Konzen Clean Energy Gets Biogas Plant Contract Worth US$2.5 Million - Bernama

October 28, 2011 15:07 PM

Konzen Clean Energy Gets Biogas Plant Contract Worth US$2.5 Million

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 (Bernama) -- Konzen Clean Energy Sdn Bhd (KCE) has been awarded a US$2.5 million (US$1=RM3.03) contract by Indonesia's PT Paramitra Internusa Pratama to set up a biogas plant at its Belian Estate in West Kalimantan by July 2012.

KCE is a BioNexus-status firm facilitated by Malaysian Biotechnology Corp Sdn Bhd (BiotechCorp) while PT Paramitra is a unit of PT SMART Tbk Agribusiness & Food.

In a statement Friday, BiotechCorp's chief executive officer, Datuk Dr Mohd Nazlee Kamal, said the initiative by KCE delivered on the agenda for Phase II of the National Biotechnology Policy -- commercialisation of biotechnology.

"It also reflects the maturity and strength of our local biotech firms and their competitiveness in embarking on strategic partnerships for the robust development of the industry," he said.

Under the agreement, KCE will provide the design, supply, engineering, installation, commissioning and project management of the effluent treatment plant, complete with anaerobic digester tanks and state-of-the-art process control system of the biogas plant.

The plant will have sophisticated monitoring equipment that facilitates comprehensive data logging, useful for plant improvements and future research and development work under the ongoing developmental activities of KCE.

Biotechcorp said the technology transfer from KCE for the development of the biogas plants plant would therefore be relevant far beyond the project itself and would be appreciated by industry in the future.

It said as an alternative to fossil fuels, PT SMART planned to use biogas at this plant produced from its palm oil mill effluent to generate electricity for its palm oil mills, the statement said.

"The surplus supply of the electricity would be directed to the community," it said.

View the original article here

Biogas plant makes the most of fuel from waste - FarmersWeekly

Biogas plant makes the most of fuel from waste - 9/21/2011 - Farmers Weekly
Neil Gemmell, who farms at Clayton Hall Farm near Wakefield, has installed a 400kW anaerobic digestion plant, to process 6,000t of feedstock a year. Although the plant would be viable with energy crops from the farm, in energy terms, some 80% of the feedstock comes from food waste.
Video shows plant used elsewhere by Biogas Nord


The large digester has a capacity of 2,800cu m, which is required for the long retention times that are a feature of the system supplied by Biogas Nord.
"The system is designed to run on less than 4kg of solid material per cubic metre per day," explains Biogas Nord's UK representative Owen Yeatman.
"Traditional British digesters are smaller, but the economics are driven by gate fees. We want to extract all the energy from whatever comes in. For example, with maize we would expect 90-95% breakdown of the material."
One advantage of the large digester is the amount of gas storage it provides, something that other installations use secondary digesters or separate gas stores to achieve.
To handle food waste, the plant needs to comply with animal by-products (ABP) legislation, which includes a requirement for an enclosed reception area. At Clayton Hall a redundant grain store was used, meaning that extra capital was required to comply with this aspect of the rules.
From the reception building, the solid material is augured into the digester where agitators keep the mixture moving for up to 60 days. A heating system incorporated inside the concrete walls maintains the temperature at 40-42C. Once the gas has been extracted, the digestate is sent to a pasteuriser, which is a key difference from most on-farm plants. The material is pumped through a macerator to ensure it is small enough to comply with the ABP rules and then pasteurised in batches at 72C for one hour.
In terms of cost, Mr Yeatman reckons that the need for pasteurisation increased the overall capital cost of the plant by as much as 10%. "There is also a significant operating cost in terms of monitoring and meeting statutory requirements," he adds.
The pasteurised digestate is currently stored in a lagoon, although the farm plans to install a separator to separate the liquid and solid fractions, which can then be marketed under the PAS110 standard for quality digestate.
Mr Gemmell is very happy with the system, but he warns other farmers thinking about developing a waste-fed biogas plant to think carefully. "It certainly comes with a whole raft of extra things on top," he says.
While the costs of the plant are confidential, Mr Yeatman says that a typical 500kW plant using farm-based inputs would be around £1.6m, excluding digestate storage. He estimates that once adding compliance with ABP regulations has been offset against the need not to construct a silage clamp for feedstock storage, the additional cost for a food waste plant of the same size would be around £200,000. Gate fees and gas output should increase the margins on the plant, but at higher management, regulatory and capital costs compared with plants based on farm inputs.
View the original article here

Northern Ireland Opens New biogas CHP plant - Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production Magazine

A farm near Ardstraw in Northern Ireland is converting organic matter into biogas to provide sustainable heat and power on-site, as well as for local homes and businesses.

The 700-acre Greenhill farm biogas plant plant is only the second such plant in Northern Ireland. It works by ‘cooking’ animal waste from 600 cows at 40°C to produce methane gas.

The gas is then piped into two engines that drive generators to produce electricity. Hot water is also produced and is used to dry the plant’s residual, as well to pasteurise milk.

According to Alfagy, which supplied the biogas CHP, it has an energy efficiency of 86%, and represents a significant step toward in achieving an energy sustainable Northern Ireland.

The plant produces 430 kWh of power, which is sufficient to supply around 430 homes.

After the process of extracting methane from the manure and vegetation, farmers use the residual waste as a fertiliser to grow animal feed.

Alfagy says the project faced challenges in attracting funding from banks during the financial crisis.

“It is astonishing that more financial support isn’t directed at biogas power plants as they create eight times more value than other renewable technologies such as wind turbines,” says Peter Kindt, Alfagy’s chairman.

View the original article here

Stove that works on biogas as well as LPG - IBNLive.com

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: K T Ajayakumar keeps on improving what he knows best, ie experimenting with gadgets and appliances. Ajayan, who runs the Thankam Gas Service Centre at Aramkallu, Vazhayila, has now come up with a new gas stove which can be lit using both LPG and biogas.
 “For this, I have not changed the structure of the LPG gas stove. Only that it has a special air hole arrangement so that it functions on biogas as well. It has two knobs- one for LPG and the other for biogas,” says Ajayan.


(The video is not related to the artcle.)
A half-inch hole is made at the end of the stove burner and the biogas pipe is connected from the valve to the burner. While LPG needs an air hole, it is not needed for biogas. Also, the stove comes with a separate burner top - with 4 mm holes- for the biogas. No change has been made in the case of LPG pipe.
“I consider this as a great achievement. It would be handy in the case of households which have space constraints,” Ajayan says. And he is ready to make the stove on demand. “They need to shell out just ` 460 for the same,” he says.
This highly enthusiastic 33-year-old has made numerous inventions over the last few years. In fact, this stove is his sixth invention. He had started off with a granite stove, then came up with a bio-heater, then a high pressure stove which saves gas. He even developed a system which would avert train mishaps. “Whenever I get time, I experiment with whatever I come across,” says Ajayan, who has studied till Class X. Contact Ajayakumar at 9349761454.
View the original article here

First U.S. Dry Fermentation Biodigester Produces Renewable Energy at UW-Oshkosh

Sounds like a great project, don't get me wrong, but I am very doubtful about this "caim to be first". If correct, then this is indeed a newsworthy posting. If any of our readers has a view on the voracity of this claim then we please comment, using the comment box below. Many thanks. (Your Blogmaster)

October 19, 2011

The first anaerobic dry fermentation biodigester in the western hemisphere is up and running at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. The alternative power system has been producing clean, renewable electricity from plant and food waste to supply electricity and heat for the university campus since Oct. 3.

University staff and students involved with the development of the power system had been stockpiling agricultural plant and food waste as feedstock in airless chambers and feeding it into the dry anaerobic biodigester since last summer in anticipation of bringing it online.
Anaerobic digestion is a process in which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. As part of an integrated waste management system, anaerobic digestion reduces the emission of methane gas, CO2, and “non-methane organic compounds” or NMOCs into the atmosphere.  Anaerobic digestion is also used as a renewable energy source since the process produces a methane and carbon dioxide rich biogas suitable for energy production.


As the name indicates, ‘dry,’ as opposed to ‘wet,’ anaerobic digesters break down dry organic materials with moisture content of less than 75%, such as agricultural waste and plant material traditionally left over after harvesting a crop.

On Oct. 3, the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh team decided they had enough biogas to start-up energy production, so they turned on the plant’s gas turbine engines. The biogas from the biodigester drives the turbines, which are expected to generate enough electricity in the start-up phase to meet 5% of the university’s electricity and heating needs.
Besides producing clean, renewable energy from agricultural and food waste – corn stalks, husks, leaves, and discarded food – the bio-energy plant is serving as an ideal site for experiential learning, particularly for biology and environmental students.


Proposed plans call for revenue from the plant to flow into student scholarships, campus laboratory upgrades and expansion, and the creation of a rural community development innovation center.

For the full posting visit http://environmentalgreen.wordpress.com/tag/anaerobic-digestion/

For more AD information on AD generally visit http://anaerobic-digestion.com/ 

Biogas live at Weybridge Waitrose - Surrey Comet

5:17pm Thursday 15th September 2011

A recycling system to convert food waste into biofuel has gone live at a Weybridge supermarket.

Waitrose in Weybridge High Street now has food not fit for sale taken to an anaerobic digestion plant and turned into organic fertiliser, or biogas which is converted in to electricity.

It means food that is out of date or damaged is put back in to the system rather than just thrown away.

As a result the store has halved the amount of rubbish it sends to landfill.

Waitrose target is for 150 stores to process waste in this way.

Weybridge branch manager David Coleman said: “As the first national food retailer to fully sign up to this food waste recycling scheme, Waitrose is leading the way in taking steps to reduce our carbon footprint.”

View the original article here

Sewage Sludge Reuse: Come On OFWAT the Time for an Open Market is Now

By Steve Last: Renewable Energy News

Beckton Sewage Works, London

We know that until quite recently what to do with sewage sludge was always a challenge for society. After all until the 1970's in the UK most conurbations were simply throwing it into the sea by the shipload. A disposal method which frankly seems cavalier in the extreme now, and would never be countenanced today, but only finally ceased in the late 1990s.

We now that it was a good move when the water acts of 20 years ago were passed it was good move to delegate sewage sludge disposal to the water industry and let the rest of us forget about it.

We know that the privatised UK Water Industry in its turn responded to that regulatory direction and developed a worthy system of dealing with sludge generated by sewage treatment operations, beginning initially with 'disposal' to local farmland and evolving into 'agricultural recycling' helped along by successive regulations defining treatment criteria and requiring control of added nutrients and contaminants.

However, the practical ability to do this depends heavily upon the quantity and quality of the sludge applied matching the needs of the economically accessible agricultural land such that many larger industrial connurbations have had to limit this practise. First landfill was used, but that option was largely closed by the EU landfill directive, which led to incineration as the most applicable solution.

But, all that has now changed with rising oil and coal prices. Like it or not renewable energy is here to stay, and for sludge and until something better comes along, that means Anaerobic Digestion.

And, a little publicised revolution is underway, in which the huge increase in sewage sludge production has occurred, as the consequence of the additional national sewage treatment now being applied nationwide, and society also happens from now on to need this as an energy source. It was, and to an extent still is now, a real problem finding ways to manage this sludge responsibly, but that HAS changed. Anaerobic digestion is the answer. It is there, it is proven, and the government is committed to subsidising it as an essential component of our energy policy which will allow the UK to comply with its 2020 renewables targets.

In other words; traditionally sludge has been considered a 'waste' requiring disposal, but that is rapidly changing.

A change in perception is obvious. Sludge is not going to be a waste any more, that is as certain as the fact that peak oil production has been reached, and that the days of huge fossil fuel resource discoveries has also passed. From now on sludge will have a resource value. A value which may be recovered through its use in the production of renewable energy, and primary feedstocks for chemical/ industrial processes.

The idea that only the Water Companies could be trusted with sewage sludge disposal, is now history. It simply isn't true. It's time to open up sewage sludge disposal to the market and allow the undoubtedly huge synergies which can then be realised between the Water Plcs and the UK Waste Management industry to flourish.

Examples of future synergistic relationships between the UK water industry and an open market in sewage sludge treatment include the large scale:

• co-composting of sewage sludge with municipal green waste,
• use of dried sludge as a substitute fuel in cement manufacture,
• growing of energy crops (fertilised by sludge) for renewable energy generation,
• co-combustion in power generation,
• production of lightweight aggregates from sewage sludge cake and other previously landfilled wastes.

If this was opened up further and Water Plcs could form joint-ventures with the Waste Management Industry, and the advantages to the nation would extend still further, by relinquishing land assets within UK cities for recycling and solid waste treatment, just where they are so badly needed close to where the waste which is produced and needs recycling.

Process all types of waste together at those sites which are now only Wastewater Treatment Works. These are sites which could so easily be further developed as integrated waste treatment sites, facilitating recycling as a natural adjunct to city life. Not something done in obscure industrial estates on the edge of conurbations to where the current generation of these plants are thrust, by "NIMBY syndrome effects" on our planning system and by so doing are incurring huge dis-benefits in traffic generation and transport fuel wastage.

So, OFWAT here this plea from Renewable Energy News! Open up the market for sludge and release the Water Companies from restrictions on them which were once appropriate, but now threaten the ability of the UK to fully develop the new integrated resource management infrastructure. An infrastructure, without which "zero waste" must remain a pipe-dream forever.

Are Students No More Than a Bunch of Irresponsible Wasters?

Are Students No More Than a Bunch of Irresponsible Wasters?

Biogas to solve LPG crisis in rural Dakshina Kannada - Times of India

Biogas to solve LPG crisis in rural DK - Times Of India

MANGALORE: Rural schools, anganwadis and backward class and minority hostels in the Dakshina Kannada (DK) district need not shell out money to get refilled LPG cylinders anymore. DK zilla panchayat plans to set up biogas production plants in schools, anganwadis and backward class and minority hostels which would convert waste into cooking gas.

(Video and article are not connected.)

Many of the rural schools in the district find it difficult to get refilled LPG cylinders due to irregularities in the supply by the gas agencies. Biogas plants will help the schools cut down their dependence on LPG and firewood for cooking and not just save money.

While biogas produced in the plant will be used to cook mid-day meals in schools, it will be used in the kitchens of anganwadis and hostels. The zilla panchayat has already earmarked Rs 20,000 each to set up biogas plants in four centres in the district.

The plants will be initially set up in the anganwadi centres of Daddelakadu and Soornadu in Bantwal taluk, backward class and minority hostels in Bajpe in Mangalore taluk and Balthila in Bantwal taluk. See also www.anaerobic-digestion.com

Total sanitation officer of the district Manjula told STOI that an agency that quotes a suitable price will be given the task of setting up the biogas plants, which will reduce the burden on rural schools, anganwadis and hostels in several ways. In addition to saving money, it will also help to maintain cleanliness in the schools, the anganwadi and hostel premises as kitchen waste and other bio-degradable waste can be used as a raw material for the plant, she said.

The proposed plants will have the capacity to produce biogas, sufficient for two hours of cooking, with two kilograms of waste. Also power can be generated from the plant with the help of a generator, she said, adding that the work will commence soon.

More rural schools will be chosen where such biogas plants will be set up in near future, she added.

View the original article here

California bill a win for biogas - Biomass Power and Thermal

Anaerobic Digestion News

California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed Senate Bill 489, a law that allows small-scale biomass and biogas projects (1 megawatt or less) to qualify for the state’s Net Energy Metering program.

NEM allows a customer/generator to receive a financial credit for power generated by their on-site system and fed back to the utility. The credit is used to offset the customer's electricity bill. 

Previously, the NEM program applied only to wind and solar power generators. SB 489, or the Renewable Energy Equity Act, sponsored by Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Calif., allows all kinds of renewable energy forms to qualify for NEM.

“The most important component of this bill is its name,” said Patrick Serfass, executive director of the American Biogas Council. “Parity among all renewables is extremely important to be able to compete fairly in the market place.”

Serfass said he believes the majority of biogas projects will now be eligible for NEM, particularly farm- and wastewater-based projects. “If you look at the number of farm-based digesters in California, the number is about 11, which is really small considering what is possible. Out of the three main biogas feedstocks in California—ag waste, municipal solid waste and wastewater—two are directly related to the population, and California has a lot of people. The potential is massive.”
 

There are at least 30 landfills in the state that don’t have energy projects on them right now, according to Serfass. He added that the ABC is still looking into the exact impacts the bill could have, but said that it would definitely help new projects get installed and  into service. “This is a step in the right direction,” he said.

View the original article here

Dong targets biomass-fired CHP in the UK - Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production Magazine

Denmark's largest power producer says it is looking at the UK as a potential location for power plants that convert household waste to energy.

The UK government has said it wants to see an expansion in waste-to-energy and anaerobic digestion plants and has recently increased incentives for on-farm biogas technologies.

But so far the industry has been taking a wait-and-see approach until the government reveals further details on the future structure of renewable energy subsidies before it commits to new waste-to-energy plants.

Dong has a history in the biomass market and currently produces heat and electricity at three waste-fired CHP plants in Jutland, Denmark.

Dong has also established a consortium to investigate the potential of bioenergy technologies and which is also tasked with converting an existing biomass-fired CHP plant to allow it to handle waste products from a bioethanol plant.

(Video is not reated to the article.)

The company is also looking at the possibility of constructing a waste treatment plant that will use enzymes to separate waste fractions for use in biogas production.

For more biomas news click here

View the original article here

Landia Chopper Pumps Improve Biogas Yields at UK Anaerobic Digestion Plant

Landia Chopper Pump installed at the feed to the AD Plant

Pumps made by Landia are playing a vital role in the success of a new 20kW anaerobic digestion plant at a 1,100 acre mixed farm in Hampshire.

Designed to provide all the benefits of large scale AD, but simplified so as to be achievable on a farm scale, the £100,000 plant includes both long-shaft and dry-mounted Landia pumps, which handle slurry from the dairy and leftover fruit and vegetable waste from the arable side of the farm.

It is true to say that even the notoriously difficult to handle AD feedstock punishment at installations of this type, hasn’t halted Landia pumps on the farm.

“We’ve done our level best to punish these Landia pumps with the thickest and most difficult materials we could thrown at them”;

said farm owner and Bioplex Technologies’ Director Chris Reynell,

“but they just keep on working, even though there are no excess liquids because we’re very much a solids-in, solids-out operation”.

He added:

“Landia had to meet our criteria for rugged and reliable equipment that could cope with heavy material such as silage, garden waste and horse manure, as well as slurry.  We’ve had no problems whatsoever.  The Landia pumps have accelerated the hydrolysis of the AD plant and help produce very healthy bacteria.  We have gained a significant upturn in biogas and benefitted from a superior compostable end-product, as well as enhanced fertilizer values.  It’s a great piece of kit”.

Chopper Pump Detail

Reynell also explained that the outlay included a new reception tank and a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) generator that provides electricity for his farmhouse. With the savings made from not having to buy artificial fertiliser and reduced fuel costs for the generator, he estimates a payback period of 5 years.

The pumps installed at this site are Long Shaft Chopper Pumps:  MPG 4” 7.5kw complete with cutting knives.



About Landia




‘Landia is a family-owned company that was founded in 1933 in Denmark.  In 1950 the company invented the first efficient electric pump with rotating knives, which is the main principle behind today’s modern chopper pump (as it is now called), which is used all over the world. 

Over 75% of Landia’s business is export, with its pumps, mixers and process units in successful use across numerous industries, including sewage treatment plants, biogas, agriculture, fish, food and brewing.  Landia prides itself on high quality products and a back-up service to its customers to match’.

Find more "Chopper Pump" information at the chopper pumps page at www.Landia.co.uk .

Elephant-poo power electrifies zoo - CNN

Zoo in Germany partially powered by electricity produced from animal dungAnimal waste fermented for 30 days generates "biogas"

Energy produced enough to heat 25 homes and power 100

(The video is not related to the article.)

Munich, Germany (CNN) -- At Munich Zoo you can watch the courtship rituals of the banded mongoose, hear the morning song of the scarlet ibis or visit the Indian elephants, who help keep the lights on with electricity generated from their dung.

They can do this because Munich Zoo has harnessed "poo power," energy stored in animal waste, which can be converted into a fuel known as "biogas."

It works like this: The zoo has built three large containers, each capable of holding about 100 cubic meters of animal waste -- that's around a week's worth of dung collected from all the vegetarian animals in the zoo.

Once inside the containers, it's mixed with warm water and the bacteria in the dung is left to decompose in an oxygen-free environment for 30 days.

The resulting biogas, mainly comprised of methane and carbon dioxide, rises naturally through vents in the ceiling to a corrugated hut on the roof where it's collected in a "big balloon," says park supervisor Dominik Forster.

The biogas is then fed into a gas-powered engine that's used to generate electricity. Forster says that the balloon -- which more closely resembles a small Zeppelin -- can store enough biogas to meet 5% of the zoo's energy needs.

By the time the food has been digested by the animal, a lot of the energy in it has been used up or burped out
Dr Geraint Evans, National Centre for Biorenewable Energy
"When you turn the biogas into electricity, it creates heat which we also store," says Forster. This is then used to warm the gorilla enclosure, "but could be used to heat about 25 homes," he adds.

Once the fermentation process that creates the methane is finished, the remaining solid matter, or "digestate" is used as an organic fertilizer for crops that will later be used as feedstock for the animals.

"We don't waste anything," said Forster, who claims that his is the only zoo in Germany to generate electricity in this way.

A mature elephant can eat about 100 kilograms of fruit, vegetables and pretzels a day, producing a mountain of dung and Forster says that all the zoo animals together create roughly 2,000 tons of the stuff every year.

This is enough to power about 100 Munich households -- a drop in the ocean when you consider Munich's population, which is 1.3 million, according to CIA World Factbook.

The problem is that dung alone does not produce all that much energy relative to its size, says Geraint Evans, head of biofuels at the UK's National Centre for Biorenewable Energy, Fuels and Materials.

"By the time the food has been digested by the animal, a lot of the energy in it has been used up or burped out," he said. "It's more efficient to just put the feed directly into the biogas generator." [See also http://anaerobic-digestion.com ] 

Even if the returns are small at this stage, Evans says this project and others similar are still worth it.

"It's really important that we change our mindset from dependence on one source of energy to many different complementary sources," Evans said. "Animal waste can create electricity, heat, fertilizer ... even clean water can be extracted from the solids to spray on crops ... So, it's emblematic of this very holistic approach."

In this spirit, Forster says there are now plans to install photo-voltaic solar panels on top of the animal enclosures over the coming year.

View the original article here

Feces-Powered Motorcycle? Bullsh*t What Do You Think?

Let us put the record straight!

A three-wheeled motorbike that runs on the rider's feces? It sounded much too unsanitary to be true. Sure enough, the Toilet Bike Neo isn't powered by waste generated by its rider?! No, sorry to disappoint you, but it isn't!

It is an operational bike, though, and it's being powered by biogas fuel as it makes its way across Japan.

The creator is high-end toilet manufacturer Toto, which devised this conceptual model to publicize the company's environmental initiatives. The seat is one of Toto's advanced toilet models, the Neorest AH3, but the toilet isn't operational.

The engine runs on biogas fuel, which is made from a substance that comes from human and animal waste products. The biogas is contained in two compressed gas cylinders, which are mounted on the bike and hold enough for the bike to run about 300 km without refilling, Toto says.

More than a few publications reported the bike runs on waste generated by the rider. WTOP said Toilet Bike Neo "converts the poop -- which can come straight from the driver sitting on a toilet-style seat -- into a biogas that propels the vehicle." Huffington Post repeated that disgusting claim, saying that human waste is stored in the driver's seat and citing WTOP.

The Daily Mail was confused, too: "Bizarrely the rider is even encouraged to use the portaloo as much as possible on every journey as the waste is turned into biofuel which powers the machine."

Ubergizmo's take?  "Yes sir, yesterday's processed lunch and dinner will get you places, thanks to the biogas converted from feces that is harvested straight from the rider." 

Nope. Not true.

Amidst all the inaccurate reports, Toto published this explanation on its web site:

"TOILET BIKE NEO does not have the mechanism to run on the rider's waste. It runs biogas fuel (fertilized, purified and compressed livestock waste and household wastewater) provided by Shika-oi Town in Hokkaido and Kobe city. Therefore, the NEO REST seat does not function as a toilet, and has been created for promoting TOTO's environmental efforts. TOTO is not involved with any motorbike or biogas production business."

Music and secret messages are part of Toilet Bike Neo's allure, however. Six car horns can perform the "Toto Benki No Uta," or the Song of Toto Toilet. A vertical string of LED lights displays a message that can only be seen at night.

View the original article here

Researchers Achieve Breakthrough in Treating Biogas and Bio-butanol to Develop ... - AZoCleantech

By Cameron Chai

While Bio-butanol can be generated by using spin-offs of the pulp and paper industry and food industry to substitute petrol, methane realized from biogas, as revealed in the life-cycle assessment is seen as a top prospective to substitute fossil fuel.

(The video is not related to the article.)

Professor Ulla Lassi, a researcher from the University of Oulu, has tried the manufacture of butanol through a chemical synthesis process, which deploys a new catalyst material to change compounds such as ethanol, methanol or glycerol into alcohol, pentanol and butanol blends, which can be directly utilized as liquid fuels. He found that usage of glycerol, a by-product of biodiesel will be more cost- efficient. According to Lassi, the current discoveries in butanol fermentation methods have solved the experienced problems partly and he explained that new catalyst development and new chemical sysnthesis methods alone will enable the manufacture of new type of liquid fuels.

Another research, a joint Finnish-Chilean endeavor under the SusEn research program, tried the use of biogas as a transport fuel. The research tried methods to upgrade the landfill gas into fuel. According to the principal researcher of the project, Professor Jukka Rintala, in recent years a good amount of interest has been shown in the use of biogas sourced from energy crops and biodegradable waste. Such biogas is either utilized to run the vehicles or fed into the grid as natural gas for usage and the waste material known as digestate is used as a soil conditioner or fertilizer.

Rintala carried out the project at Jyväskylä located Mustankorkea Waste Treatment Facility, which focused on removing trace compounds of biogas. The method attempted to raise the methane content in biogas to facilitate its usage as biofuel. It utilized the water absorption method, which enabled the yield of methane content up to 80 to 90 % and the rest was found to be nitrogen and carbon dioxide. While nitrogen content reduced the energy subjects of biogas, its carbon dioxide brought down the energy value of biogas. The research suggests preventing the access of nitrogen in the landfill located gas collection system to lower its content in the collected methane.

Source: http://www.aka.fi/eng

View the original article here

Biogas Europe Conference Features Biomethane for Transport

Biomethane and its applications is a crucial topic for biogas’s future development across Europe. As such it has been accorded a half-day segment at an upcoming Biogaz Europe conference, to be held on October 25-26 in Nantes, France. The afternoon session with start off with an overview of the status of biomethane today in Europe from Andy Bull, Project Co-Ordinator of the IEE project, BioMethane Regions. The French biomethane context for direct injection and for transport will be given by GRDF and the French Natural Gas Vehicle Association (AFGNV).


(Video is not connected with the conference.)
Additionally, four innovative case studies will exemplify the benefits of biomethane for transport (from Sweden, UK, Austria and France).
Valtra Tractors (SE) : The Valtra N101 dual-fuel tractor has 110 horsepower and is intended as an all-purpose tractor for farms, municipalities and contractors that have the possibility of refuelling with biomethane while working. Without making any changes to the original diesel engine, 70 to 80 percent of power is generated by biomethane. The dual-fuel engine functions like a diesel engine and performs the same whether operating on dual-fuel or just diesel. The gas is injected with the intake air, and combustion occurs when a small amount of diesel fuel is injected into the cylinder. If biomethane is not available, the engine can run completely on diesel fuel.
Adnams Brewery (UK) : Adnams Bio Energy Limited has constructed and is now commissioning a groundbreaking anaerobic digestion (AD) plant, which will be the first in the UK to use brewery and local food waste to produce biomethane for direct injection into the national gas grid (in partnership with British Gas and the National Grid) as well as providing gas for use as a vehicle fuel. In the future the facility will produce enough renewable gas to power the Adnams brewery and run its fleet of lorries, while still leaving up to 60 per cent of the output for injection into the National Grid.
Fuchsn’hof, Austria (AT) : Austria’s first biogas feeding-plant has been operating in Upper Austria since June 2005. This pilot project supplies the existing natural gas grid with biogas up-graded to natural gas quality. Fuchsn’Hof, an existing biogas plant that used biogas for generation of electricity, now serves as a gas production plant. The substrate consists of a mixture of manure from 10,500 hens and 50 breeding pigs.
BioEnergie de la Brie (FR) : BioEnergie de la Brie is a project under development which anticipates to utilise a blend of cattle slurry, vegetable, cheese production wastes and cereal residues to produce and upgrade biogas to biomethane quality for direct injection to the gas grid.
Conference details here.
View the original article here

United Plantations plans more biogas plants - Malaysia Star

TELUK INTAN: United Plantations Bhd (UP) plans to add more biogas plants in one or two years at its palm oil mills in Malaysia and Indonesia to save energy cost.

Vice-chairman/executive director (corporate affairs) Datuk Carl Bek-Nielsen said the company reduced 25% of fossil fuel usage yearly at its Perak plantation by relying on electricity generated from its biogas plant in Teluk Intan.

 Lim says in view of the fuel-price volatility, plants will enjoy significant cost-savings as the energy generated will reduce the dependency on fossil fuel.

“Currently, we have three biogas plants in the country and they help a lot in terms of cost-savings. Though it is costly to set up a biogas plant, the impact that we receive is really worth it,” he told reporters during a media visit to UP's plant here.

He said the cost of building a biogas plant was about RM7mil and the group had invested RM20mil for its existing three plants.

Meanwhile, Dr Lim Weng Soon, director of Malaysian Palm Oil Board's engineering and processing research division, urged more palm oil mill operators to build biogas plants to boost revenue.
“Mills can use steam or/and electricity generated from the biogas plant for their own use. In view of the fuel-price volatility, plants will enjoy significant cost-savings as the energy generated will reduce the dependency on fossil fuel,” he said.

Under the Palm Oil National Key Economic Area of the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), the country is targeting 500 biogas plants by 2020.

Lim said Malaysia was on track to achieve the target. “There are currently 46 in operation, 22 under construction and another 46 in planning stage.”
Lim said the three states with the highest number of plants are Sabah (10), Johor (nine) and Perak (eight). Of the commissioned plants, 18 are generating electricity for their own use. [Also see http://anaerobic-digestion.com ]

 Independent mill: One of United Plantations Bhd?s three biogas plants.
The biogas plant under the ETP are expected to generate about RM2.9bil in gross national income and create 2,000 jobs by 2020.

In assisting independent millers to fund the development of their biogas plants, an existing Green Technology Fund of RM1.5bil is being set up by the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry.
View the original article here

Research: From landfill biogas to transport fuel - Recycling News

Helsinki -- Within the Academy of Finland?s research programme Sustainable Energy, researchers looked at the use of biogas as a transport fuel. As a joint Finnish-Chilean effort, the researchers studied the upgrading of landfill gas into fuel. ?In recent years, interest in using biogas technology in the utilisation of industrial by-products for energy purposes has increased considerably. Some countries have already introduced this technology on a large scale, says Professor Jukka Rintala, the principal investigator of the project.

Our video for this post is on the subject of Finnish Biogas. There is no association between the video and the article.

Biogas can be produced from many different materials ranging from biodegradable waste to energy crops. The biogas produced in this process is a versatile source of energy. It can be used for heat and electricity, be processed into vehicle fuel or fed into the natural gas grid. In addition, the residual material, the so-called digestate, from the process can be used as fertilizer or soil conditioner,? Rintala explains.
Methane derived from biogas has been shown to be one of the most suitable candidates for use as biofuel, thanks to its sustainable production chain. Methane also meets the EU?s criteria for sustainable biofuels, which will take effect in a few years? time. Rintala: ?Biogas can be used as a biofuel once its methane content is raised above 95 per cent. In our research, we used water absorption, which yielded a methane content of 80?90 per cent. The rest is carbon dioxide and nitrogen.?

Nitrogen does not cause any damage to car engines, but it does lower the energy content of biogas. To reach a higher methane content through this process, we should prevent the access of nitrogen in the gas collection system in the landfill. Carbon dioxide does not damage engines either, but it lowers the energy value of biogas, says Rintala.

Rintala would like to see more research on the effects of process parameters on the costs of biogas upgrading and the effects of pressurisation on compound removal. As a rule, the only criterion for biomass is that it can be broken down by microbes under oxygen-free conditions. Of course, the composition of feedstocks does affect the composition of the biogas produced and also the chosen method of purification. Landfill gases are generally thought of as being the most difficult ones to upgrade into fuel.? Quelle: Academy of Finland
View the original article here

Somerset council approves biogas extension - BioEnergy News

Somerset council approves biogas extension

17 October 2011

A biogas facility in Somerset, south west England, has been given approval to double its current capacity to power 4,000 homes.

(The follwing video stays on the "Somerset" subject matter of this post, but shows an un-associated AEROBIC composting facility. While this is excellent bio-management, aerobic systems, although cheaper to build and operates, aerobic processing does not produce any biogas or any energy at all, and in fact require substantial energy inputs to operate.)

Currently the Cannington Enterprises plant uses an anaerobic digester to produce power from residue crops such as maize silage, grass, whole crop and big bale silage but it will now be allowed to treat up to 75,000 tonnes of other waste such as rotting food.

A number of residents objected to the original application, made in March, because they believed it would create excess traffic on narrow roads and that the smell would impact tourism in surrounding areas.

The company needs to prepare an odour management plan, a noise management plan and landscape plan before commencing the build. http://anaerobic-digestion.com

As part of the extension, the company plans to extend a tanker loading to an existing building, build a separator facility for the ‘spent digestate accompanied by a solid digestate bay and liquid digestate tank’, and construct a maintenance building and gas holder.

View the original article here

QL Resources plans to sell renewable energy - Malaysia Star

SHAH ALAM: QL Resources Bhd is looking at selling biogas-generated electricity from its palm oil mill in Tawau, Sabah, under the feed-in tariff system for Malaysia's renewable energy sector, which is due to be implemented in December.

The system will allow domestically produced electricity from renewable energy resources to be sold to power utilities at a fixed premium price for a specific duration.

QL's core divisions are marine products manufacturing, integrated livestock farming and palm oil activities.

Managing director Chia Song Kun said the biogas energy facility at one of the group's two palm oil mills in Sabah would be commissioned this week. The biogas comes from the effluent resulting from the milling process.

“A 50-tonne-per-hour mill can generate two megawatts of electricity.

“Every palm oil mill can sell electricity if they do this (biogas energy). If this project is successful, we may look at selling green power to the Sabah government,” Chia said after the group's EGM yesterday.

He added that the excess bioga-genrated electricity could be used to power other utilities at each mill as well as for the the production of palm pellet biofuel, which is produced from palm oil mill by-products such as empty fruit bunches.

On the murky economic outlook, Chia said QL's performance in the near future might be affected slightly by potentially lower demand for its premium surimi (processed fish paste) products.

“We think there will be weaker demand for higher grade surimi,” he said.

About 30% of QL's marine product sales are from exports to countries such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore, China, Taiwan and Vietnam.

“We are still aiming for double-digit growth this year although the economic environment is not favourable,” Chia said.

For its first quarter ended June 30, the group posted a 3.7% year-on-year jump in net profit to RM27.8mil while revenue grew 18.2% to RM454.57mil.

QL attributed the growth in turnover to improved crude palm oil prices, better volume of palm oil fruits processed and higher unit value of feed raw materials.

View the original article here

Promoting Biogas With Humour! Toilet Bike Rolls Out Biogas-Powered Environmental Message

One for the road -- Toto's Toilet Bike Neo is turning heads as it crosses Japan on the power of animal dung.

Of all the PR-friendly ways there are to spread a message, corporate or otherwise, sending some poor sap out to ride across an entire country on a motorized toilet surely ranks high on the list of “Uh, what?” schemes we've seen.

Allow us to introduce the poop-powered Toilet Bike Neo. It's a three-wheeled chopper-style motorcycle from Toto, one of Japan’s largest toilet suppliers.

Contrary to what you might think (and who can blame any mind for wandering in that direction), the retro steed runs not on human “output” from the unfortunate rider, but on biogas brewed from animal dung and household wastewater.

Um, and it also comes fitted with a tiny talking latrine on the handlebars, a nightclub-style “air-writer” LED device for leaving bon mots trailing in its wake and a high-end sound system.

The Toilet Bike Neo Project is part of the Toto Green Challenge initiative to promote the firm’s goal aim of cutting greenhouse-gas emissions in its customers’ bathrooms (again, say what?) in half by 2017.

Throughout October, the portable pooper will travel 1,000 kilometers across Japan from a Toto factory in Kyushu to its final resting point in Tokyo.

It’s stopping along the way to spread the word about the energy conservation methods that Toto promotes, such as the company's high-efficiency toilets.

Any kids undergoing toilet training should stay away from the front of the Toilet Bike Neo, as the talking commode on the handlebars is more than a little scary, yapping out fortunes, stock quotes and other snippets no one wants to hear right now.

Still, the message is a sound one and the mobile latrine’s photo blog is one of the more unusual Japan travel diaries we’ve seen -- perhaps it’ll one day inspire a new generation of eco-warriors to rise up and festoon the nation in two-ply.

Jane Leung is a Hong Kong-born Canadian who has dabbled in the mixed media bag of film and television production, the professional sports industry and magazine publishing. 

Read more about Jane Leung

View the original article here

Innovation and Ambition at the EyeforEnergy UK and Europe Waste Technology Summit

The First Aannual Waste Technology Summit took place at the Regents Park Marriott hotel in London on the 4th – 5th October 2011. It included a site visit to the Lakeside Energy from Waste plant, and a range of speakers covering key novel and proven technology types for waste management applications. These applications ranged from waste treatment for energy recovery, materials recovery, fuel preparation and techniques to derive chemical feedstocks.

The following report is provided by Paul Frith of Frith Resource Management.

The summit included speakers covering the following technology types:-

* Energy from waste (Sita)
* Gas Plasma (Advanced Plasma Power)
* Anaerobic Digestion (Hot Rot Solutions)
* Mechanical Heat Treatment (EVRS)
* Pyrolysis (Enval)
* Gasification (Waste2tricity)
* Incinerator Bottom Ash treatment and recovery (Rock Solid BV)
* Processes for Deriving Chemicals from Waste (Solvert), and
* Processes for Recycling Plastics Waste Into Food Grade Bottles (Nextek Ltd)

The diversity of technical solutions to waste management challenges appear broad, and one aspect that was made clear from the presentations is substantial innovation and ambition in evidence to both help meet our waste management challenges and provide resources back into the UK economy.

It is also clear however that there remain major challenges to delivery of waste technology ranging from the planning risks of Energy from Waste plant through to bankability risks and blockages for various new technology solutions. In some regards it was ever thus, but at present there are more recent (and ongoing) nuances, notably relating to the uncertainty of the Localism agenda and the risk aversion of banks.

It is a far more complex picture than this however, and some of the key messages from day 1 of the conference are included here.

Sita

Stuart Hayward Highman explained the openness with which they were exploring and partnering for the development of new technologies, in addition to their existing Energy from Waste (EfW) infrastructure. This was tempered by a caution over risk and finance, however Sita are actively involved in expanding the use of landfill gas in vehicles (including deals with Tesco and Sainsbury’s for their vehicle fleets) for which a limiting factor is the effectiveness of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) subsidy, which delivers less income than the equivalent Government support mechanism for electricity generation, the Renewables Obligation.

Furthermore, it involves greater effort to deliver a fuel that meets the RTFO than convert energy to electricity and meet the RO through waste treatment technologies. In this context, and it was a message reiterated during his talk, the UK Government incentives for renewable energy do not adequately promote the ‘most sustainable’ option, but rather seem to bias towards electricity generation (which often yields a lower efficiency environmental return). This was a concern for Sita, which sees new technologies as offering a better environmental solution when waste is used as a feedstock for liquid and gaseous fuels rather than burned for electricity generation.

In this context, Mr Hayward Highman explained their new developments with end of life plastics at Avonmouth, which converts the waste stream through an advanced thermal treatment process into diesel, and  recent developments in Anaerobic Digestion at Sita.

He also outlined future planned developments including the hope of testing a static hydrogen fuel cell technology. Where technology risk is a factor in financing Sita has used its balance sheet to facilitate investment in new technologies where appropriate, and sees a range of technical solutions available in the market for managing waste.

Advanced Plasma Power (APP)

Rolf Stein delivered a presentation on the activities of APP, utilising their plasma gasification process. This technology initially prepares the waste through mechanical separation of non-combustibles from the input waste stream and gasifies the resultant (prepared) fuel feedstock using a conventional gasification process. The output syngas and ash is then passed to a second chamber containing the plasma process. The high temperature / UV light cracks the syngas to generate a cleaner gas suitable (after acid gas scrubbing) for combustion in a gas engine (without he informa us, the inherent fouling problems associated with conventional gasification). Furthermore, the ash is vitrified into a glassy residue with the trade name ‘Plasmarok’, which may have value as an inert ‘product’. Mr Stein also cited the potential innovation of spinning the vitrified residue into ‘Rockwool’ type insulation applications.

APP are also processing the excavations from a Belgian landfill (containing auto-shredder residues and Commercial / Industrial wastes) through the Plasma Gasification process. A typical scale proposed for an APP Plasma Power plant for mixed wastes would be ~150ktpa input for mechanical sorting and preparation, in order to deliver ~90ktpa of fuel for the thermal process. This scale of plant would cover a footprint of ~10,000m2.

EVRS (Mechanical Heat Treatment)

Martin Osment explained the EVRS process for utilising mechanical heat treatment technology to derive usable materials from a mixed waste stream. This process mechanically sorts out the glass / aggregate, metals and plastics fractions from the waste stream leaving a predominantly cellulose based feedstock for the autoclave vessel.

The EVRS was described as unique in adding additives and catalysts to the input waste to homogenise the waste and tailor it to an appropriate output specification. This can include dyeing the waste in order to deliver an output of appropriate colour for a particular user. The process is claimed to deliver 99.99% pure cellulose fibre (known as Zystur© fibre), and the technology is marketed towards, commercial and municipal waste streams. The usage of the fibre (which is a pale straw colour) is cited as an insulation material or for use in ‘soft landing’ applications, there was also the potential for use in paper making.

The technology has been demonstrated at lab scale and at a small demonstration plant and it was stated that the process had no emissions to land, air or water. It is a scalable technology with commercial sized facilities beginning at ~6ktpa upwards, with standard vessels of 50ktpa, allowing multiples to be placed on one site in order to deliver larger scale facilities.

Nextek (Waste Polymer Sorting)

Ed Kosior delivered a fascinating talk around the issues with sorting / reprocessing the more ‘difficult’ plastic polymers. He focussed particularly on the black plastics (e.g. some food trays), seeking to attain food grade polypropylene and the recycling of plastic films.

As regards black plastics it was evident that optical sorters used in materials recycling facilities (MRFs) or plastics sorting facilities, could not differentiate the plastic polymers of these materials because the carbon black within the plastic absorbed the near infra red (NIR) light that is used to bounce off of plastics to determine their composition. In tests, Nextek changed the dye within the black plastic to an organic black dye, which did not absorb the light rays. After a re-program of the optical sorting software, the equipment was able to both see and sort the black plastic, enabling effective separation for recycling.

Delivering food grade polypropylene (PP) was considered a major challenge for the industry. One reason for this is the tendency for PP bottles to be used for bleach, detergents, shampoos and other non foodstuff with potentially toxic contents. However, using a dedicated hand-picking / sorting line, it was possible to deliver a food grade PP recyclate stream with around 50% of the mixed PP considered appropriate for this application. This approach has yet to reach commercialisation.

Mr Kosior also explained that laboratory tests have shown that it is possible to deliver 100% recycled plastic film, although in the current market much lower levels of recycled content are usually used because of issues with organics contaminating the recyclate stream. This is another area that is progressing in terms of commercialisation.

In questions and answers, Mr Kosior discussed how many times PET and HDPE bottles could be recycled ‘though the loop’ before degrading. For PET bottles the main issue, he stated, is discolouration after one recycling stage. It is possible to add brighteners to the plastic, in which case they could potentially be recycled ~5 times.

For HDPE bottles, the limiting factor was the amount of antioxidant within the plastic, again around 5 times recycling was possible if more antioxidant was available. He speculated that if more antioxidant were added to the material at the start of its life then the ‘recycling life’ could be extended.

Conclusion

The 1st EyeforEnergy Waste Technology Summit was notable for the high quality of the speakers from Waste Technology Companies, and it was your reviewer's view that this conference was unique in attracting industry speakers not seen at other recent events, each of which came with with new and promising marketable technologies which commissioning clients in the public and commercial sectors will be very interested in.

Find out more about Frith Resource Management at www.frithrm.com .

Recent Developments in UK Residual Waste Treatment

Readers of this blog who are interested in how the expansion in the UK waste management industry which has included the push toward the use of Anaerobic Digestion as biogas/ renewable energy source, can read about these recent developments and the drivers behind them in the article which can be seen by ckicking the link below:

Recent Developments in UK Residual Waste Treatment

Food waste plan for old colliery - BBC News

11 September 2011 Last updated at 09:32  The plant will turn food waste into biogas to produce electricity and also fertiliser for farms Plans have been drawn up for a plant in the Swansea Valley capable of turning food waste from over 350,000 homes into electricity and fertiliser.

(Video and article are not related.)

A formal planning application is expected in October for the anaerobic digestion facility at Pwllfawatkin, north of Pontardawe.

It would run on food waste collected in Bridgend, Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire and Swansea.

The company behind it, Waste Recycling Group Ltd, plans a public exhibition.

It has been talks with Neath Port Talbot Council, which will assess the planning bid at the former Abernant Colliery, for several months.

Mike Bullard, project director from Waste Recycling Group, said the plant would use micro-organisms to break down biodegradable food waste in order to produce fertiliser and biogas which will be used to generate electricity.

Continue reading the main story

The proposed facility has the potential to contribute significantly towards meeting the challenges and targets set out by the Welsh Government in relation to climate change, energy security, waste reduction and resource management”

End Quote Mike Bullard Waste Recycling Group The 2.3 MW facility would have the potential to generate enough electricity to meet the demands of approximately 5,000 homes.

It would have the capacity to process around 52,000 tonnes of food waste each year.

Most of that would come from weekly food waste collections by the five county councils.

Mr Bullard said: "The proposed facility has the potential to contribute significantly towards meeting the challenges and targets set out by the Welsh Government in relation to climate change, energy security, waste reduction and resource management.

"It would generate electricity and heat from the processing of food waste from households, as well as food waste from businesses, and has the potential to meet the energy needs of approximately 5,000 homes.

"A nutrient rich liquid fertiliser will also be produced, which will then be available for use by farmers to help cultivate agricultural land."

He said the company would hold a public exhibition at a date yet to be fixed so people living nearby could find out more before the planning application was submitted next month.

Mike Roberts, head of street care services at Neath Port Talbot, said the council was working with its four counterparts to secure a regional anaerobic digestion facility to treat household food waste from south west Wales.

"The procurement process is ongoing and a number of bids and associated site locations are currently under consideration. The final short list is yet to be agreed," he said.

A much smaller plant capable of dealing with 15,000 tonnes of food waste has been given the go ahead near Clynnog in Gwynedd.

Flintshire, Conwy and Denbighshire councils aim to open one at a former abattoir in St Asaph by 2013.

Police are investigating the sudden death of a man whose body was discovered in a river on the Carmarthenshire-Pembrokeshire border.

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View the original article here

EBRD Lends 5.0 Mln Euro to Croatia's Agrokor for Biogas Power Plant - Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production Magazine

ZAGREB (Croatia), September 15 (SeeNews) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Thursday it is providing a 5.0 million euro ($6.9 million) loan to Croatian concern Agrokor to support the construction of a combined heat and power generation plant that will use biogas as primary fuel.

The proceeds of the EBRD loan will be used to purchase and install the biogas power plant, and sterilisation and water purification equipment, the EBRD said in a press release.

The project is expected to be completed by September 2012 and will be in full compliance with EU environmental regulations.

Located in Gradec, 40 kilometres outside the capital Zagreb, the plant will be fuelled by organic waste, by-products of Agrokor's food production process. It will have a generation capacity of 1.0 megawatts (MW) of electricity, which will be supplied to Croatia's power grid, and also a 1.0 MW of heat capacity.

The construction of the biogas facility in Gradec is the first step in Agrokor's strategic plans to develop similar projects, with a total generation capacity of up to 30 MW, the statement said.

The EBRD has a long-standing cooperation with the privately-held Agrokor, having previously supported a variety of the company's investments in Croatia and neighbouring countries. The biogas facility in Gradec is financed under the bank's Agribusiness Sustainable Investment Facility.

Since the beginning of its operations in Croatia, the bank has committed over 2.5 billion euro to the country's economy. The EBRD funds mobilised additional investment of 4.0 billion euro in various sectors of the Croatian economy.

($ = 0.7246 euro)

View the original article here

ENERGY: Regulators reduce wind, biogas subsidies for on-site generators - North County Times

Residents and businesses looking to install wind power, fuel cells or other alternative electricity generators - but not solar power - will get lower subsidies after a decision made this week by the California Public Utilities Commission.

The new rules apply to the Self-Generation Incentive Program, which provides subsidies to businesses and residents who install power generators on their own property. The new rules require new generation projects to reduce to the net production of global warming-causing gases such as carbon dioxide in order to be eligible for the subsidy. They also reduce the subsidies by as much as half, depending on the technology in question.

"Today's decision represents a team effort between the California Air Resources Board and the CPUC as we strive to reach goals of achieving 33 percent renewable energy by 2020 and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020," said commission president Michael Peevey in a written statement issued Thursday. 

A 2006 state law established a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. 

Under the rules for the program, applicants must show that proposed generation reduces the amount of net greenhouse gases produced compared with the amount of greenhouse gases produced from normal electricity generation. The exact amount of reduction was left open for a future decision after the commissioners disagreed with staff's method of calculation.

The commission also ruled that some technologies had become popular enough that subsidies could be reduced. Wind turbines will now be eligible for $1.25 per watt, down from $1.50 per watt; fuel cells, which produce electricity from natural gas without burning it, will be eligible for $1.25 per watt, half the previous subsidy; and biogas generators, which are fueled by methane from sewage and landfills, will see no reduction in a $2 per watt subsidy, but companies must buy it on a 10-year contract, twice as long as before.

The new rules require businesses applying to undergo an energy audit, which will highlight areas where the applicants could make better use of their electricity, before they receive a subsidy.

Call staff writer Eric Wolff at 760-303-1927 or follow him on Twitter at NCTRealEstate.

View the original article here

GE's China Ideas Bank Includes Use of Biogas

BEIJING—General Electric Co. Wednesday opened a $100 million contest in China to fund innovative gas-energy projects, similar to the company's previous innovation programs in the U.S.

GE is launching its "Ecomagination Challenge" in China along with seven venture-capital partners, together providing $100 million to back innovations in gas power, including natural gas, biogas, shale gas and coal-bed methane gas.

Speaking at a news briefing, Chairman and Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt said GE expects revenue from its energy business in China to grow ...

BEIJING—General Electric Co. Wednesday opened a $100 million contest in China to fund innovative gas-energy projects, similar to the company's previous innovation programs in the U.S.

GE is launching its "Ecomagination Challenge" in China along with seven venture-capital partners, together providing $100 million to back innovations in gas power, including natural gas, biogas, shale gas and coal-bed methane gas.

Speaking at a news briefing, Chairman and Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt said GE expects revenue from its energy business in China to grow ...

View the original article here

New biogasoline made by Madison company passes critical test - Madison.com

Virent Energy Systems' biogasoline has passed a major road test. 

A trial conducted by Royal Dutch Shell, one of Virent's collaborators, tested five identical pairs of late-model European cars. Each car was driven more than 6,000 miles during 2010. One set ran on regular Shell gasoline; the other set was fueled with Shell gas blended with Virent's biogas. 

(Video and bog are not related.)

When the engines were dismantled and inspected after the trial, all 10 cars were in the same condition. That means Virent's biogas, made from plant sugars instead of crude oil, caused no harm. 

"The Shell road trial results are encouraging and an important step forward in the commercialization of (Virent's) process," said Virent chief executive Lee Edwards, in a news release Tuesday. 

View the original article here

Nestlé: green waste treatment plans given go-ahead - ConfectioneryNews.com

Nestlé: green waste treatment plans given go-ahead Post a commentBy Lynda Searby, 24-Aug-2011

Nestlé’s plans to build an anaerobic digestion plant for treating waste at its Fawdon site in Newcastle, UK, have been given the green light by planners.

The facility will receive all of the solid food waste and waste water generated by the factory, which makes much of the Rowntree range, including fruit gums and pastilles, as well as a number of other confectionery lines such as Caramac, Rolo, Munchies, After Eight Bitesize, Matchmakers, Drifter, Blue Riband and Breakaway.

The plant will treat 80,000 cubic metres of factory waste water annually to generate biogas that can be used to heat/power the factory and facilitate the recycling of ‘grey’ water back into factory processes. It will also recover energy from the 1,200 tonnes of waste food that arises from the confectionery production operation, of which 500 tonnes is currently sent to landfill and 700 tonnes ends up as animal feed.

The process will leave a residue of about 200 tonnes a year, which is rich in nutrients and can be used as an agricultural fertiliser.

The planners at Newcastle City Council who approved the scheme, said: “The proposals will result in less waste being required to be transferred to landfill sites and will equally decrease the amount of energy that is used by the factory from non-renewable sources... the proposals will benefit the business by using energy and water more efficiently, culminating in lower costs, reduced emissions and improved environmental performance and compliance.”

A Nestlé spokesperson told ConfectioneryNews.com: “We are delighted that Newcastle City Council has supported Nestlé Fawdon by approving the application for this facility. This project supports Nestlé’s commitment to sustainable manufacturing in the UK with Fawdon taking lead. In addition, the factory has recently planted a wild flower meadow within the factory grounds, creating a mini wildlife sanctuary with the aim of attracting many species of butterfly back to the area.”

Anaerobic digestion is a process in which micro-organisms break down degradable material in the absence of oxygen. The process is widely used to treat industrial waste water and is now seen as a renewable energy source. An efficient anaerobic process produces biogas (methane, hydrogen and carbon dioxide). This biogas can be used to generate heat and/or electricity. The process also negates the need for waste to be transferred to landfill.

View the original article here

Research and Markets: Biogas Power in Italy, Market Outlook to 2020, 2011 ... - SunHerald.com

DUBLIN -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/4a2cea/biogas_power_in_it) has announced the addition of GlobalData's new report "Biogas Power in Italy, Market Outlook to 2020, 2011 Update - Capacity, Generation, Power Plants, Regulations, and Company Profiles" to their offering.

"Biogas Power in Italy, Market Outlook to 2020, 2011 Update - Capacity, Generation, Power Plants, Regulations, and Company Profiles" is the latest report from GlobalData, the industry analysis specialists that offer comprehensive information on the biogas power market. The report provides in depth analysis on global renewable power market and global biogas power market with forecasts up to 2020.

The report analyzes the power market outlook in country (includes thermal conventional, hydro and renewables) and provides forecasts up to 2020. The research details renewable power market outlook in Italy (includes wind, biopower and solar PV) and provides forecasts up to 2020. The report highlights installed capacity and power generation trends from 2001 to 2020 in Italy biogas power market. The research also showcases top active and upcoming plants in the country. A detailed coverage on renewable energy policy framework governing the market along with policies specific to biogas power development in Italy are provided in the report.

The research analyzes investment trends in the biogas power market in Italy and some of the major deals pertaining to the market are dealt in detail. The report also provides elaborate company profiles of some of the major market participants. The report is built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, secondary research and in-house analysis by a team of industry experts.

Scope

The scope of the report includes:

Brief introduction and overview on global carbon emissions and global energy consumption. Historical data provided from 2001 to 2010 and forecasts until 2020. Overview on the overall renewable power market in the world, highlighting the fuel types - wind, solar PV, solar thermal, anaerobic-digestion and biomass. Detailed overview on the global global biogas power power market with capacity and generation forecasts to 2020. Power market scenario in Italy with capacity and generation forecasts to 2020, highlighting fuel types such as thermal conventional, hydro and renewables.

Companies Mentioned:

EnviTec Biogas AG Elettrostudio SpA MT-ENERGIE Italia Srl agriKomp GmbH

 View the original article here See also www.anaerobic-digestion.com