16th European Biomass Conference & Exhibition, 2-6 June 2008, Valencia, Spain BIOGAS POTENTIAL FROM LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY WASTES IN THE REGION OF WESTERN MACEDONIA, GREECE Goula Ma., Bereketidou Oa,b., Economopoulos Ca., Charisiou Na. aPollution Control Technologies Department, Technological Educational Institute of Western Macedonia, Koila, Kozani, 50100, Greece, b Department of Engineering and Management of Energy Resources, University of Western Macedonia, Bakola & Sialvera, Kozani, 50100, Greece *Corresponding author. Tel: +302461068296, Fax : +302461039682, email:
[email protected] ABSTRACT: Animal wastes constitute a high proportion of biomass in the region of Western Macedonia, Greece, and are able to play an important role towards the satisfaction of heat and/or energy and related material supply, with respect to environmental protection targets. Significantly, such wastes could be a significant source of energy if conventional energy prices continue to rise. This paper describes anaerobic digestion as a potential animal waste exploitation method. The aim of the present work is to strengthen the interest in animal waste potential for energy production in the region, through a methodology for the feasibility of utilization of those kinds of wastes as renewable energy resources. A combination of technical, economic and environmental issues is presented here. This study estimates the economically recoverable energy potentially available from livestock and poultry wastes in the region of Western Macedonia, Greece for the base year 2000. Anaerobic digestion of dairy cow, fed beef, goat, sheep and laying hen manures could have produced approximately 129,084 m3/d or 47x106 3 6 m /year of biogas, containing approximately 61.5 x 10 KWh/year that could result at a reduction in CO2 of over 80 x 103 tonnes per year and significant economic savings.