The performance of a small-scale prototype digestion plant (7.2 m³ working volume) intended for decentralised operation was evaluated considering energy efficiency and technical suitability for biogas valorisation in producing electrical and thermal energy. The digester operated in recirculation mode to enhance organic matter conversion and improve volatile solid degradation. An energy assessment of the process assumed the incorporation of a combined heat and power (CHP) unit. The coefficient of overall performance of the plant for electrical energy (COP_el) was 0.95 — this values was estimated at an electrical efficiency of 22.5% and represents the ratio between energy production and consumption — for a methane yield of 360 L/kg VS and an organic loading rate (OLR) of 1.06 g VS/L d. This parameter was slightly lower than the unit thus indicating that the micro-plant was close to attaining self-sufficiency regarding electrical energy use. The temperature increase of the feed to process conditions supposed a significant amount of thermal energy which highly compromised the efficiency when operating at low organic load, thus accounting for more than 80% of the total energy demand of the installation. When the energy assessment of the process was performed at higher OLR of 2.7 g VS/ L d, the resulting COP_el value was1.68, demonstrating the feasibility of this configuration for decentralised digestion.

考虑到能源效率和沼气增值技术在生产电能和热能方面的技术适用性，评估了用于分散操作的小型原型消化设备（7.2 m ^3的工作量）的性能。蒸煮器以再循环模式运行，以提高有机物转化率并改善挥发性固体降解。该过程的能源评估假设合并了热电联产（CHP）单元。电厂总体性能系数（COP _el）为0.95（该值是在22.5％的电效率下估算的，代表了能源生产与消耗之间的比例），甲烷产量为360 L / kg V​​S，有机负荷率（OLR）为1.06 g VS / L d 。该参数略低于单位，因此表明该微型工厂在实现电能使用方面已接近自给自足。进料的温度升高到工艺条件可能会产生大量的热能，这在低有机负荷下运行时会大大降低效率，因此占设备总能量需求的80％以上。当以2.7 g VS / L d的较高OLR进行过程的能量评估时，所得的COP _el 值为1.68，证明了这种配置用于分散消化的可行性。