The hub of the research project is the development of an innovative biogas process. The process is being developed and tested in Germany and will be implemented as a pilot plant in the study area in March 2017. The operation time of the pilot plant will last two years, in which the conditions (e.g. retention time, co-fermentation, pre-treatment of the substrates) will be adapted and optimized in order to obtain the maximum yield of biogas, which ranges between 210-320 m³ CH4/t ODM.
The agricultural areas of the commune and their current use will be studied by a detailed survey of the land-use patterns. A structured household survey and a waste stream analysis will lead to reliable data on the quality and quantity of available bio-wastes from the kitchen, gardening, and animal breeding, which could be co-fermented in the biogas plant. These data will feed a database, which will be the base of a material flow analysis.
The quantification of the benefits of the biogas plant towards climate change is part of this project. Therefore the determination of methane and nitrous oxide fluxes from storage and processing and treatment of the residues and digestate is one of the key issues of the project. The main part will be a GHG balance considering emissions from managed soil and possible emission reductions from the substitution of mineral fertilizer due to compost from fermentation residues.
The sustainable operation requires trained technicians and engineers, which is considered a problematic issue in Việt Nam. To cope with this situation, it is planned, to cooperate closely with the leaders of the village and to carry out regular information assemblies and training courses in the village and to involve and train the future technicians from the beginning. The close contact with the Vietnamese cooperation partner Lotus Environment Technologies enables the local production of the marketable plant after the project runtime.
In parallel with the technology development, project implementation and operation, the research on the climate change mitigation and the study of carbon business model and NAMA’s (Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions) will be embedded into the entire project cycle.