title: Spatial decision support system to evaluate crop residue energy potential by anaerobic digestion.
abstract: Implementing anaerobic digestion (AD) in energy production from crop residues requires development of decision tools to assess its feasibility and sustainability. A spatial decision support system (SDSS) was constructed to assist decision makers to select appropriate feedstock according to biomethanation potential, identify the most suitable location for biogas facilities, determine optimum plant capacity and supply chain, and evaluate associated risks and costs. SDSS involves a spatially explicit analysis, fuzzy multi-criteria analysis, and statistical and optimization models. The tool was validated on seven crop residues located in Santander, Colombia. For example, fique bagasse generates about 0.21millionm(3)CH4year(-1) (0.329m(3)CH4kg(-1) volatile solids) with a minimum profitable plant of about 2000tonyear(-1) and an internal rate of return of 10.5%. SDSS can be applied to evaluate other biomass resources, availability periods, and co-digestion potential.
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Investigación en Tecnologías de Valorización de Residuos y Fuentes Agrícolas e Industriales para la Sustentabilidad Energética (INTERFASE), Escuela de Ingeniería Química, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Carrera 27, Calle 9 Ciudad Universitaria, Bucaramanga, Colombia. Electronic address: escala@uis.edu.co.
authors.forename: Humberto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Escalante
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Investigación en Tecnologías de Valorización de Residuos y Fuentes Agrícolas e Industriales para la Sustentabilidad Energética (INTERFASE), Escuela de Ingeniería Química, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Carrera 27, Calle 9 Ciudad Universitaria, Bucaramanga, Colombia.
authors.forename: Liliana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Investigación en Tecnologías de Valorización de Residuos y Fuentes Agrícolas e Industriales para la Sustentabilidad Energética (INTERFASE), Escuela de Ingeniería Química, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Carrera 27, Calle 9 Ciudad Universitaria, Bucaramanga, Colombia.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gauthier-Maradei
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Investigación en Tecnologías de Valorización de Residuos y Fuentes Agrícolas e Industriales para la Sustentabilidad Energética (INTERFASE), Escuela de Ingeniería Química, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Carrera 27, Calle 9 Ciudad Universitaria, Bucaramanga, Colombia.
authors.forename: Reynel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rodríguez De La Vega
mesh_terms: D000693:Anaerobiosis; D056804:Biofuels / Q000191:economics*; D018533:Biomass; D002482:Cellulose / Q000378:metabolism; D003105:Colombia; D005525:Food-Processing Industry; D059027:Recycling / Q000191:economics; D062206:Spatial Analysis
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D002482:Cellulose; C027433:bagasse
keywords: Anaerobic digestion; Crop residue; Economical assessment; Fuzzy multi-criteria analysis; Spatial decision support system