured based on tests conducted in over 30 processing industries, chosen from those

most representative of the size and type of products, in the Emilia Romagna region. The

survey was conducted by CRPA within the Interregional Project PRO-BIO Biogas, funded by

the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (Edited by CRPA "Mapping of organic wastes

from agriculture, livestock and agro-industrial present context land of Emilia-Romagna

"Emilia-Romagna region, 2006).

The same methodology adopted to estimate manure and agro-industrial by-products has

been applied in the study by CRPA on behalf of Ispra (www.isprambiente.gov.it) which led to

the publication of the report "Study on the use of biomass fuels and biomass waste for

19

energy production "111/2010 Report (ISBN: 978-88-448-0440-4).

Regarding the production of oil and the citrus processing industry, the estimate was also

conducted on the basis of results of specific research activities conducted by the University

of Catania.

After the estimation of the total amount of flows of the most relevant agro-industrial

by-products, it was assumed that from 30-75% could be used in the anaerobic

digestion; yet, it is desirable a recovery near percentages close to 100% by 2030.

It must be noticed that in this estimation the by-products of the milling industries were not

included, since the flows of such biomass is difficult to determine. Moreover, these are

usually intended for different applications (feed, confectionary industry…) and traded as

agricultural commodities.

Summary of biomethane from different sources

Based on the quantitative estimates made, the total contribution for 2030 of "residual

biomass" is equal to just over 86 million Nm3 / year, as detailed in the table 4 here below

It must be noted that the estimate of the overall biogas potential from biomass

residues as illustrated above was conducted by adopting precautionary criteria, as:

- Quantitative estimates are based on data of raw materials transformed for the years

2012-2014; it was verified that the variations over the last years were almost

negligible

- To each biomass a specific average yield to biomethane has been assigned. The

yield is calculated on real data, repeated, validated and used with conservative

approach (i.e. excluding the not justified peak values);

- Finally, by-products generated by the food industry (bakery by products or other by

products) were not considered, since their quantification is difficult. Yet, they are

readily available (although not in significant quantities) and excellent for the

production of biomethane (because of the low-moisture, and high presence of organic

matter degradable)..

20

Table 4 – Residual biomasses available in Sicily for for AD and their relative biomethane production

potential

Cover crops

Cover crops on row crop land

In the Sicilian agricultural context the use of cover crops crops for the production of biogas

plays a role of fundamental importance due to their positive externalities beside the energy

production, as listed here below:

- - the cover crops encourage the use of lands left "uncultivated" some month during

the year or all year around. The cultivation of these cover crops could be done when

a new demand from Anaerobic digestion occurs locally, since there is not anymore

local application as forage (due to the reduction of livestock industry) and because

their transport over long distances (more than 20/30 km) is not economically

feasible, being these crops rich in water.

Total available, estimation

Used for AD,

estimation Biomethane specific yield

[t/a] [Nmc/t VS] [Nmc/t FM] [Nmc/year]

BIOMASSE RESIDUALI TOTALI 6.655.248 1.765.545 86.180.358

Livestock effluents 4.968.858 1.127.352 46.179.765

- Cattle liquid manure 2.038.279 20% 240 14,1 5.752.840

- Pig liquid manure 98.230 50% 300 9,7 474.451

- Poultry manure 35.438 80% 320 106,6 3.022.790

- letame bovino 2.658.829 20% 212 38,3 20.359.821

- Laying hens manure 138.082 80% 300 150,0 16.569.863

Agrowastes - vegetables 784.240 435.668 18.891.882

- Olive pomace 135.800 50% 250 88,3 5.992.175

- Oil mill waste water 181.000 50% 475 16,6 1.504.563

- Grape pomace 162.500 30% 111 32,9 1.601.730

- Citrus pomace 301.200 75% 311 42,9 9.695.176

- Tomato peels 3.740 70% 318 37,5 98.238

Agrowastes - animals 102.150 42.525 1.956.712

- Abattoir waste products 16.650 50% 517 138,8 1.155.200

- Whey and dairy wastes 85.500 40% 372 23,4 801.511

Residual crops (*) 800.000 160.000 19.152.000

- total (straw, leaves, cobs) 800.000 20% 190 120 19.152.000

Biomethane specific yield

21

- By cover cropping system the rotation of cereals with nitrogen fixing crops such as

Italian sainfoin, the soil is covered for longer time. This brings several benefits such

as, steady increaee of soil organic matter, protection towards erosion, improving

water resources and management, and protection of land toward the effect of

climate change

- Adding to the soil the digestate12 or biofertilizer, rich in stabilized organic matter and

nutrients, which used regularly allows the restoration and increase of the amount of

organic matter in the soil, improving its chemical, physical and biological fertility, and

thus actively fighting the desertification phenomena that are particularly significant

in warm Southern climate, and reducing the mineral fertilizer crop requirement.;

Given the characteristics of Sicilian agriculture, examples of cover crops that can be

cultivated for the digester are the given here below (in CAPS):

- ITALIAN SAINFOIN to be cultivated on part of the area under set aside in rotation with

wheat. The UAA is intended for cereals (mostly durum wheat), of which it is estimated that

about 35/50% is destined to regularly alternated rotation with forage or set aside (maggese)

for circa 98,000 ha per year13.

- SORGHUM DRIP IRRIGATED after legumes (chick peas, peas, lentils, etc.) with drip

irrigation

- SORGHUM DRIP IRRIGATED (drip irrigation) in rotation with coarse grains,

- SORGHUM DRIP IRRIGATED (drip irrigation14) in rotation with forage alternated

(ITALIAN SAINFOIN, mixtures, etc.)

- ITALIAN SAINFOIN on set aside land

12

The digestate is rich in stabilized organic matter and nutrients in quantities that are functions of its feedstocks origins. As average a ton of fresh digestate is comprised of 30-70 kg of stabilized organic matter, 3-7 kg of total nitrogen of which 40-70% as ammonia, 1-4 kg P2O5 and 2-8 kg K2O. After solid liquid separation it gives a solid that can be tilled back in the soil for increasing its organic matter and a liquid phase similar to mineral nitrogen fertilizers and ready to use or diluted in drip irrigation. 13

Maggese is the Italianl word to indicate the set aside included in the rotation, a common practice to reduce soil organic matter losses in mediterrenean climates 14

Drip irrigation allows water and fertilizers savings since distribute water evenly and constantly and can be used also for fertillization.

22

Here below some representative pictures and in Appendix I other graphic representations of

rotations in Sicily can be found.

Mais drip irrigated in Northern Italy. Such irrigation techniques allows water savings up to 30-40% ;

this water saving irrigation system can be used for sorghum cultivation in the South as well.

Italian sainfoin (Hedysarum coronarium)

23

These rotations were the subject of an experiment conducted under the MALENA project

(Improvement of Quality and Quantity of Plant Biomass production into dry and irrigated

lands, aimed both at animal nutrition and at energy purposes for the increase of

competitiveness) funded by the measure 124, 1st step, the PSR Sicily 2007-2013

The energy yield of the crops mentioned above practiced in second harvest assume equal to

the following values (Source: University of Catania, CIB, CRPA):

Italian Sainfoin Sorghum II Opuntia

CH4 (Nmc/ha) 2.700 2.536 2.945

CH4 (Nmc/t FM) 68 72 29

Yields (t/ha FM) 40 35 100

Yields (t/ha DM) 10 8,75 10

The next step is to define in which extension the inclusion of cover crops is reasonable.

Information on these crops is listed above for each of the aforementioned types of crops

(cereals, legumes, etc.).

Here below a breakdown of the assumptions.

Table 5 – Estimation of energy yields for different rotationsi

(CAPS: Crop for the AD) UAA

potential (1)

%

recovered

UAA

used

BioCH4

(ha) (ha) (Nmc/year)

ITALIAN SAINFOIN instead of set aside (maggese) (2) 52.841 100% 52.841 142.669.791

SORGHUM drip irrigated after pulses with drip irrigation

26.173 25% 6.543 16.591.862

SORGHUM drip irrigated in rotation with durum wheat

317.044 5% 15.852 40.197.214

SORGHUM drip irrigated in rotation with forage (Italian sainfoin, mixtures for the stable...)

199.605 20% 39.921 101.229.620

ITALIAN SAINFOIN instead of set aside 98.617 20% 19.723 53.253.304

OPUNTIA or ARUNDO on marginal lands (3) 320.354 1% 3.204 9.434.429

TOTAL 138.084 363.376.221

24

(1) UAA crop allocation as described in ISTAT (See table 2) (2) AS average a third of Durum Wheat is on set aside, thus circa 106.000 ha. 50% of this is used for Italian sainfoin (3) A low % is considered since many areas are difficult to exploit, see marginal lands section

On the whole, cover crops cultivation involves around 138,000 hectares, accounting for 10%

of the total UAA Sicilian with a productivity of biomethane 363 370 000 Nm3 / year, value

perfectly in line with the 2030 target as shown in Table 3.

Therefore these crops, together with the residual biomasses, are the true unexpressed

potential of the Sicilian agriculture for the production of bio-methane: those 138,000 ha of

crops that, without the demand created by the AD should be not produced, would fix CO2

from the atmosphere via photosynthesis, would improve via digestate and green mulching

the organic matter content of the soil, avoiding to keep expecially in summer the soil bare

thus increasing the water losses and the organic matter losses from the farmland.

To our judgement these biomasses, together with the residual biomasses, represent the

biomasses that should be used for the production of an “advanced biofuel”, since their use

does not create a reduction of the crops needed for the Food & Feed market. The

Biogasdoneright management at a farm triggers a higher productivity coupled with higher

sustainability of farming and livestock practices, an increased soil fertility and therefore

ultimately strengthen the food and feed output of the farms and the food security of the

country as a whole.

Cover crops on marginal lands

The emphasis of this proposed plan is on farms: therefore this paper underlines in particular

the application of biogasdoneright as support for a more efficient use of agricultural land

and for the reduction of current agriculture Sicilian emissions. Additionally, in Sicily, as in so

many other areas of Mediterranean countries, there are some lands with increasing

difficulties for successful cultivation, cause the lack of local forage demand by depletion of

livestock activities, or for environmental and social reasons.

In particular, these areas are often seen as critical from the environmental standpoint, since

they are prone to:

25

• Erosion

• Desertification

• fire risk.

Some studies recently performed at the departments of Agronomy and Crops Cultivation at

University of Catania show that the cultivation of plants - mostly perennial - has a positive

effect on the land when it comes to reduce the risks associated with soil erosion and help to

increase the organic matter content of soils.

The studies mention some crops that can be used profitably in anaerobic digestion such as:

• Arundo

• Opuntia, also known as prickly pear cactus

In particular the latter is a plant cultivated already since centuries in Sicily, mainly for the

production of the fruit. Moreover, it can also be used as a forage plant, with good

productivity and water content suitable for anaerobic digestion; it is thus a triple attitude

plant since can be used for Human Nutrition, forage and energy purposes.

The cultivation of Opuntia, for its well-known ability to success also during droughts, has a

relevant environmental function since it allows the recovery of southern slopes of the inner

hilly side of Sicily, where today erosion and desertification phenomenon are evident.

During the development phase of the Sicilian biogas the production of Opuntia biomass can

be deepened using the knowledge of local scientific experts such as Prof. Cosentino and La

Malfa from Catania University and Pro. Inglese from Palermo University that is also the

coordinator of FAO Cactus Net dedicated to the Opuntia agronomy.

26

Biogas from Municipal Organic Waste

For reference a brief note on the potential of "biogas from municipal organic waste" is

added, taking up official data provided by ISPRA. According to the 2015 Waste Report

(ISPRA, 2015) in 2014, domestic production of municipal waste amounted to about 29.7

million tons; in Sicily the production of municipal waste amounted to 2.342 million tons.

In 2014, at the national level, the percentage of collected municipal organic waste amounted

to 45.2% of national production with 13.4 million tonnes collected, with an increase of

nearly 3 points compared to 2013 (42.3%). In Sicily, the room for improvement is large, since

the collection account to only 12.5%.

Nationwide the municipal organic waste (kitchen food waste and maintenance of green

waste, or the biowaste) of municipal solid waste destined for recovery is a very significant

share of the total amount of municipal waste collected separately: in fact, with 5,72 million

tons in 2014 to "biowaste" identifies 43% of municipal waste collected separately and sent

for recovery. In the italian waste management system, the municipal organic waste is usually processed

by the composting industry, a well-structured sector that couples aerobic and anaerobic

treatment and that produces soil amendants.

Given the current situation, the margin of development which the separate collection of

organic waste has in Sicily and the great advantages that the integration of the aerobic

treatment system with anaerobic owns, in the short and medium to long term the potential

of biomethane generated from MSW in Sicily can be synthetically estimated as shown in

Table 6

Table 5 – Biomethane potential from municipal organic waste until 2030 (Source: ISPRA; CRPA)

Total available,

estimation

Used for AD,

estimation Biomethane specific yield(1)

Total

Biomethane

[t/year] [Nmc/t VS] [Nmc/t FM] [Nmc/year]

FORSU già raccolta con RD al 2014 125.829 100% 219 404 11.132.847 Stima 30% RU da Rapporto Rifiuti 2015 (2) 702.666 100% 219 404 62.169.050

(1) Average Yield of Municipal Organic Waste as measured multiple experiments and consistent with technical literature (2) Municipal Organic Waste estimated as 130 kg/person and fully recovered

27

THE EFFECTS ON THE SICILIAN AGRICULTURE AND ECONOMY

Sicily is the largest Italian region as geographical area, with 25,711 km², and the fourth

region by population, with circa 5 million in 2012. The 96.2% of the land area lies in rural

areas where it locates 70,4% of the resident population. In these areas it lies with 97.6% of

the UAA of the region (ISTAT 2010).

Recent inquires have shown a significant depopulation trend for many areas of the island.

Between 2001 and 2011 many part of the island showed a reduction in population on the

whole island and the reduction is mainly caused by the emigration of the young and

productive part of the society.

The effects of the economic recession caused by the financial crisis that began in the second

half of 2007 have hit the regional economy strongly.

The GDP at market prices and other indicators adjusted to 2005 show that between 2008

and 2012, there has been a decrease of 9,4%, compared to a decline of 5,9% in Italy (ISTAT

2012) therefore the already existing gap with the national average increased during the

crisis.

The incidence of the risk of poverty or social exclusion in Sicily exceed 50% compared to 28%

in Italy; the rate of regional "relative poverty” (ISTAT 2012) reaches 29.6%, more than

double the value compared to the national average (12.7%).

The analysis of the labor market shows that, in Sicily in 2012, the youth unemployment rate

reached the maximum value of the last 20 years: 51.3%, against a national average of 35.3%,

while the overall unemployment rate is 18.6% (ISTAT 2012), placing Sicily far above the

national average (10.7%).

The penetration of renewable energies in the island highlights the need for investments in

equipment and technology to optimize the management of electricity networks (smart

grids). Sicily in fact is prone to a number of blackout that is double than the average for

North or Center Italy.

An integration between food and energy markets would allow enabling significant local

economic interactions, thanks to the policies of aggregation of enterprises pursued by the

Sicilian agri-food districts in recent years.

In particular significant effects could be seen in some agrifood districts

(www.distrettiagroitticodisicilia.it) such as cereals, citrus fruits, prickle pear cactus, milk and

dairy products, meat, poultry and fisheries. In this districts there is a strong need for the AD

technology since it is the only technology that can turn the costs for the disposal of by

products and wastes into profits creating positive externalities for the environment (see for

28

example the poor management of citrus pulp industry or chicken manure that creates

contamination of the environment).

Although the employment in agriculture has suffered less than in other regional sectors, a

decline in the number of employees has been recorded from 2006 to 2012: from 147,000 to

108,000 employed people, with a share of female employment by 20.2 % which is well

below the national average (29%) (Source: ISTAT). The agricultural employment impact on

the regional total (1,434,000 units), in 2012, amounted to 7.5%, in line with the figure of the

South (7.3%) and a lot higher than in the North and Central Italy (respectively 2.5% and

2.3%) (INEA 2013).

The development of biomethane industry (560 million m3 / year) will have a very positive

effect on regional employment, since about 3000-3500 jobs are created between direct and

indirect employment (Althesys, 2015), with a 3% increase compared the figure for 2012

above mentioned.

Moreover, this occupation will also be generated in rural areas prone to depopulation that

leads to social problems. The jobs created will be characterized also by a high degree of

qualification, therefore the agricultural sector as qualified experts in the fields of

technology, biological, chemical, thus ensuring an outlet for new generations trained in the

Sicilian universities, who are usually forced to change the region or state to find a job and

enhance their skills. Finally, the agricultural sector will absorb some dozens of employees in

crisis and exiles because of the petrochemical industry crisis, as experts in gas management

and related movements.

Last but not least, biomethane production will mitigate the GHGs emission from the

agriculture sector as outlined here below.

The agriculture sector account for circa 13% of the GHGs emissions15. Official data for

estimating emissions are provided by ISPRA (Institute for Environmental Protection and

Research), according to which, in 2010, in Sicily, the greenhouse gas emissions from

agriculture amounted to 1,325,374 Mg CO2 eq, or 3.9% of the national total. Considering the

individual emission sources, the most relevant is that from agricultural land (45.5%),

15

IPCC “Mitigation Report” 2014

29

followed by enteric fermentation (37.8%), from manure management (16.7%) and from the

burning of stubble (0, 1%).

Starting from this situation the production of renewable energy (BIOMETHANE) from cover

crops (produced before and after food crops) and from residual biomass noticeably

contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions since:

- It creates an additional carbon photosyntesis (aerial part and underground part) thanks to

cover crops, that otherwise would not be cultivated for several reasons;

- It reduces emissions from manure management ("avoided" emissions);

- It will enhance optimal waste and agro-industrial by-products, today not always managed

in a sustainable way in terms of environmental impact;

- It restores / increases the organic matter content (fixed carbon is) in the soil thanks to the

steady return of digestate (biofertilizer) as organic fertilizer;

- it will improve in general the crops yields of crops on the whole, thanks to the chemical,

physical and biological fertility induced by the increase in organic matter content in soils

- It decreases even up to zero the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers, thanks to the

exploitation of the nutrients contained in the digestate .

The analysis and the quantification of the carbon footprint per unit of biomethane and/or

food produced according to standard LCA methods is currently under preparation for

different case studies covering also Southern Italy will be soon published by the same

author(s) of this document.

30

Anyway, these actions to lower the carbon footprint in agriculture and at the same time

increase the ability of soils to sequestrate carbon in the soil are comprised among the

guidelines issued by the French Agriculture Research Center (INRA) 16 (in bold the actions

prposed also in the Biogasdoneright guidelines).

1. Reduce the use of mineral fertilization, better utilization of organic fertilization in

order to reduce N2O emissions

2. Increased nitrogen fixing crops used in row crops rotations and in prairies in order

to reduce N2O emissions

3. Adoption of minimum tillage techniques to keep the organic matter in the soils

4. Introduction of cover crops in row crops rotations to mitigate N2O emissions

5. Development of agroforestry to push storage of carbon in soil and vegetation

6. Optimize the management of prairies to push for carbon storage in the soils and to

mitigate N2O emissions

7. Substitute part of glucides with unsaturated lipids to mitigater enteric biomethane

emissions

8. Limit proteins in feed in order to mitigate nitrogen charge in effluents and N2O

emissions

9. Develop AD in agriculture in order to mitigate biomethane emissions from

manunre treatment

10. Reduce fossil inputs at the farm and increase renewable energy uses in order to

mitigate CO2 emissions

16

“QUELLE CONTRIBUTION DE L’AGRICULTURE FRANÇAISE À LA RÉDUCTION DES ÉMISSIONS DE GAZ À EFFET DE SERRE ? POTENTIEL D’ATTÉNUATION ET COÛT DE DIX ACTIONS TECHNIQUES. Synthèse du rapport de l’étude réalisée par l’INRApour le compte de l’ADEME, du MAAF et du MEDDE - Juillet 2013 http://inra-dam-front-resources-cdn.brainsonic.com/ressources/afile/237958-637ec-resource-etude-reduction-des-ges-en-agriculture-synhese-90-p-.html

31

CONCLUSIONS

Sicily has so far participated only marginally to the development of the Italian biogas, with

only 5 biogas plants vs more than 1,400 biogas plants operating in Italy.

The proposed plan aims to produce in Sicily about 600 million of Nmc / year of bio-methane,

to be used in transport, in distributed cogeneration and in the future in industrial

applications, thought priori injection of bio-methane into the gas grid. This bio-methane

production will lead to a "reduction" of only 28,000 hectares of land to forage crops and

food (2% of the UAA of the region of Sicily), yet covering almost the 80% of the required

advanced biofuels, by using:

a) Waste by products that allows the production of about 85 million Nmc bio-methane,

equal to 15% of the target, and furthermore those residual biomasses significantly

mitigate the amount of greenhouse gas emissions along the value chain

b) Cover crops that allows the production of circa 350 million Nmc biomethane, equal

to 65% of the target, produced from crops that otherwise would not have been

cultivated for lack of local demand and involving 140.000 ha thus the 10% of sicilian

UAA, mainly among set aside land or bare land among two food crops.

Such a plan will achieve a stronger competitive position for the Sicilian farms and also for the

entire food system as a whole,

- Diversifying the markets and stabilizing cash flows that are prone to price volatility

(eg cereals, citrus fruits, olives) and to boom-bust cycles

- Reducing production costs (use organic fertilizers in place of those of synthesis, cost

reduction for manure disposal, cost reduction of agro-industrial by-products disposal,

increased use of working capital, reducing the use fossil energy, etc.).

- Limiting negative externalities that today exist and triggers not transparent methods

of waste management.

- Strenghtening the ecofriendly image and the biodiversity of the Island landscape,

thus strenghtening also the cooperation with different sectors as the tourism.

and thereby strengthening their ability to innovate and improve their agronomic

performance, trade and environmental.

32

Thanks to a clear legislation on the kind of cover crops and by products/agro wastes suitable

for advanced biofuel production, Sicily has all the right framework conditions to participate

in the program of development of the use of CNG / LNG in transport. In this sector, Italy is

already the world leader in NGVs and determined to consolidate its leadership in the coming

years also with a growing use of biomethane, by an increase of about 8 times the current

consumption of NG as alternative fuel, already today one of the largest in the world.

Figure 1 - SNAM “CNG: fuel for the future, today The gas infrastructure player perspective” - Alternative Fuels

Conference and World Fair Bologna 26th May, 2016

It is worthy to note, that with the recent approval of the Network Code of SNAM,

biomethane injected into the network corresponds to all specifications required to natural

gas and therefore there are no technical limitations to its use, as there are no limits of

mixing.

33

Biomethane can therefore contribute to the achievement of 2% advanced biofuels17 itallian

target considering the forecast for growth of CNG / LNG consumption of 8 billion Nmc 2030

(Figure 1).

Figure 2 - SNAM “CNG: fuel for the future, today The gas infrastructure player perspective” - Alternative Fuels Conference and World Fair Bologna 26th May, 2016

In conclusion it must be noticed that Sicily can contribute as the rest of Italy to this objective,

by resorting to a minimum quantity of dedicate crops (2%) of its UAA, making use of the

residual biomass with the use of cultures of coverage in annual rotation and not with food

and forage crops as described in Annex IX paragraph A subparagraph p). Those crops would

not be produced in the absence of the digesters, because there is no market for them as

Food or Feed.

Biogas production according to the principles of biogas done right involves the production of

an advanced biofuel, and also allows to make the best use of the Sicilian agricultural soils.

This is achieved while avoiding any possible competition with food and feed crops, and

17

Italy, even before the adoption of the RED 2015/1513, adopted a law that push for a 2% advanced biofuel in consumption by 2022 (decree passed in 2014)

34

moreover contributing to offer to Sicilian agriculture countless agronomic, economic,

environmental and social benefits.

Especially the positive effects on the environment allow us to state that an increased

photosynthetic activity due to the crops longer soil coverage, an efficient use of wastes and

by products and the proper digestate or biofertilizer utilization can generate positive effects

on the agriculture and economic sector as well. Moreover, the production of CNG and LNG in

the transportation sector allows the agrifood products to reach the markets with a low

carbon footprint with a positive effect on the consumers choice.

Additionally, an infrastructure as the AD plays a fundamental role in mitigating the emissions

generated by the agriculture and the handling of wastes and by products from the agrifood

sector and allows also the mitigation and almost total elimination of contamination of

surface and ground water sources thanks to the recovery of nitrogen and its proper use in

agriculture.

Last but not least it must be noticed that compare the current agriculture practices , thanks

to improved rotations and innovation of the farmers with cover crops for the AD, the

biodiversity in agriculture is greatly increased with all the positive externalities associated

with it on landscape and Nature.

Catania, 8th July 2016

Prof. Biagio Pecorino

Responsabile della sezione di Economia agroalimentare dell’università degli Studi di Catania

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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APPENDIX I

Artistic representation of possible crop rotations that can be done in Sicily

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