“IFECO" – Modelling the agro-fuel chain for energy cogeneration IGLS-FORUM Series on Innovation and System Dynamics in Food Industry, Innsbruck

IFECO is based on the cogeneration that is the production of different energies from a single agricultural commodity to achieve the three targets that make this project sustainable: i) economic sustainability: profits realized by selling tangible and intangible marketable goods; ii) energy sustainability: positive energy balance; iii) ecological benefits: reduce the GHG (Green house gas). The sunflower is used to demonstrate the feasibility of IFECO project: the seeds produce oil that transformed in bio-diesel (and FAME – Fatty acid methyl ester); the co-product, the sunflower meal/cake, representing approximately the 50% of the seed weight is exploited in the dairy enterprise; the animal wastes and glycerine that is the co-product of the trans-esterification are used in biogas production that feeds an electricity generator; the residual compost is separated in solid and liquid phase, this last one recycled in the farm with fertirrigation; the solid residual is processed and delivered outside the farm