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It is well known that sustainability is the ideal driving path of the entire world and renewable energy is the backbone of the ongoing initiatives. The current topic of argument among the sustainability research community is on the wise selection of processes that will maximize yield and minimize emissions. The purpose of this paper is to outline different parameters and processes that impact the performance of biogas production plants through an extensive literature review. These include: comparison of biogas plant efficiency based on the use of a diverse range of feedstock; comparison of environmental impacts and its reasons during biogas production based on different feedstock and the processes followed in the management of digestate; analysis of the root cause of inefficiencies in the process of biogas production; factors affecting the energy efficiency of biogas plants based on the processes followed; and the best practices and the future research directions based on the existing life cycle assessment (LCA) studies.

The authors adopted a systematic literature review of research articles pertaining to LCA to understand in depth the current research and gaps, and to suggest future research directions.

Findings include the impact of the type of feedstock used on the efficiency of the biogas plants and the level of environmental emissions. Based on the analysis of literature pertaining to LCA, diverse factors causing emissions from biogas plants are enlisted. Similarly, the root causes of inefficiencies of biogas plants were also analyzed, which will further help researchers/professionals resolve such issues. Findings also include the limitations of existing research body and factors affecting the energy efficiency of biogas plants.

This review is focused on articles published from 2006 to 2019 and is limited to the performance of biogas plants using LCA methodology.

Literature review showed that a majority of articles focused mainly on the efficiency of biogas plants. The novel and the original aspect of this review paper is that the authors, alongside efficiency, have considered other critical parameters such as environmental emission, energy usage, processes followed during anaerobic digestion and the impact of co-digestion of feed as well. The authors also provide solid scientific reasoning to the emission and inefficiencies of the biogas plants, which were rarely analyzed in the past.

This paper aims to understand the implementation of a circular economic business where animal manure is used to produce biogas and alternative fertilizer in a regional network of manure suppliers and biogas producers and to reveal the impacts of five variables (manure quantity, transportation distance, manure dry content, manure price and manure discharge price) on the economic sustainability of manure-based biogas supply chains.

An enterprise input-output approach is used to model physical and monetary flows of the manure-based biogas supply chain. Computational experiments are performed on all variables to identify under which conditions the cooperation is beneficial for all actors.

The cooperation is profitable for a large-scale farm (>20,000 t/year) if biogas producer (b) pays farmer (f) to receive its manure (5 €/t) or if f sells manure for free and manure disposal costs are >10 €/t. Cooperation is always profitable for b if f pays b to supply its manure (5€/t). If b receives manure for free, benefits are always positive if b is a medium-large-scale plant (>20,000 t/year). For a small-scale plant, benefits are positive if manure dry content (MDC) is ≥12 per cent and transportation distance is ≤10 km.

The paper adds value to the biogas production research, as it makes holistic analysis of five variables which might change under different policy and geographical conditions. The investors in biogas production, suppliers and transportation companies can find correspondence to empirical findings for their own site-specific cases.

The aim of the study is to identify main failure phenomena and to evaluate reparation costs, reparation time, loss of profit and their relationship with power plant and faulty components age. In this work, several machinery breakdowns occurred in thermal power plants fed by solid biomass, biodiesel, biogas and municipal solid waste, have been investigated. In the period between 2004 and 2012, 23 faults have been analyzed.

Each fault has been classified considering: power plant technical specifications, type of damage, reparation cost, reparation time and loss of profit (when data are available). The whole data have been, therefore, compared to find out significant information.

It has been pointed out that relevant property damages are mainly caused by old components failure. In addition, the loss of profit is generally much higher than the property damage (six times on average basis).

The study provides useful information that can be of interest for personnel of energy utilities, banks and insurance companies in managing power plants risks and in planning the availability of energy services.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential of biogas in India for energy conservation and its potential in emission reduction through proper manure management and utilizing the tappable droppings while replacing the conventional and non-conventional fuel.

The authors have looked at the production, use and tappability of animal excreta for possible biogas generation and reduction in fuelwood consumption on one hand and emission reduction across the Indian states on the other. The average percentage of Biogas potential is created in the GIS database for analyzing the data set in the spatial domain using ArcGIS 9.2 software.

The paper examines that unused manure contributes to the greenhouse gas (GHG) and has huge potential of reducing the emission through proper utilization across the Indian states. Keeping current climate change dilemma in view this could be one of the feasible options to cope with the climate change and mitigating the threats.

A comprehensive data regarding methane emission from various sources is not readily available so far. With the help of this research work the authentic data has been collected from different government departments’ data banks and past research work. However, the authors have limited to few conversion aspects in quantifying the emission factor due to complexity of the various data sets.

Looking at the availability of usable animal excreta in different climatic regions, the attempt has been made in demarcating economically viable and technically feasible areas for biogas generation in India. An environmental and economic cost benefit analysis for adopting this renewable energy source has also been incorporated within this research.

The paper examined the GHG contribution of unused manure and the possibility of reducing it through proper utilization. The adverse environmental consequences of the use of conventional and non-conventional cooking fuels have also been analyzed in terms of GHG emissions. The same was assessed for the whole lifecycle of liquefied petroleum gas, which is commonly assumed as a clean fuel.

The aim of this research is to conduct a holistic sustainability life cycle assessment (LCA) comparison of different kinds of biofuels, integrating environmental, social, cultural and economic sustainability. The feasibility of a vision that by year 2015 households, companies, and other organizations all over the world will turn their sewages into biofuels, instead of discharging them into the environment is tested through these comparisons.

Semi‐structured interviews of biofuels' experts in Finnish companies, industry organizations, research institutions, and non‐governmental organization were conducted.

Biogases are environmentally more sustainable than bio‐oils, field biomass, wood‐based biomass and peat, all of which cause loss of biodiversity. Bio‐oils and field biomass are socio‐culturally unsustainable when they affect farming for food. Launching any kind of biofuel system is expensive, but running it reaps benefits. Biogases, bio‐oils and liquid field biomass use the cradle‐to‐grave approach; solid field biomass, wood‐based biomass and peat use the cradle‐to‐cradle approach in their life cycles. Biogases made of sewage have an endless supply with little need for an endless life cycle, which, however, could also be developed.

Refining sewage into biofuels solves two global environmental problems at once: carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels contributing to climate change and over‐fertilization of waterways causing sea, lake and river deaths. Hence, the launching expenses are well worth the effort. Yet other biofuels compete so heavily that large‐scale global turning of sewage into biofuels by 2015 is unlikely.

This is the first holistic sustainability LCA comparison of biofuels which integrates environmental, socio‐cultural and economic sustainability views of industry, research and civil society experts.

Over 10 percent of rural poor in Nepal are still using animal dung cake as the major cooking fuel, reducing the availability of plant nutrients or increasing the need for chemical fertilizers. The purpose of this paper is to assess the effects of dung fuel use on demand for chemical fertilizers and explore factors affecting the household decisions to use dung fuel.

The data are generated from survey of 331 households using either dung fuel or biogas, randomly selected from Kapilvastu district in Nepal. Test of mean differences and ordinary least square are used for finding the effect of dung fuel use on demand for chemical fertilizers. Probit regression is used to explore the factors affecting use of dung cake fuel by rural people.

The study quantified that burning animal dung for fuel increases the demand for chemical fertilizers by 32.35 kg per household for just maintaining the crop yield at the level of non‐burning households. At the national level, this accounts to 26,551 tons of chemical fertilizers costing NPR 687 million per year. The amount, however, does not include the health costs and drudgery of the households and pollution and green house gas emission costs to the society. The study finds income, education and ethnicity as the major factors affecting the dung cake use and recommends some policy measures to reduce it.

The research was conducted in a district with survey of a sample of households as a case study, and most probably cannot be generalized at the national or international levels. The sample includes the households using dung cake fuel and biogas exclusively. Other households using both the fuels and some other fuels are excluded in the study.

The findings are useful for policy makers working in agriculture and household energy for designing appropriate policy necessary for increasing agriculture policies and household energy technology (such a biogas) adoption.

The recommendations help in understanding the costs of dung burning at the household and national level. The understanding helps in increasing farm productivity and saving health of the residents.

The study is original in its design, data and findings. It will help the policy makers and the rural poor.

A sustainable selection method for facility location of the water treatment is formulated by best–worst method. In addition, the model addresses the selection of appropriate technologies in the treatment plant, management of water leakage in the whole transmission network by using modernization and selection of different transmission technologies. Finally, the interaction between water and energy in this network seems to be paying particular attention.

Rapid population growth and urban development, and the constraints of water supply have become one of the crucial challenges around the world in the 21st century. Hence, the use of refined urban wastewater is increasing in many countries as an alternative source of water. In this regard, the rehabilitation of urban wastewater recycling and reuse has been proposed as one of the most suitable solutions for urban water management. Hence, in this paper, a mathematical model is formulated to design the simultaneous marketing of the urban water distribution network and wastewater treatment (including).

It seeks to ensure that energy is supplied through chemical methods to ensure that the system's energy dependence is on the national electricity grid. And in order to validate the model, a case study has been studied. By analyzing the results, it can be concluded that the upgrading of sewage treatment plants to replace underground water and water from nearby dams in household, agricultural and industrial applications will have positive environmental and economic impacts. One of the notable environmental impacts is the decline in groundwater and water scarcity in the coming years.

The summary of contributions is presented follow as: design and planning of water and urban wastewater integrated network; sustainable selection of facility location for the water treatment; capability selecting different treatment technologies in simultaneous design water and urban sewage supply chain; managing water leak in the network; proposed a water–energy nexus model in simultaneous design water and urban sewage supply chain; studying the feasibility of construction of power plants from biogas, the resulting of anaerobic digestion in treatment centers.

The chapter will explore the growth and opportunities of small-scale local power generation and the implications for internet access for rural communities. Solar power has grown exponentially in the last decade across the world and has provided opportunities for the development of local energy communities and on microgrids across the world and in Europe.

The huge cost reductions experienced in solar and its relative mobile and flexible nature have made it a technology perfect for rural areas to develop their own sustainable source of electricity supply. The increasing rise of digital tools has coupled nicely with the advent of mass use of solar in rural areas and thus the connection between smart solar and smart villages has become increasingly a norm.

Rural communities in Europe have embraced solar technology, with many farmers using solar as a means to reduce their electricity costs and also generate new streams of income to improve their overall livelihoods. Some case studies from India, Germany, and Africa will be examined. Other experiences will also be considered, especially where double land use between solar technology and livestock has empowered rural communities.

Outside of Europe, Africa and Asia have also seen solar as a means to electrify remote rural villages. This has lead to the development of microgrids and new technologies that are less deployed in Europe, which are being rolled out for rural communities in the rest of the world. This has been particularly successful in creating smart rural communities as often digital communications have already reached these communities and thus power and telecoms are combining to provide clean and controlled power for millions in Africa. This chapter will also assess the growth of smart energy communities in non-traditional energy markets and determine what lessons we can learn from their experiences.

This chapter will examine other sources of renewable energy and the role that biogas, biomass, and others are playing in the creation of smart villages in Europe and beyond. Biomass has been the traditional tool for many rural communities to generate power and heat and thus an examination of how it now plays a role in smart villages is vital to understanding the energy transition we are experiencing in rural communities.

This chapter provides an overview of waste management across Europe. It offers an outlook of evolution of waste generation and how European Union (EU) countries treat waste, by providing historical and current data as well as by describing a few best practices of waste management companies and municipalities throughout Europe. The circular economy framework applied to urban waste management and the zero waste strategy are described.