Potencial energético do biogás: estudo de caso do esgoto doméstico do Oeste Paranaense

Abstract

The lack of diversity of the Brazilian energy matrix has been something to worry about the last years, especially in times of water crisis, such as what happened in 2021, given this fact, combined with a demand for energy for electricity, it is necessary to evaluate the scenario of power generation from a more heterogeneous point of view. The complex of sewage stations, when presented in a sewage treatment of its composition, with a gas treatment called in its composition, a sewage treatment process in its composition, with approximately 70% of methanegas, which has a calorific value, guaranteeing its use as fuel in engines for internal use, turbines and gas microturbines. Therefore, the present research aimed to evaluate the potential for generating electricity from biogas produced in domestic sewage treatment plants in western of the state of Paraná. The object of study for this research were the 50 municipalities belonging to the western mesoregion of Paraná. The initial data came from the National Sanitation Information System and National Agency databases. A methodology developed for a methane production budget and electricity generation potential was described by Chernicharo et al. (1999), being Excel used for the application of the tools of the mathematic model. The results were arranged in three different scenarios: the first scenario deals with the municipalities in the West of Paraná that present anaerobic treatment of domestic sewage produced by the population, the second scenario deals with the municipalities that do not have any domestic sewage treatment system, thus generating evaluations and hypothetical considerations if there were anaerobic systems for the treatment of domestic effluent in these municipalities, and finally the third scenario, which deals with municipalities that have sewage treatment systems, but these are not anaerobic, which allows demonstrating a hypothetical scenario if these existing sewage treatment structures were strictly anaerobic. For the first scenario, it was possible to perceive that the city of Cascavel is the municipality with the greatest potential for generating electricity, with 1.2713 MWh. In the second scenario, the place called Capitão Leônidas Marques was the municipality that presented the greatest potential for energy production, with 0.0530 MWh. Finally, in the third scenario, the municipality of Foz do Iguaçu presented the greatest potential for generating electricity, generating approximately 1.1616 MWh. Evaluating the results, it was possible to perceive that the values of the electric energy generation potential are closely related to the population indices. At the end of the research, it was possible to conclude that the scenario of electric energy production is still premature, since the potential for electric energy generation is significantly lower than the energy demand of each municipality, but the research serves as a tool to evaluate new possibilities and improvements in techniques and technologies for energy that uses biogas from anaerobic sewage treatment plants.