Too valuable to be thrown away: biogenic waste has high energetic potential

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What potential of biogenic waste and residues is available to the energy system, and for what purpose should it be used? These questions were the focus of the UBA BioRest project carried out jointly with IZES and the Öko-Institut. In a first step, more than 50 studies on the potential of 24 biogenic residues and wastes were analysed. On the basis of demanding environmental and material-economical restriction criteria, this study estimates an energy potential of around 900 petajoules. In a second step, it was investigated which technologies are best suited for the use of these biomasses. The last step combines the previous results on the basis of ecological, economic and technical criteria into an overall utilisation concept. According to these criteria, the majority of waste and residual materials should be used for process heat, and to some extent also as fuel for aviation and shipping.

The final report is available for download (in German).