Flexible Power Generation from Biogas

The number of plants producing biogas and in particular the technology for converting energy crops and agricultural residues has been increasing substantially in Europe over recent years. The conversion process as well as the utilization of the produced biogas has been designed for a constant operation to allow for maximum capacity utilization. However, a certain degree of flexibility is part of the daily routine operation and in general biogas plants are able to vary their output. Flexibility requires in comparison to steady state operation some additional hardware such as increased gas conversion capacity (e.g. CHP units), a well-adjusted control of gas production and gas storage. This chapter discusses the technical requirements for flexible production and utilization of biogas.