Working of a Biogas Plant - Wet AD Biodigesters Features Advantages and ...

Wet Process Biodigesters Explained with Pros and Cons

We went back to basics to explain how biodigesters work and their benefits and problems in this video and in the article below. We hope you find it a useful combination of video presentation and reading material.

Introduction

 Biodigesters use the decomposition of organic matter in anaerobic conditions to facilitate the extraction of the resulting biogas for use as energy.

The biodigester has an entrance for the organic material, a space for its decomposition, an outlet with control valve for the gas (biogas), and an outlet for the material already processed (digestate).

Necessary conditions for biodigestion 

Temperature is very important for the production of biogas, since the microorganisms that carry out biodigestion reduce their activity outside these temperatures.

The temperature in the digestive chamber must be between 20º C and 60º C. To optimize the production time it is desirable to maintain a temperature between 30º C and 35º C.

The level of acidity determines how the fermentation of the organic material unfolds.

The pH of the material must have a value between 6.5 and 7.5.

Being outside this neutral range, organic matter runs the risk of rotting, as the relative activity of the wrong microorganisms increases. This usually produces a very unpleasant odor.

The container must be perfectly sealed to prevent oxygen from entering and thus have an adequate airtight seal.

The most commonly used materials to produce biogas are  manure, from cows, horses, pigs and human sources.

However, almost all organic materials can also be used.

To achieve efficient decomposition, the organic matter must be in digestible sizes, because as ageneral rule, the faster the production of biogas the smaller the particle size.

The organic matter fed into the biogas plant must at all times have a balance of carbon and nitrogen.

Structure of a biodigester

There are many variations in the design of the biodigester.

Some elements that are commonly incorporated are:

Fermentation Chamber: The space where biomass is stored during the decomposition process.
Gas storage chamber: The space where the biogas accumulates before being extracted.

Loading point for adjusting the particle size and a funnel for adjustment of the water content: This is the entrance where the biomass is added to the digester tank (biodigester).

Pile of discharge: The output, serves to remove waste that is spent and are no longer useful for biogas, but can be used as fertilizer (digestate).

Agitator: Displace the residues that are in the bottom-up of the biodigester to take advantage of all the biomass.

Gas pipe: The output of biogas. It can be connected directly to a stove or it can be transported by means of the same pipe to its place of use.

Advantages of Biodigesters 

The anaerobic digestion process or fermentation process which takes place in all biodigesters is a renewable and sustainable energy source. Taking advantage of the natural production of biogas reduces the need to use non-renewable energy. This in turn helps reduce climate change, by minimizing the output of greenhouse gases.

It is possible to use secondary products as fertilizer or fertilizer. It avoids the use of local firewood, thus reducing the pressure on forest resources. Encourages sustainable development. Redirect and take advantage of the greenhouse gases produced by landfills and industrial farms, which reduces the carbon footprint of these establishments and decreases their contribution to climate change.

It can help governments comply with national and international responsibilities to reduce the emission of carbon into the earth's atmosphere.

It prevents the contamination of aquifers.

Creates specialized jobs.

Creates the possibility of farmers and many other businesses that end-up creating a lot of organic waste matter (biomass) developing a cutting-edge and sustainable "green" project.

Disadvantages, risks and special considerations 

Ideally, the location should be close to where the biomass is collected.

The temperature of the digestion chamber must be maintained between 20º C and 60º C; Creating such temperatures may limit its use in cold places.

Biogas contains a byproduct called hydrogen sulfate, which is a corrosive and toxic gas for humans.

As with any other combustible gas, there is a risk of explosion or fire due to malfunction, maintenance or safety.

Biogas contains varying amounts of a byproduct called hydrogen sulfide, which is a corrosive and toxic gas at even very low concentrations for humans.

As with any other combustible gas, there is a risk of explosion or fire due to malfunction, maintenance or safety.

Source: Aboutespanol

Other names for a biodigester are: Anaerobic digester, anaerobic reactor, biological reactor.

Juan Gonzalo Angel Restrepo www.tvagro.tv

Creative Commons video footage used.

WELTEC Constructs 370 kW Anaerobic Digestion Plant in Bure Switzerland

WELTEC BIOPOWER has started the construction phase of a biogas plant with a planned electrical output of 370 kW in Switzerland. The plant will be a biogas with CHP cogeneration scheme will supply its heat surplus to heat the local training barracks which can be seen at the back of the photo provided here.

If you would like more information (this is only a small part of the article, plase visit the webiste by following the link below:

The “Bio.Etique. Energie SA” plant is located in the Swiss Canton of Jura. It is a major agricultural area as it has fertile soil. The WELTEC plant will process farm manure, dung, liquid manure, green waste, and grain waste.

The WELTEC plant will be feeding 3 GWh into the power grid annually. This amount will be able to provide continuous power for 900 residences. The plant will generate 2.6 GWh of excess heat annually and this will be used for heating the barracks housing around 1,400 trainees.

Switzerland has plenty of resources for anaerobic digestion plant expension. In agriculture - organic waste, crop residue, dung and liquid manure of about 20 million tonne are available. About 5% of Switzerland’s heating requirements and 4.5% of its power requirements can be generated from biogas. The use of biogas will have a positive eco-balance.

View the original article here

First Wiltshire Biodigester Opens for Business

Wiltshire’s first anaerobic digestion plant plant operated by Malaby Biogas, has opened for business. The first feed materials have fed into a new biodigester in Wiltshire, UK, after only 12 months of construction and commissioning trails.  The biodigester is Wiltshire’s first large scale biogas plant, which became viable when it's promoter it was able to get £5 million ($7.7 million) in loan funding from Clydesdale Bank and the UK government's own WRAP (Waste and Resource Action Programme), joined in with financial assistance as part of the government’s own £10 million loan fund for biogas and CHP projects.

We have provided a quotation from the full article below. At the end of the extract we have provided a link to the full article, and we suggest that you use that to visit the original web site:

The plant will look to process 17,000 tonnes of food waste a year and produce around 500KW of electricity for the national grid. It will receive bulk feedstock from both commercial and municipal sources, including local businesses like schools, pubs and restaurants.

Minter believes it will take up to six months to get the plant up to full speed based on biology growth and the completion of operational milestones: ‘It is important that we build a stable and robust process to ensure this is one of the best running plants around.’

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Biogas to Power RCVs from Food Waste Plant in Sacramento

My goodness, another Anerobic Disgestion plant installation "first" is claimed by the Californians! Gold River, a California based organic waste to energy facility contractor is the claimant, and no doubt they are correct in what they say! Their new plant will be both a "dry" process AD Plant and the biogas will be upgraded for transport vehicle use, and the company achiving this is to be Clean World Partners (CWP) and waste and recycling company, Atlas Disposal of Sacramento.

The partnership of these two companies has recently broken ground on a $13 million food waste to waste biogas processing facility.anaerobic digestion facility in South Sacramento. We are told that a recent report in local newspaper, the Sacramento Been, has explained that CWP was formed in January 2009 to develop further opportunities arising from a new anaerobic digester technology. This technology has been developed by Ruihong Zhang of UC Davis. Zhang's research collaborator/partner. Just like many others they are reported to have focused on reducing the amount of time needed to convert waste material into valuable gas products. Read our quote from the artcile and visit the original website for the full store, using the link below: 

According to CWP it was awarded a $6 million grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC) to increase the capacity of its Organic Waste Recycling Center at the South Area South Area Transfer Station - making  it the largest commercial-scale, high solids anaerobic digestion (AD) system in the U.S.

The center initially will convert 25 tons of food waste per day collected by Atlas Disposal Industries from local food processing companies, restaurants and supermarkets into renewable natural gas. 

The CEC grant will support expansion of the facility to handle 100 tons of waste per day by early 2013, which will make it the nation's largest such system.

"This grant will help us quickly expand our newest facility and keep more waste out of landfills while we produce renewable natural gas for clean transportation fuel and clean power," explained Wong.

CWP claimed that once complete the expanded facility will replace 1 million gallons (3.8 million lites) of diesel per year with biogas and produce 2 million kWh of electricity per year - enough to power 200 homes.

CWP and Atlas have also broken ground on California's first AD-based Renewable Natural Gas Fueling Station - the South Area Transfer Station - which is claimed to be the nation's first digestion based Renewable Natural Gas Fueling Station.

The companies said that the Atlas Disposal Industries facility will use natural gas produced by Clean World's digestion system to fuel the company's clean fuel fleet, as well as vehicles from area jurisdictions and agencies.

The two facilities are expected to create 16 long-term jobs in Sacramento and generate more than $1.1 million in annual combined tax revenue for the City of Sacramento, Sacramento County and the state.

Clean World's Organic Waste Recycling Center is based on AD technology developed at UC Davis to convert food waste, agricultural residue and other organic waste into renewable energy, fertilizer and soil enhancements.

View the original article here

New Biogas Plant in Austria is an ElectraTherm Green Machine

ElectraTherm has installed its first Green Machine in Austria. The wonderfully-named power producing facility has been installed at a biogas power generation facility to increase electrical production at the site without adding fuel or emissions. The site produces biogas through the anaerobic digestion process to fire a 500kWe GE Jenbacher 312, generating electricity to power up the local grid while using heat to dry crops during harvest. With the addition of the Green Machine, we are told that the excess engine heat will now be utilized to generate additional electricity. This is claimed to be the first known application where an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is incorporated into a biogas facility to supplement this efficient use of renewable energy. Please click through to visit the original article for full details:

ElectraTherm's Green Machine generates distributed power from waste heat, and patent pending technology offers unprecedented efficiency and flexibility for biogas power plants with anaerobic digesters. Hot water enters the Green Machine at 190 degreesF (88 degreesC), where it heats a working fluid into a pressurized vapor, using ORC technology. The high pressure vapor expands through ElectraTherm's patented twin screw power block, spinning an electric generator and creating up to 65kWe. For the size engine and available waste heat at this site the power generated averages at 32kWe. Since its commissioning in September 2011, the machine has operated approximately 3,000 runtime hours.

The anaerobic digestion process requires heating of the anaerobic digester tanks, to keep the bacteria at the appropriate temperature to effectively decompose the biomass to create methane (biogas). The system is designed to recover as much waste heat as possible to sustain the anaerobic digestion process as well as produce fuel free, emission free electricity using the ElectraTherm Green Machine.

The Jenbacher 312 engine is equipped with an exhaust gas heat exchanger designed to combine both the heat available in the exhaust and the heat available in the jacket water into a single heat stream. The waste heat from the engine is used to heat the anaerobic digestion process, as well as dry maize after harvest. The excess heat not needed to optimize the anaerobic digestion process and the seasonal grain drying is utilized by the Green Machine to produce fossil-fuel free electricity 24/7 as required.

"In addition to increasing plant efficiency, the power generated by the Green Machine meets Feed-In Tariff requirements by the utility, which can pay up to 18.5 Euro cents per kWe," said Karl Leisch, President of WTI and project developer. "The value of the Green Machine provides a significant revenue stream for 20 years."

ElectraTherm is exhibiting at Bio Gas World 2012 in booth number C46. The event takes place February 21-25, 2012 in Berlin, Germany.

About ElectraTherm, Inc. ElectraTherm, Inc. is a renewable energy company headquartered in Reno, Nevada. ElectraTherm's product, the Green Machine, generates fuel-free, emission-free power from low temperature waste heat using the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) and patented technology. Our machines are modular, robust power generators with an attractive payback. For more information on ElectraTherm and its clean energy products, please visit www.electratherm.com .

For More Information, Contact: Celeste Dodge Email Contact 775.398.4690

SOURCE: ElectraTherm, Inc.

http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=08E4580B25F527AF

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Flint MI Anaerobic Digestion Plant Brings Best Swedish Biogas Systems to the US

This is the view of Swedish Biogas, who despite stating that an estimated $4 million of funding was still needed for the second phase of the Flint Biogas Plant, the company says that its is confident that this money will be secured by the end of July this year.

That means that the residents of Flint will eventually benefit from a projected net saving to the cityies fund, from the plant of more than $1 million a year.

This is a highly forward thinking project, so we have added an excerpt from their news release below. Please visit the original site by clicking on the link provided below the excerpt:

“What we want to do is bring private financing to the city through Swedish Biogas and, in return, the city will use the savings to pay off the loan and the assets will eventually become the city’s and we’ll share in the operation and savings in the plant,” said Thomas Guise, chief executive officer of Swedish Biogas International LLC.

Guise couldn’t comment on the details of where the investment is coming from, stating they had hoped the funds would have been secured in December.

The lagging economy has made financing a challenge, but Swedish Swedish Biogas International International and the city have a model to show there is a profit, he said.

“Our goal is to have our corporate headquarters and our lab here and then not only have the plant make money, but importantly, we want to have a demonstration plant,” he said. “We need to have a U.S. model. If you had to see a plant when we first got here, you had to go to Sweden.”

The first phase broke ground in 2010. It was up and running the following year.

The city of Flint started saving about $200,000 annually because the plant resulted in a 30 percent reduction in the sludge burned in its incinerator, he said.

The second phase will provide an electrical source for the city’s wastewater treatment facility and, eventually, take its vehicle fleets off diesel, Guise said.

“The original idea was to have a demonstration plant," he said. "It does save money, but I like to tell people it’s sort of an interim step.

“What we want to do is this incremental expansion.”

The first phase takes 100 percent of the sludge from the city’s wastewater treatment plant to a large container called a digester. The sludge is then continually stirred at 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

The gas created by the sludge breaking down is separated from the remaining waste, which is burned off by the city’s incinerator.

The gas is used to power a boiler, which heats the digester to keep the microbes that break down the waste at the right temperature.

The city saves money on operating its incinerator because it is no longer burning 100 percent of its sludge.

The second phase will include a food waste receiving station and dosing tank, possibly operating a second digester, building an electrical station for the wastewater treatment plant and taking the incinerator offline.

The waste that would have been burned off in the incinerator is instead composted for various uses, including the recovery of brownfield sites or ground cover.

The additional fuel generated by adding food waste is used to power the electric station for the wastewater treatment facility.

It has yet to be determined if the second digester will be used in the second phase.

“It kind of depends on the financing,” Guise said. “We may just do the north with some food waste, or do both. It just costs more. But we are definitely going to put in electrical generation.”

The second phase is projected to be completed in the summer of 2013.

Taking the city’s vehicle fleet off of diesel is would start in 2014, which is if everything goes as planned, Guise said.

“We figure we could probably power 20 to 25 vehicles,” he said. “It’s the equivalent of 150,000 gallons a year of diesel. And then that has pretty good economics at $4 a gallon.”

View the original article here

Stuttgart, Anerobic Digestion Pilot Plant Converts Fruit and Veggie Waste into Natural Gas for Cars

This post is all about the pilot plant in Stuttgart that makes biogas out of waste from wholesale markets, and in Europe these days there isn't a great deal of innovation or news in that. What I found of interest though is that:

1. The biogas is from the outset being used to provide the feed for a high quality cleaned up form of biogas which is called natural gas once the impurities have been removed and it has been suitably compressed. This further innovation has really taken off this year and it makes a great deal of sense to use this to power vehicles, rather than just generating electricity from the biogas.

(The video below is included as an example of German biogas technology, on another project.)

2. We have to wait to almost the end of the article to be told the other aspect which I feel is worthy of note, and that is the news that energy company Energie Baden-Württemberg (EnBW), is to use membranes to process the biogas produced. Until now, the established method for cleaning the biogas has been the traditional one which uses chemical methods and quite a lot of use is made of water. The use of a membrane will be very good news for Anaerobic Digestion Plant operators, providing it is simple to use, reasonably low in energy consumption and initial capital costs, and reliable.

Now I will let you read the extract from the article included below. Please also visit the original website via the link we have provided below, and by doing that you will help support the project:

Some readers might remember the Mr. Fusion unit in Back to the Future that Doc Brown fills with household garbage, including a banana peel and some beer, to power the iconic time-traveling DeLorean. While we're still some way from such direct means of running our cars on table scraps, researchers at Fraunhofer have developed a pilot plant that ferments the waste from wholesale fruit and veg markets, cafeterias and canteens to make methane, which can be used to power vehicles.

Given the rising oil prices in recent years, many drivers have been converting their cars to run on natural gas. But like oil, natural gas is a fossil fuel with limited reserves whose price has also risen in recent years and is likely to continue to do so. Fraunhofer's development provides an alternative way to obtain natural gas, not from Earth's reserves, but from fruit and vegetable waste.

The pilot plant is part of the ETAMAX project and has been constructed adjacent to Stuttgart's wholesale market. Due to begin operation in the next few months, the plant generates methane by using various microorganisms that act on the food waste in a two-stage digestion process that lasts just a few days.

"The waste contains a lot of water and has a very low lignocellulose content, so it's highly suitable for rapid fermentation," says Dr.-Ing. Ursula Schließmann, head of department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology (IGB).

Because the microorganisms require constant environmental conditions to function and the waste can vary in composition every day - some days it will contain a high proportion of acidic citrus fruits, on others it might have more cherries, plums or lettuce - the researchers must adjust the pH value through substrate management.

"We hold the waste in several storage tanks, where a number of parameters are automatically calculated - including the pH value. The specially designed management system determines exactly how many liters of waste from which containers should be mixed together and fed to the microorganisms," explains Schließmann.

Enhancing the environmental benefits of the plant, everything the plant generates can be utilized, including the liquid filtrate and the sludgy residue that can't be broken down any further by the microorganisms. The filtrate water, which contains nitrogen and phosphorous, is used as a culture medium for the cultivation of algae at a second sub-project in Reutlingen. And while two thirds of the biogas produced at the Stuttgart plant is methane, around 30 percent is carbon dioxide, which is also used to cultivate the algae. Meanwhile, the remaining sludgy fermentation residue is delivered to the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, where it is also converted into methane.

In addition to Fraunhofer, the ETAMAX project also involves the participation of energy company Energie Baden-Württemberg (EnBW), which uses membranes to process the generated biogas, and Daimler, which supplies a number of experimental vehicles designed to run on natural gas. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has funded the five-year project to the tune of six million euros (approx. US$7.97 million). If the various components mesh together as hoped, similar plants could be built where large quantities of organic waste can be found.

View the original article here

Sawit Malaysia First Anaerobic Digestion Plant Successfully Reduces Estate Electricity Costs

Not long ago we wrote about the bog opportunity that palm oil plantation waste provides for renewable energy production, so we are pleased to be able to carry this article as Sawit announces the success its first biogas plant.

(The video below is about biogas from palm oil, but the company is not associated with the organisation described in the article.)

The Sawit Kinabalu Group on Thursday officially launched that itwill develop a biogas power plant at its Apas Balung estate refinery in Tawau, which has proven very effective in reducing the estate's electricity cost.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman, who officiated at the opening, is confident that the presence of the biogas plant will also help the Group's image as an environment-friendly organisation, apart from reducing its operational costs.

He said the State Government very much welcomed the initiative, in line with its policies and halatuju which emphasises on sustainable economic development.

"I would like to stress that the State Government is committed in developing this State without disregarding environmental conservation," he said.

He also hoped more oil palm companies would emulate the move by the Group by venturing into new fields like biogas power plant development, which not only contributes to protecting the environment but also boosts the development of renewable energy in the State.

The Group's Managing Director, Othman Walat, who was also present, said the biogas plant has helped in the Group's effort to increase its efficiency and profit to RM3.28 million per annum.

The biogas plant has helped the Apas Balung estate refinery in reducing its diesel utilisation cost by 85 per cent, he said, adding the percentage is equivalent to increasing the refinery's production income by RM1.14 million a year.

Othman said that apart from reducing the refinery's production cost, because of the diesel utilisation cost, the biogas plant was also built primarily to help reduce environmental pollution in the Balung area.

"I was informed by the surrounding residents that since the biogas plant began its operation, bad smell coming from the refinery has significantly reduced. The liquid waste discharge from the refinery also went down from 91-100ppm to 30-40ppm or equivalent to a 60 per cent reduction," he said.

He said the Group intends to continue with this effort to boost further its production income through its "turning waste into wealth" project, that is making use of the oil palm waste for various purposes.

Among its plans are to build a livestock feed production mill based on palm waste at the estate as well as seven more biogas plants for its other refineries within the next five years, he said.

This is in line with the Group's mission to create sustainable wealth by running environment-friendly business, he said, adding all these are part of fulfilling the organisation's corporate obligation.

View the original article here

Bogas Plant Accident in Austria

At this blog we have recently had reason to question the UK industry's questionable practises by Biogas Plant installation and maintenance Contractors, and the Client's who appoint them, both of which have been seen to be less than perfect in the manner in which they are treating health and safety on Biogas Plant Sites.

(Please don't expect to see any safety problems in this video - we simply thought you might like to see some good examples of biogas plants.)

Here we have another example. Is this a coincidental occurence or a warning to te industry to tighten its Health and Safety procedures before we see some really nasty accidents?

26. 10. 11. A man from Vienna is recovering after plunging from a factory in Burgenland.

The worker fell off a biogas station in Güssing, well known for its eco-friendly approach to electricity and heating issues this morning (Weds). He was busy removing casing fragments when he slipped and fell, according to radio news. The worker was taken to a clinic in Oberwart by ambulance.

The incident occurred three days after the body of an elderly holidaymaker was discovered at a hotel’s inner courtyard. The man, 62, from Linz in Upper Austria is understood to have lost his balance on the balcony of his room at night before plunging to his death. No one witnessed the incident, police in the Styrian town of Arnfels said on Monday. They said a physician examining the body ruled out foul play.

The number of industrial fatalities decreased by 57 per cent between 1990 and 2010, according to a labour ministry spokesman. The office of Social Democratic (SPÖ) Labour Minister Rudolf Hundstorfer said in August that 90 people lost their lives at work last year.

Around 280,000 Austrians sustained injuries doing household chores in the same year, according to insurer Allianz Austria (2000: 230,000). Cuts are most common at 40 per cent, followed by bruises (21 per cent), according to magazine profil which presented the insurance company’s figures.

Austrian Times

Maybe, Austrians need to be more careful when not at work, as well! See our site at www.anaerobic-digestion.com .

View the original article here

Bore Hill Farm Biodigester - Rural Property Developer to Open New Wiltshire AD Plant

More good news of another new AD Plant project:

A Wiltshire-based rural property developer is diversifying into renewables, with plans to open its first anaerobic digestion (AD) plant at Warminster next year.

Malaby Biogas, sister company of Malaby Martin Ltd, which has specialised in rural redevelopment for over 10 years, will begin commissioning the £5 million Bore Hill Farm Biodigester in the second quarter of 2012.

It will be Wiltshire’s first commercial AD plant and will be capable of processing up to 20,000 tonnes of commercial food waste and generating 500 kilowatts of green energy, the company said. The renewable energy will be fed into the National Grid, but will also supply nine business units set to open on the site in 2013, thereby creating jobs and offering low cost heat and power to commercial users. 

"There is growing pressure on businesses in the food sector to dispose of their waste in a far more responsible and efficient manner than simply sending it to landfill," said Thomas Minter, director at Malaby Biogas, who added that by using local labour and British skills, Malaby was able to provide "real benefit in tough economic times."

In addition, Bore Hill Farm Biodigester will produce 15,000 tonnes of digestate which to be sold to farmers for agricultural use, as an alternative to traditional fertilizer.

View the original article here

Biogas Plant Approved Near Diss Norfolk But Local Objections Remain

Campaigners have vowed to launch a judicial review after controversial plans to build a biogas renewable energy plant near their homes were approved. In this article from Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production Magazine, it is not clear why the local continue to object. Is this Nymby-ism at play or do they have a specific objection? I suspect that Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production Magazine must think not, or the article would contain that information?

(The video is not linked with the article, but we hope you find it interesting.)

Stephen Gordon, chairman of Kenninghall Parish Council, announced that objectors would not give up their 18-month fight following the decision by Breckland Council's planning committee yesterday.

About 30 residents from the south Norfolk village, near Diss, attended the meeting with placards and protest banners.

Greenshoots Energy Ltd had applied to build an anaerobic digestion unit on land off Garboldisham Road, which would be fuelled with locally grown maize, poultry litter and cattle slurry. The electricity created would be transferred to the National Grid. The plant would be linked to a combined heat and power (CHP) plant just over half a mile away at Crown Milling, off Heath Road, which would use the waste heat generated by the energy plant.

Both applications had been recommended for approval despite opposition from the parish council, North Lopham Parish Council and about 500 residents who had signed a petition.

James Alston, who runs Greenshoots Energy with fellow farmer Robert Gooderham, said creating anaerobic digestors helped farmers maintain the viability of their industry.

Copyright 2011 Archant Regional Limited
All Rights Reserved

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Holton: Bernard Matthews plans £4m biogas plant - East Anglian Daily Times

Rob Mears, UK managing director of Bernard Matthews Foods

Friday, November 11, 2011 - 6:00 AM

TURKEY giant Bernard Matthews has unveiled a £4million project to convert waste into biogas at its Suffolk factory which it hopes will save energy and reduce the number of lorries going into the facility.

The firm has teamed up with Glendale Power for a renewable power project at the site in Holton, near Halesworth, which it hopes will supply 13% of its electricity and 10% of its heat.

A planning application is expected to be submitted to Waveney District Council in the coming weeks, and if approved the firm hopes the facility, which will be funded by venture capital, will be up and running by April 2013 with work likely to start next year.

The proposal would see the construction of an anaerobic digestion facility which would treat 28,000 tonnes of liquid waste including blood fluids and fat and see it converted into gas which can be turned into electricity.

The digester will be connected, by pipeline, to the existing on site effluent treatment system, and the liquid waste will then be converted into a methane rich gas, which will be piped back into the factory to power an engine connected to a generator.

Electricity produced will be fed into the factory power grid and heat recovered from the cooling system and exhaust will be used to heat water.

Spent “fuel”, which will be largely water, will be returned to the on site effluent treatment system to be cleaned up and discharged.

Richard Smithgate, group procurement director at Bernard Matthews Foods, said the facility would consist of three towers which would be integrated into the existing factory.

“This ensures that we treat our own waste rather than have it treated by a third party,” he said. “We want to become more self-sufficient and all energy will be used on the site and none of it will be exported.”

Around 60% of the factories traffic is linked associated with waste and Mr Smithgate said the proposal would removed more than 1,200 lorry trips in and out of the site.

He also said the process involved would not be open to the air and that would mean no odours would be emitted from the facility.

“It will be like a soup,” he added. “It will sit in the cylinders for about 35 days and that process will generate the gas to produce the electricity.

“We hope to get a positive reaction because we are taking 1,200 vehicles off the road and we hope that will enhance the community.

Rob Mears, UK managing director at Bernard Matthews Foods, said: “This is an important development for Bernard Matthews and the local community.

“It will not only reduce our carbon footprint and help create a sustainable, constant, environmentally-friendly source of power for the factory, but it will also provide significant environmental benefits to the local community and help strengthen our long term competitive position for the site.”

View the original article here

First Biogas Plant for Electricity and Heat Generation by Enovos Luxembourg SA ... - MarketWatch (press release)

STRASSEN, Luxembourg, October 18, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Enovos Luxembourg is successfully expanding its activities in the field of renewable energy and takes a share in the Biopower Tongeren N.V.

100% owned by Enovos International S.A., Enovos Luxembourg is a part of the Enovos-International-group.

On Monday, 17 October 2011 at the industrial estate "Tongeren Oost" (Tongeren, Belgium), Enovos Luxembourg S.A. and its project partners NPG Energy N.V. and Pholpa BVBA celebrated the first stone ceremony of the largest biogas plant in Limburg. In presence of a.o. Jean Lucius, CEO Enovos Luxembourg S.A. and the Mayor of the City of Tongeren, Patrick Dewael, a tree was planted to symbolise that this biogas plant will be 100% CO2 neutral.

In August 2011, Enovos Luxembourg S.A. signed the contracts to acquire a 24.9% stake in the biogas plant. For Enovos Luxembourg, this represents the first investment in renewable energy in Belgium.

Located in a predominantly agricultural area, the biogas plant will mainly ferment corn that is grown in close cooperation with local farmers within a 15 km radius. The resulting environmentally friendly biogas is converted into electricity via a motor and is then fed into the local power grid. The heat resulting from the process is used to dry the fermentation substrates. These substrates are returned to the fields as low-odour, high-quality fertilisers, thus producing a closed cycle.

"With a capacity of approximately 3 MW, the amount of electricity generated corresponds to the annual consumption of 6,500 households and an annual CO2 reduction of 10,000 tonnes, thus achieving an important step towards further expanding renewable energies," says Daniel Christnach, Head of Renewable Energies & Cogeneration at Enovos Luxembourg. In cooperation with the project partners, the plant's capacity can optionally be subsequently expanded to 5.6 MW. The building licence for this already exists.

Jean Lucius, CEO Enovos Luxembourg highlights: "The participation in the Biopower Tongeren N.V. emphasises Enovos' consistent commitment to the field of renewable energy and we are pleased that with this first project we were able to assert this message on the Belgium market."

The plant start-up will take place in April 2012.

The project developers NPG Energy N.V. and Pholpa BVBA are involved as additional partners in the project company, Biopower Tongeren N.V., each with 47.6% and 27.5% respectively.

As energy supplier on the Luxembourg, German, French and - since 2011 - Belgian energy market, Enovos Luxembourg's mission consists of generating electricity, natural gas and renewable energy for municipal providers, industries and private households and in delivering it to them.

They are subordinate to Enovos International S.A., which is an operative holding company with its headquarters in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. In addition to supplying energy, the parent company also acts as an umbrella for the management of the grid operator, Creos Luxembourg S.A.

Expressed in numbers, the Enovos-International-group currently consists of more than 1,300 employees, more than 280,000 points of delivery, over 8,700 km of electric lines and more than 3,600 km of gas pipelines.

In addition to its traditional core business, the company is expanding its activities mostly in the field of renewable energy.

25.44% of Enovos International S.A. belongs to Luxembourg State, 10.01% belongs to the state-owned investment bank SNCI and 8.00% belongs to the City of Luxembourg. ArcelorMittal owns 23.48%, RWE owns 18.36%, E.ON has 10.00% and Electrabel holds 4.71%.

Copyright (C) 2011 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

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Proposed biogas plant at West Lexham could create 30 jobs - Norfolk Eastern Daily Press

The company behind plans for a new biogas plant at West Lexham, near Swaffham, says it will reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

By DAISY WALLAGE Thursday, October 27, 2011 

A proposed biogas energy plant near Swaffham could create up to 30 jobs.

West Lexham Biogas Limited will begin consulting on its plans to build a waste recycling plant and anaerobic digester (AD) at a disused quarry near the village later this month.

The plant will generate green electricity using waste from the food and drinks industry, reducing the amount of rubbish going to land fill and also producing organic fertiliser.

Residents and local councils are being invited to an exhibition about the project in Castle Acre on November 10 and a planning application is expected to be submitted in December.

The company is being driven by Teun Smits, who has experience in developing and operating AD plants in Holland, and by Qualiflex Biproduct Solutions Limited (qbs), a Bury St Edmunds-based company specialising in the sustainable transfer of waste products.

A spokesman said: “As a country we landfill thousands of tonnes of waste food and drink. This project should be the first of a number of these units we will develop to process this waste across the country and we are delighted to have found a site which meets our East Anglian needs.

“The site has a good road network and is in a hidden part of the landscape away from residential properties. This plant should produce approximately 30 new jobs for the area and the construction work will also provide employment opportunities.”

Gases produced during the digestion of waste are pumped into gas engines to create electricity while the resulting “digestate” will be made available to local farms for use as an organic fertilizer.

Landowner, Niels Olesen, added: “As someone who is passionate about alternative energy production, I am delighted to be working with such a knowledgeable company. “The infrastructure is here and the former gravel working is a logical brownfield site for a use such as this. We hope to gain local support for this exciting project”.

The exhibition will be held at Castle Acre Village Hall, in Pye’s Lane, from 4pm to 7pm on November 10 and there will be the chance to answer questions.

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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.

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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.
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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.

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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)

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GEN ELEC : GE Gas Engine Technology Powers Hungary's Largest Biogas Plant - 4-traders (press release)

14 September 2011

GE Gas Engine Technology Powers Hungary's Largest Biogas Plant

Fuel-Flexible Gas Engines as European Nations Seek to Comply with Environmental and Energy Efficiency Mandates

(GE please put up a video!!!)

JENBACH, AUSTRIA. September 14, 2011. Energy industry officials yesterday gathered near a large poultry processing plant in the city of Szarvas for the formal opening of Hungary's largest biogas power plant. Powered by three of GE's (NYSE: GE) ecomagination-qualified, JenbacherJ416 biogas engines, the combined cooling, heat and power (CCHP) plant generates 4.2 megawatts of renewable electricity and an equal amount of thermal energy to support the plant?s onsite operations as well as the local grid. Szarvas is located 170 kilometers (105 miles) southeast of Budapest.

The new CCHP plant was built by the German company r.e Bioenergie GmbH, a subsidiary of BayWa r.e GmbH. The energy developer is running the plant in close cooperation with the poultry processing plant operator Gallicoop Pulykafeldolgoz Zrt. Gallicoop provides a large amount of the raw biomass that is converted into the biogas that powers the Jenbacher engines. The biogas is created through the anaerobic digestion of an annual total of 22,500 tons of turkey and cow manure, 31,000 tons of pig slurry, 47,480 tons of mixed
waste (slaughterhouse waste, whey and wastewater sludge) and 18,000 tons of sweet sorghum.

The anaerobic digestion facility is located approximately four kilometers (km) east of the poultry processing plant. To optimize the efficiency of the thermal energy, a special pipeline delivers the biogas from the digester facility to the Jenbacher engines at the processing plant. The CCHP system's thermal power is then used to supply on-site heating and cooling. Any excess electricity is fed into the local grid. Our new biogas power plant illustrates the increasingly important role that biogas will play as Hungary seeks to expand its production of alternative energy in order to comply with the European Union's 20/20/20 initiative to generate 20 percent of the continent's energy from renewable sources by 2020, said r.e Bioenergie GmbH Managing Director Ludwig Dinkloh, who oversees international business for the company. However, only projects that maximize efficiency with a sophisticated heat concept, such as our Szarvas biogas project, provide a sustainable business model.

Agricultural waste is a key industrial source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. However, by digesting the biomass and using the resulting biogas in the Jenbacher units, less of the gas is free to escape into the atmosphere. Also, the valuable, nutrient-rich digester residue is used as a high-quality fertilizer, replacing the use of artificial fertilizers on several thousand hectares of farmland. GE has seen an increased demand for its fuel-flexible gas engines to help customers throughout Europe generate their own onsite power and heat to meet their increasingly stringent environmental and energy efficiency goals.

Our Jenbacher gas engines use the biogas generated from organic waste as a valuable source of energy, allowing us to offer our customers a powerful, cost-effective way of producing energy, said Rafael Santana, president and CEO?Gas Engines for GE Energy. These engines also allow us to make a considerable contribution to the country's larger initiative by reducing the equivalent of more than 10,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year at the largest biogas project in Hungary. GE operates a regional Jenbacher gas engines sales and services center that is co-located with GE's heavy gas turbine manufacturing plant in the city of Veresegyh'z, 30 kilometers northeast of Budapest. The center is ideally positioned to help municipal and private customers in Hungary and other central European countries comply with European Union directives to boost regional energy efficiency levels by modernizing local district heating systems and expanding alternative energy production.

Since 1989, GE has been one of the most significant multinationals operating in Hungary. Today, all five GE core businesses are active in the country. GE is the largest U.S. investor and employer in Hungary with more than 13,000 people and also is one of the country?s biggest exporters. About GE's ecomagination GE is driving a global energy transformation with a focus on innovation and R&D investment to accelerate the development and deployment of clean energy technology. Since its inception in 2005, 115 ecomagination-qualified products have been brought to market with revenues reaching $18 billion in 2009. With $5 billion invested in R&D its first five years, GE committed to doubling its ecomagination investment and collaborate with partners to accelerate a new era of energy innovation.

The company will invest $10 billion in R&D over five years and double operational energy efficiency while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption. As part of the initiative, GE launched GE ecomagination Challenge: Powering the Grid, a $200 million financial commitment challenging innovators to join in developing clean energy technologies. It is extending this Challenge with the GE ecomagination Challenge: Powering Your Home, to develop technologies that help households manage their energy usage. For more information, visit the ecomagination website at http://ge.ecomagination.com/index.html.

About GE GE (NYSE: GE) is an advanced technology, services and finance company taking on the world?s toughest challenges. Dedicated to innovation in energy, health, transportation and infrastructure, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.ge.com. GE also serves the energy sector by providing technology and service solutions that are based on a commitment to quality and innovation.

The company continues to invest in new technology solutions and grow through strategic acquisitions to strengthen its local presence and better serve customers around the world. The businesses that comprise GE Energy GE Power & Water, GE Energy Services and GE Oil & Gas?work together with more than 90,000 global employees and 2010 revenues of $38 billion, to provide integrated product and service solutions in all areas of the energy industry including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy; renewable resources such as water, wind, solar and biogas; as well as other alternative fuels andnew grid modernization technologies to meet 21st century energy needs.

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Ground breaks on biogas plant - Lethbridge Herald

Saturday, 13 August 2011 02:01  - Katie May - LETHBRIDGE HERALD

Construction has begun on a new plant that will turn manure into electricity.

Crews broke ground on Friday to build southern Alberta's first biogas plant at Lethbridge's northside Rave Industrial Park, where nearly 160,000 tonnes of liquid organic waste is expected to generate heat and 2.85 megawatts of electricity each year - enough to power 2,500 homes.

The $30-million project has been in the works for the past 10 years at ECB Enviro North America Inc. The company has partnered with St. Catharines, Ont.-based PlanEt Biogas Solutions Inc., which has built five biogas plants across Canada, to form Lethbridge Biogas LP.
ECB President Thane Hurlburt said the plant, when it starts production in January 2013, will use an Alberta-developed thermal hydrolysis technology that's "never been done anywhere in the world," to get rid of any infectious diseases present in the animal waste so the final product can be safely used for fertilizer.
The plant will collect animal and vegetable waste from farmers, industrial food plants and restaurants throughout Lethbridge County and in Pincher Creek and Crowsnest Pass to convert into fertilizer pellets, liquid fertilizer and electricity. In doing so, the plant will save a projected 45,000 tonnes of harmful carbon dioxide emissions per year and the power it generates will be sold back to the provincial grid.
"We have more than enough hog and dairy manure (locally) to feed the whole plant," Hurlburt said. "If you could gather every last ounce of manure and do nothing but put it through plants like this that generate electricity, we could generate 400 megawatts just within this county."
That would be enough to power 400,000 homes.
The company plans to hire about 10 people to work at the plant, directly affecting the local economy.
Cheryl Dick, the City of Lethbridge's economic development officer, said apart from those financial gains, the plant could make Lethbridge a leader in the field of renewable energy.
We believe eventually this is going to become the kind of demonstration site that can help these types of electrical power generators expand right across western Canada," she said.
Alberta has one other biogas plant, based in Vegreville, but the relative novelty of the industry in the province put up some roadblocks for the company in working toward plant construction over the past decade.
Hurlburt said all levels of government have been "unbelievably supportive of this whole process" and provided some funding, but they faced challenges in permitting the project because some elements of planned operations are similar to natural gas plants and other parts are more like those of waste treatment plants.
"But they can't open a book and say, 'oh, here's how we do a biogas plant,' because they don't have that in the book," Hurlburt said. "That's what took the time, from their perspective, to figure out how they'd put this all together."
The county is glad the project is finally going ahead, according to County of Lethbridge Reeve Lorne Hickey.
"The biggest thing to us at the county is it's a new source of power and it's a green source of power. We're trying to reduce emissions, so that's just a great thing to occur," he said.
Hickey predicted the plant's operations will make a big difference to local farmers, who could do more with less land once they have a place to dispose of their waste.
"You're really getting the best of both worlds here," he said. "You're going to be able to get rid of (waste) that you would require more land base to spread over and you're also going to be able to get fertilizer back. It's definitely a win-win situation for everybody involved."Please login first to manage your favorite pages.

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