Evaluation of biogas collection from reed canary grass, depending on nitrogen fertilisation levels

The world in 21st century is facing the problem of growing energy consumption while the supply of fossil fuels is being reduced. This resulted in the development of research into the use of renewable energy sources and development of new technologies for energy production. In Polish conditions the development of agricultural biogas plants finds its legitimacy in the document developed by the Ministry titled "Trends in agricultural biogas plants in Poland in 2010-2020”. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of the weather conditions and the degree of nitrogen fertilisation on yield of reed canary grass (Phalaris Arundinacea L.) and to determine their susceptibility to anaerobic digestion, and usefulness of the production of biogas. Carried out experiments showed that increasing nitrogen fertilisation (from 40 to 120 kg N/ha) linearly increased canary grass green biomass yield from 32 to 46.3 t/ha. However, the highest biogas yield 126 m3/ha was obtained when 80 kg N/ha was applied.