Converting organic waste materials into renewable energy is an essential component of the EU countries both to meet national commitments to renewables EU targets, and indirectly to achieve zero food and packaging to landfill. So, how is the construction and commissioning of new AD plants proceeding, which will contribute to this?
Here is a summary of a few projects recently reported.
Cambi has announced that it will be supplying the technology for a new sludge treatment anaerobic-digestion plant in Drammen, Norway using their thermal hydrolysis process to optimize conversion. This will use feed stock sludge and waste and the contract is worth about 12M USD.
Vertal appears to be using Anaerobic Digestion as a component of its process mix, which includes composting and pasteurisation of food waste. This award winning company accomplishes this, we are informed, entirely through self heating, harnessing the energy released during digestion to carry out the pasteurisation.
A WRAP (Waste Resources Action Programme), part UK Government Funded, 3M GBP anaerobic digestion plant has opened on a Staffordshire (UK) Farm. This plant will supply 1.3MW of renewable energy to the national grid, with most of the energy being derived from source segregated food waste. It will process 15,000 tonnes of waste annually. Full operational output is planned for Autumn 2010.
Xergi's AD plant in Ayrshire, Scotland is moving ahead, and is expected to be operating by early 2011. The purchaser's Chief Executive has plans to extend the pant to include connection to the gas distribution network. The Ayrshire plant will become Xergi's second UK plant, with their first UK plant located near Boston, Lincolnshire, UK.
AD plants succeed or fail on the ability to mix feedstock and then again within the reactor. System Mix is reported to be providing mixing expertise to Welsh Water, and other clients for their digesters. One of the mixing systems in use will be a drop-in lance type system.
Jenbach (Austria) also announced in July that the troducer of Baby Nutrition Products would soon be saving CO2 based on the special “Green Tariff” available to anaerobic digestion plant generated electricity available at the plant's location.
In this project cow manure is being converted to energy at the first biogas co-generation plant in the Ukraine. The facility, which is powered by 4,000 cows and a GE (NYSE: GE) Jenbacher gas engine, has recently completed nine months of successful operation at the Ukrainian Milk Company Ltd., located near Kiev.
The excess power produced at the plant is being sold to the grid. The Ukrainian Milk Company, which produces milk for baby nutrition products, received the license for selling power to the grid based on the “green” tariff, which is being approved by Ukraine authorities. According to the law, the “green” tariff is “a special tariff for electricity generated at the power plants with use of alternative energy sources.”
The new combined heat and power (CHP) plant is powered by a GE JMC 312 containerized co-generation model gas engine and is able to substitute the equivalent of 1.2 million cubic meters of natural gas annually and, therefore, is projected to reduce the equivalent of 18,000 metric tons of CO2. Once converted into biogas, the manure from the cows produces 625 kW of electricity and 686 kW of thermal output.
This is GE’s first order from the biogas plant construction company ZORG. The unit was sold to ZORG through GE’s distributor and service provider in the Ukraine, SINAPSE. We hope that you found this round-up of the new Anaerobic Digestion Plants in the News from spring to summer 2010 interesting.
More about the Ukraine Plant at Ukraine Milk Company Powered by 4,000 Cows and GE Biogas Engine.
