Assessment of feedstocks for biogas production, part I-A multi-criteria approach

- A multi-criteria method is proposed to assess feedstocks for biogas production.
- Aspects related to potential, feasibility, and resource efficiency are considered.
- Both renewable energy and nutrient recycling aspects are emphasized.
- The method provides overview and facilitates strategic decision making.
- Suitability of using stickleback fish for biogas production is assessed.

Expansion of biogas production is dependent on the availability of suitable feedstocks (biomass). What feedstock is suitable is a question that can be tackled from many different perspectives-it is a multi-dimensional problem. Therefore, a multi-criteria method has been developed that can be used to assess the suitability of feedstock for biogas and biofertilizer production. The method covers aspects of resource efficiency and feasibility, and the potential to supply renewable energy and recycle nutrients, operationalized via 16 indicators directed towards cost efficiency, technological feasibility, energy and environmental performance, accessibility, competition, policy and other issues. Thus it is relatively comprehensive method, yet simple enough to be used by practitioners. The main ambition, applying the method, has been to collect and structure relevant information to facilitate strategic overviews, communication and informed decision making. This is relevant for development within the biogas and biofertilizer industry, to define and prioritize among essential research projects, regarding policy, etc. This article, the first of two associated articles, is focused on the method itself. For illustration, the method is applied to assess the suitability of producing biogas from “stickleback”, which is a non-edible fish in the Baltic Sea region. In the companion article (Part II), four other feedstocks are assessed in detail, namely ley crops, straw, farmed blue mussels, and source-sorted food waste.