(531e) Thermodynamic Analysis of a System Designed for Biogas Generation, Transformation and Utilization

This work presents the comprehensive thermodynamic analysis of a system designed for biogas generation, transformation, and utilization for space heating. The biogas is generated through anaerobic digestion of cattle manure, which is subsequently combusted to generate heat for warming water or for producing electricity. Either of them is conveyed to the floor of the space to maintain its temperature. The analysis is based on the law of mass conservation and the first-law and second-law of thermodynamics. By resorting to the mass, energy, entropy-dissipation, and available energy balances, the sources and magnitudes of the inefficiencies and irreversibilities of the system are identified in terms of energy loss, entropy increase, and available energy dissipation.