Biogas and Biofuel Production from Biowaste: Modelling and Simulation Study

The global energy demands have reached high peaks and even in 2023, it has been witnessed that nearly 90% of the energy in the world is still based and produced from fossil fuels. Considering all the consequences of using such conventional energy sources like CO2 and other greenhouse gases emissions, and at the same time questioning the sustainability factor of the energy transition, there is a dire need to transition to cleaner energy fuels. To inculcate the conventional energy sources, a lot of renewable energy sources like biogas, biofuels, hydrogen, solar energy etc. have been researched. The primary success towards biogas production is due to the affordability of the available feedstock, the ease and availability of biofuels, low production costs, and the applications of biogases which involves heating, electricity, fuel, refrigeration and power generation. Some of the criticalities and challenges discussed in the study includes a gigantic gap between biotechnology research and development, commercialization and analysis of the future of biogas in the circular economy. Many lignocellulosic sources, such as manure, fruit, and vegetable wastes, can be used to generate biowaste, and anaerobic digestion can be used on a local or large scale. In this study, MATLAB/Simulink environment is used to carry out a multitude of models and simulations that take into account speculative objectives and potential energy futures (calculating the number of functioning plants in 2030, 2050, etc.) which include Input–output models, the Anaerobic Digestion Model 1 (ADM1), and other models. There are a lot of predictions, points of view, and conclusions that are discussed that claim the outcomes of simulations of such models can cause significant changes in the economic systems, as the use of biogas and biofuel will lead to the recovery of a lot of fossil phosphorous, to the tune of 100–150 billion euros, and that also proved the effectiveness and applications of biogas and biofuels. Graphical Abstract Graphical Abstract giving the overview of the various models and simulation models for biogas production from biowaste with the help of MATLAB/Simulink.