The European competition BISC-E promotes students’ innovativeness and innovative solutions in the field of bioeconomy. The national final included a team from the Student Research Group of Bioeconomy, operating at the Faculty of Building Services, Hydro and Environmental Engineering: Julia Ługowska, Natalia Sobolewska and Jakub Fenert. Their supervisor was Professor Monika Żubrowska-Sudoł.

– When preparing the project we were determined to develop a technological process that could be implemented immediately – stresses Julia Ługowska. – We have come up with a concept of an energy cooperative for villages – with a biogas installation and energy storage systems – she says.

The core of the ”BioCommunity” project is biogas generation through methane fermentation from agricultural waste, biowaste from households and waste from industry located in a village.

– Our village model was developed on the basis of data from the National Agricultural Census and other sources. Thanks to this we could calculate the volume of biogas generation, and thus, electrical energy and heat we could obtain – explains Julia Ługowska.

The biogas plant is emission-neutral. The CO₂ occurring during the biogas combustion is absorbed by plants and waste from their production is, in turn, used to produce biogas. Additionally, energy needed to maintain the biogas plant, after commissioning, is provided thanks to the generated biogas. Digestate, which is post-production waste, may be used as a fertiliser after obtaining the necessary permits.

 – We also assumed various methods of energy storage, e.g., with used electric vehicle batteries, which after their period of use still retain ca. 80% of their capacity – says Julia Ługowska. – For a village where electric vehicles are used an additional storage may be the installation Vehicle-to-Grid, which allows to transfer electrical energy from the vehicle to the network – she adds.

The students stress that their idea is a response to many problems villages face: power cuts, dependence on fossil fuels, transport-related social exclusion, inefficient heating systems.

– Independent energy generation from waste will allow such community to decide on their own how to use the energy – improve public transport through purchase of electric buses, exchange boilers or maybe obtain valuable fertiliser from digestate or utilise waste – lists Julia Ługowska.

The PW project was distinguished by the jury and will represent Poland in the European stage of the competition, which will be held in September.