Abstract Standardization of biogas technology is immensely important for the promotion of the bio... more Abstract Standardization of biogas technology is immensely important for the promotion of the biogas industry worldwide. China has built a complete biogas standard system, which is divided into common, household biogas, biogas engineering, biogas digester for domestic sewage treatment, output utilization, and service system standards. The problems and potential barriers for biogas standardization in China are analyzed and come down to sluggish standard, overlapped standard, government-dominated standard, and lagging international standard. Accordingly, all potential biogas standards should be evaluated and placed under the same department. China Biogas Society and China Association of Rural Energy Industry play leading roles in developing enterprise or group/association biogas standards and ISO biogas standards. The bio-natural gas standard system and experimental standardization should be developed as well to replenish biogas standard system. A paradigm shift in biogas standardization should be from government-dominated to market-oriented model. The lessons learned for other developing countries includes expanding standardization to multi-aspects to realize full lifecycle control and management, building rapid responding mechanism of standardization to adopt industry transformation, integrating outdated standards into new versions, and establishing market-based standard system.
Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, Aug 1, 2020
Abstract China has promoted its biogas industry for a long time and begun to support bio-natural ... more Abstract China has promoted its biogas industry for a long time and begun to support bio-natural gas (BNG; also known as biogas upgrading or biogas-to-biomethane) projects for the first time in 2015 at the central government level. This study presented a comprehensive overview of the BNG industry in China, including its status quo, national strategic planning, upgrading technologies, investment cost, potential, and opportunities and challenges. A total of 65 BNG demonstration projects were approved by the central government between 2015 and 2017, and 197 projects are expected to have been built by 2020 as part of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016–2020). BNG is an emerging industry, and its development provides several opportunities, including a huge natural gas demand, national policy incentives, integrated agriculture, and reduced carbon emissions. The challenges and barriers to such developments include the high upgrading cost, fluctuating natural gas prices, unsound market access mechanism for biomethane and biofertilizer, scarce competition-oriented feedstock resources, incomplete standard system and cross-sectorial management, imperfect policy and subsidy mechanism, and lagging technology and equipment. China can learn from other developed countries in four ways. First, the country must enhance the cost effectiveness of its subsidies. Then, China must highlight the operations of its BNG industry and evaluate its performance; prioritize digestate management in the planning stage; improve its project service level and reinforce research and development. The findings of this work provide a valuable reference for other developing countries that intend to address energy shortage issues and integrate waste management into their regional planning.
The provision of sanitation services for fast-growing urban populations is one of the world's... more The provision of sanitation services for fast-growing urban populations is one of the world's urgent challenges. Hutong neighborhoods in Beijing, capital of China, cannot be rebuilt due to the protection of historical heritage, while residents still need to keep the habit of defecating in public toilets. One hundred public toilets with non-sewered sanitation in the Hutong neighborhoods of Beijing were visited to investigate the actual operating status in response to the “toilet revolution” campaign. The fault tree approach was used to identify the barriers toward a decent and environment-friendly public toilet and evaluate potential risks from the malfunction of various components. Four subsystems are defined and elaborated to calculate the fault possibility. These subsystems are environment- and user-friendly, regarded as ancillary facilities, and used for fecal sludge (FS) management. Statistical analysis of targeted cases indicated that fault probabilities of environmental considerations, user-friendly considerations, ancillary facilities, FS management are calculated as 0.79, 0.96, 0.96, and 0, respectively. The subsystems were weighted using a Delphi method concept. Results showed that the well operation ratio of Beijing Hutong public toilets is only 32%, and the sanitation service value chain can be further optimized. This study also provides references for other countries, which are dedicated to promoting urban sanitation and public health.
Abstract Standardization of biogas technology is immensely important for the promotion of the bio... more Abstract Standardization of biogas technology is immensely important for the promotion of the biogas industry worldwide. China has built a complete biogas standard system, which is divided into common, household biogas, biogas engineering, biogas digester for domestic sewage treatment, output utilization, and service system standards. The problems and potential barriers for biogas standardization in China are analyzed and come down to sluggish standard, overlapped standard, government-dominated standard, and lagging international standard. Accordingly, all potential biogas standards should be evaluated and placed under the same department. China Biogas Society and China Association of Rural Energy Industry play leading roles in developing enterprise or group/association biogas standards and ISO biogas standards. The bio-natural gas standard system and experimental standardization should be developed as well to replenish biogas standard system. A paradigm shift in biogas standardization should be from government-dominated to market-oriented model. The lessons learned for other developing countries includes expanding standardization to multi-aspects to realize full lifecycle control and management, building rapid responding mechanism of standardization to adopt industry transformation, integrating outdated standards into new versions, and establishing market-based standard system.
Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, Aug 1, 2020
Abstract China has promoted its biogas industry for a long time and begun to support bio-natural ... more Abstract China has promoted its biogas industry for a long time and begun to support bio-natural gas (BNG; also known as biogas upgrading or biogas-to-biomethane) projects for the first time in 2015 at the central government level. This study presented a comprehensive overview of the BNG industry in China, including its status quo, national strategic planning, upgrading technologies, investment cost, potential, and opportunities and challenges. A total of 65 BNG demonstration projects were approved by the central government between 2015 and 2017, and 197 projects are expected to have been built by 2020 as part of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016–2020). BNG is an emerging industry, and its development provides several opportunities, including a huge natural gas demand, national policy incentives, integrated agriculture, and reduced carbon emissions. The challenges and barriers to such developments include the high upgrading cost, fluctuating natural gas prices, unsound market access mechanism for biomethane and biofertilizer, scarce competition-oriented feedstock resources, incomplete standard system and cross-sectorial management, imperfect policy and subsidy mechanism, and lagging technology and equipment. China can learn from other developed countries in four ways. First, the country must enhance the cost effectiveness of its subsidies. Then, China must highlight the operations of its BNG industry and evaluate its performance; prioritize digestate management in the planning stage; improve its project service level and reinforce research and development. The findings of this work provide a valuable reference for other developing countries that intend to address energy shortage issues and integrate waste management into their regional planning.
The provision of sanitation services for fast-growing urban populations is one of the world's... more The provision of sanitation services for fast-growing urban populations is one of the world's urgent challenges. Hutong neighborhoods in Beijing, capital of China, cannot be rebuilt due to the protection of historical heritage, while residents still need to keep the habit of defecating in public toilets. One hundred public toilets with non-sewered sanitation in the Hutong neighborhoods of Beijing were visited to investigate the actual operating status in response to the “toilet revolution” campaign. The fault tree approach was used to identify the barriers toward a decent and environment-friendly public toilet and evaluate potential risks from the malfunction of various components. Four subsystems are defined and elaborated to calculate the fault possibility. These subsystems are environment- and user-friendly, regarded as ancillary facilities, and used for fecal sludge (FS) management. Statistical analysis of targeted cases indicated that fault probabilities of environmental considerations, user-friendly considerations, ancillary facilities, FS management are calculated as 0.79, 0.96, 0.96, and 0, respectively. The subsystems were weighted using a Delphi method concept. Results showed that the well operation ratio of Beijing Hutong public toilets is only 32%, and the sanitation service value chain can be further optimized. This study also provides references for other countries, which are dedicated to promoting urban sanitation and public health.
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Papers by Heinz-Peter Mang