Estimation of Potential of Agriculture Biogas Production in Biała Podlaska County (Poland)

By analyzing the resources of the economic infrastructure (distilleries, diaries, fruit and vegetable processing and meat processing factories) of the Biaa Podlaska County, the possibilities of the biomass obtaining and creating the biogas plants basing on the agri-food industry waste were estimated. The stocking of animals was the basis for the assessment of manure and slurry resources that can be subjected to the methane fermentation process. On the basis of the data concerning the surface of the wastelands, located on the Biaa Podlaska County territory, the possibilities of the biomass from special crops were specified. In the Biaa Podlaska County, it was established that there are possibilities for obtaining the biomass for the biogas production: from livestock production (1 475 272 GJ/year), maize cropping in marginal lands (172 875 GJ/year) and wastes and by-products from food industry (51 081 GJ/year). The estimated potential of biogas allows for the construction of several agricultural biogas plants with a capacity of 1 MW e each, often built in Poland. The usage of the identified resources enabling the improvement of the energetic safety and also can contribute to the sustainable development of rural areas and agriculture.