Anaerobic Digestion Can Be Best Overall Including Being Cheapest Overall

I guess that if you are a long term subscriber this headline will not be a surprise, but it is good to report that others think so too! Read on and find out why.

Processing food waste using anaerobic digestion technology is not necessarily as expensive in relative terms as some councils may think, consultancy Eunomia has claimed.

Speaking at the AD In the City event held in the UK by BiogenGreenfinch last month, senior consultant, Dr Adrian Gibbs, said that using AD to process food waste collected separately could work out cheaper than processing commingled food and green waste together in an in vessel composting plant.

Dr Gibbs explained that a report by Eunomia had found that sending food waste to AD and green waste to windrow composting cost UK councils £9.50 in gate fees per household per year, whereas sending commingled green and food waste to IVC cost £10.80 per household. He also said that just collecting food waste alone and sending it to AD cost £5.50 per household over the same period.

Dr Gibbs admitted that average gate fees for AD facilities - around £55 per tonne - were higher than IVC - which, he quoted as £45 per tonne, but said that "overall AD is cheaper". He also claimed that separate food waste collections also worked out cheaper than mixed collections and said that the number of local authorities which were implementing separate collections had risen from 11 in 2007 to 54 in 2008.

He told the London borough council officers who attended the event, which was set up to explore ways to introduce more AD capacity in London, that - "AD is better than IVC, it's the way to go and it is the one I would watch."

Anaerobic digestion treats food waste in an oxygen-free environment and produces biogas - which can be converted into energy - and a nutrient rich digestate which can be used on farmland. It also has the potential to provide combined heat and power (CHP).

IVC treats green and/or food waste and sometimes card in an enclosed but oxygenated and aerated environment and produces compost. It does not generate energy.

A number of strengths and weaknesses were highlighted for both separate and mixed collection. The plus side to mixed collections included - only needing to use one vehicle, only one bin required and quick and cheap collections.

However, Dr Gibbs explained that the seasons significantly affected what was collected, with garden waste levels dropping significantly in the winter, meaning that feedstock was inconsistent. He also said that the waste had to be processed in an enclosed environment due to Animal By-Product Regulations and this ups the cost of green waste.

Dr Gibbs also pointed out that green waste and food wastes required different collection frequencies. In addition, not all homes have gardens and collecting green and food waste together prevented councils charging for green waste collection. He claimed that separate AD collection reduced net costs for councils and allowed local authorities to charge for garden waste. He added that there is a large quantity of food waste which could potentially be picked up.

Dr Gibbs said AD had a number of strengths, including -

* Internationally proven technology
* Anaerobic Digestion has strong government support in the form of ROCs, a Task Group and feed-in tariffs
* It is a carbon positive technology
* Valuable outputs - biogas and digestate - and
* Leaves green waste to go through the cheaper windrow process.

He said Anaerobic Digestion's only weakness was the lack of facilities in the UK, adding - "AD wins hands-down for organic waste."

US Environmental Power and Xergi Collaboration Extended

Environmental Power, the US a developer which is an owner and operator of clean energy production facilities, which currently through their facilities generates significant quantities of tradeable carbon offset credits, has announced a new deal with Swedish renewables/ anaerobic digestion company Xergi.

The company is dedicated to producing energy that is clean, reliable and secure. Energy that uses waste materials instead of precious resources. Energy that is cost-effective, and available today. Energy that transcends conventional notions of what is possible, and that is for example - anaerobic digestion and biogas.

In their press release they tell us:

Environmental Power Announces Investment by Technology Provider Xergi A/S and New Cooperation Agreement

TARRYTOWN, N.Y., April 28, 2009 – Environmental Power Corporation, a leader in the renewable bioenergy industry, today announced that Xergi A/S of Denmark has entered into a new technology and financial agreement with them better reflecting EPG’s build / own / operate business model.

Under the terms of the new agreement, EPG and its wholly owned subsidiary, Microgy, Inc., will continue to have exclusive licensing rights for Xergi’s anaerobic digester technology in North America, while reducing the license fees on Microgy’s current and future projects. In addition, EPG and Xergi will continue to collaborate on development and use of other technologies and techniques such as the use of micro-organisms and enzymes, which enhance the production of biogas from manure and other organic substrates.

“This investment and agreement demonstrate Xergi’s continued confidence in Environmental Power’s business model and its commitment to support the company’s growth in the renewable energy market in North America. Together with Xergi, they will continue our work on technological advancements that will increase energy production from existing feed stocks, while lowering capital and operating costs for large-scale renewable energy projects,” said Rich Kessel, President and CEO of Environmental Power.

“We look forward to developing innovative solutions that maximize renewable energy from agricultural and other waste organic feed stock.”

“Environmental Power and its subsidiary Microgy have established themselves as the leader in development and commercialization of RNG® projects in North America,” said Frank Rosager, President and CEO of Xergi.

“We look forward to learning more about how to produce the equivalent of Environmental Power’s RNG® product in Europe while supporting Environmental Power’s continued growth in North America. This is truly a mutually beneficial relationship.”

More...

Croatia Goes Big on Biogas with Largest Anaerobic Digestion Plant

Croatia to build largest biogas production plant in Europe

VUKOVAR, May 14. (Hina). A cornerstone laying ceremony was held on Wednesday at Ovcara farm outside the eastern Croatian town of Vukovar for the construction of the future largest biogas production plant in Europe.

The 30 million EUR project has been initiated by the Vukovar-based "Bionergija" company, established by the local Vupik agribusiness and several Croatian and foreign entrepreneurs.

The future plant, which should be built by the end of 2010, is expected to produce 10 megawatts of electrical energy and 11 megawatts of thermal energy daily.

According to a consultant of the Bienergija company, about 700 tonnes of biomass should be ensured daily from agricultural crops on Vupik-owned arable land for the production in the biogas plant.

The factory is to employ some 200 people.

Croatia is expected to raise the biofuels' share in transport fuels to 5.75 percent by 2012 and to 20 percent by 2020, parliamentary deputy Petar Mlinaric said at the ceremony.

More...

Biogas is the New Racing Fuel with Biomethane Powered Sciroccos

Only last weekend a guy told me that he thought biogas was a "cranky" subject! Well, I think not, and what could be better than this announcement to show such people just how wrong they are!

Biogas-Powered VW Sciroccos Debut at STCC

Source: NGV Global

VW Scirocco has successful STCC debut

Sweden

E.ON, a German producer of biogas and provider of biogas refuelling equipment, has partnered with Volkswagen Motorsport to enter two 100% biomethane powered Sciroccos in the Swedish Touring Car Championship (STCC) for 2009.

The team celebrated a successful race debut for its season-opening event, held at Mantorp racetrack in Mjölby, on May 2nd, in what is reputedly the toughest racing event for standard cars in Sweden. In the first of the two races the best Scirocco was in the 11th position, in the second race in the 9th position -- in both races 16 seconds behind the winner after a 14 lap race at the 3.1 km long circuit.

With further work on the new VW cars the biogas team is confident of performance improvements throughout the nine event season, held across venues in Sweden with one race in Norway. "The purpose of our effort is to demonstrate the potential of biogas - the Swedish climate-smart fuel, " says Håkan Buskhe, CEO of E.ON, adding they want to show that biogas is like any other fuel -- only better.

The (almost) 280 hp, 4-cylinder, 1998 cc Scirocco reaches 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds and has a top speed of 240 km/h, with output of 310 Nm. The two vehicles were built by Volkswagen Motorsport in Hanover.

Driver Fredrik Ekblom, who has completed nine STCC seasons (three championships, three silver and a bronze), and Patrik Olsson, who has raced in the Volkswagen Polo Cup, are enthusiastic about their vehicles. Ekblom said, "For me, this is a significant challenge. After nine seasons, to start with a whole new racing concept with clean, green fuel feels new, fresh and incredibly exciting."

Click here for more information.

Using Biomass to Produce Electricity More Efficient than Transforming the Biomass into Biofuels

The following is part of a newsletter from Green Power Conferences publicising their forthcoming BioPower Generation USA conference, Chicago, USA, 8-9 July 2009.

It certainly got me thinking, as I had always assumed the opposite to be the case, and I would dearly like to be able to attend to find out more.

By the way if you are not already subscriber to their Newsletter, get over to their web site (link given below) subscribe and enter the competition for a free event pass.

According to a recent report in Science, using biomass to produce electricity is 80% more efficient than transforming the biomass into biofuels and twice as effective in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

Join leading utilities, project developers, policy makers and investors in Chicago on 8-9 July for BioPower Generation USA and learn new strategies to increase biomass power generation across the U.S.

Attendees will have the opportunity to quiz leading project developers and utility representatives as they present best practice case studies, including:

- GreenHunter
- American Renewables
- Constellation New Energy
- Alliant Energy
- Progress Energy
- NV Energy
- Intrinergy
- Central Hudson Gas & Electrical Corporation
- AgriPower

"As RPS and carbon legislation evolve, so will opportunities to develop more bio-power projects" says conference speaker William Johnson, Manager of Biofuels Development at Alliant Energy. William will address how biomass can be integrated into existing power plant structures and look at the challenges in handling, transportation and storage of biomass sources.

Register today and benefit from our early bird discount (Valid until the 15th May) and get entered for a free event pass. More at the Green Power Conferences web site here.

What are your views? - use the blog comment post below the blog!

Biogas Plant Plan - Cumbrian Farmers to Generate Own Energy

Cumbrian farmers to generate own energy through biogas plan

Farmers in Cumbria are teaming up to develop anaerobic digestion facilities to generate their own renewable energy from agricultural waste.

Community Renewable Energy North West (CoRE NW), a group based in Workington, plans to set up a number of co-operatives to develop the plants, which will produce electricity and heat from farmers' manure and silage.

The first plant is to be developed at Middle Farm in Silloth, in the north west of the county, and could secure planning permission next spring. A feasibility study is currently under way, with 10 farmers interested in getting involved.

Hopes are that the £3.5 million digester could be commissioned by the end of 2010, producing just under 1MW of power - around seven million kWh units a year, or enough electricity to supply about 2,000 homes.

Plans are to use heat produced by the facility in the farm's four large chicken sheds, as well as to the next-door cement block factory.

Social enterprise NRG NorthEast Renewables Group is to supply and install the digester, subject to planning permission, with technology expected to be supplied by German biogas company Biogas Hochreiter.

The project will see local farmers owning the new anaerobic digester along with CoRE NW itself, while NRG will be a minor stakeholder.

Core NW has set up an energy supply company (ESCo) to manage energy sales, with expectations that the facility could bring in £1.2 million a year, achieving payback in around six years. Profits from the project - around £100,000 a year - will go towards setting up three more anaerobic digestion plants in the area, as well as supporting other community renewable energy projects.

Research behind the project has suggested that farmers involved in an anaerobic digestion scheme could see an annual income of £20,000, along with up to £16,300 for supplying materials and dividends averaging £10,000 a year.
Digestion

Anaerobic digestion involves bacterial feeding on organic material in large tanks, producing a methane-rich biogas that can be used to generate energy, as well as a residue that can be used as a fertiliser.

It is seen as a particularly attractive technology for north west Cumbria, since the region has a high density of dairy farms, which produce a considerable amount of manure and slurry, which is difficult to deal with under new legal controls.

CoRE NW said digestion plants could effectively double the profitability of dairy farmers.

Mike Pearson, who owns the farm where the first digester is being proposed, said: "We think this a great way forward for Cumbrian farmers. As well as increasing our income, it also means we reduce our usage of chemicals and produce renewable energy."

Initial work on the Middle Farm project was funded by West Cumbria social enterprise project The Hub, which is run by Lancashire-based industrial and provident society Co-operative and Mutual Solutions.

Feedstock for the plant is likely to inclure 20,000 tonnes of slurry, 10,000 tonnes of silage from currently unproductive land and 3,000 tonnes of chicken manure. Some 10,000 tonnes of food waste from Lakeland Creameries and other local sources could also be used in the plant.

More here...

Forthcoming Conferences by Biogasmax on Biomethane

European Biomethane Fuel Final Conference

Book the dates! and welcome to Sweden at the Biogasmax conference on Biomethane 7-9 September 2009. Biogasmax project has for three years implemented cross-analysis, research and innovation developments on biomethane as a vehicle fuel. This conference will give a great focus on the outcomes brought from this major European Commission funded initiative.

learn more ...


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Biogas to biomethane:

an ISET conference about the upgrading process
On February the 21th, 2008, our Biogasmax partner ISET organized
an event around the topic « biogas upgrading to biomethane »,
key step of the transformation of biogas into bio-methane.
Numbers of experts tackled technical, economic and legislative questions, while other ones came to present their own country experience. The porceedings of that conference is now available
on the ISET web site.


learn more ...


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New development in UK: biomethane for dual-fuel vehicle

The UK delivery compagny Sainsbury’s fleet of diesel heavy
goods vehicles was entirely converted into trucks with dual fuel engines using a combination of diesel and biomethane producted
from landfill biogas. Clean Air Power, a UK technology developer, supported this « Running on Rubbish » initiative, with its new
« Genesis » Dual – Fuel” combustion technology that enables
an existing diesel engine to operate with both diesel and bio-methane.

learn more ...

New Report Available on Opportunities for Converting Biomass & Wastes into Transport Fuels

If you have been a reader of this blog for a while I will hardly need to tell you that biofuels are seen by many as the best way of reducing emissions of the greenhouse gases. In addition, they can also be looked upon as a way of energy security which stands as an alternative of fossil fuels that are becoming limited in availability.

Biofuels can be theoretically carbon neutral, only releasing CO2 recently absorbed from the atmosphere by the crops used to produce them. Gasoline and other fossil fuels add to the CO2 supply in the atmosphere by giving off CO2 absorbed and trapped in plant material millions of years ago, but biofuels should not do so if produced sustainably.

So, using biofuels, especially those produced and used within the region in which they are created, can reduce the build-up of greenhouse gases that are said to cause climate change. In fact almost all harmful emissions caused by the burning of fossil fuels are reduced when biofuels are used instead.

They can be used as a direct substitute for traditional petrol and diesel and can and are readily being integrated into existing fuel supply systems, and they are now poised to become truly big business.

Whereas in the past Anaerobic Digestion plants were seen as best developed to produce electricity, that focus which has been seen in the UK, is likely to change, with large numbers of AD Plants and also hydrolysis and gasification based systems installed to produce biofuel.

So, what does an interested entrepreneur or forward thinking farm business owner/manager do to cut through all this complexity? For example, diesel, is one of the many biofuels that can be produced from a wide range of feedstocks ranging from food crops and left-over food products like vegetable oils and animal fats, to the organic fraction of Municipal solid waste (MSW) – but is it the best one to go for?

Very soon the many options available can become bewildering.

Which are the most likely paths to a successful biofuel business? We are told that recent scientific breakthroughs have sharply lowered its production cost for the leading technology providers, but how can the average businessman be sure he can cut through the hype?

I was interested to see that Juniper, the UK waste processing and strategy consultant has recently produced a report which tackles these issues, and is for sale at their web site.

The report is called “Biofuels: A Decision Maker’s Guide to Opportunities for Converting Biomass & Wastes into Transport Fuels”.

This new report from Juniper considers more than 70 different pathways for deriving a range of fuels from biomass resources.

In their words:

“The market for sustainable transport fuels is growing rapidly, yet it has already become clear that many ways of deriving these are either uneconomic or open to criticism. So which pathways are likely to be commercially attractive? Which use technologies that are already proven and which require further technical development? These and many other issues are discussed in this new Management Briefing, which provides a succinct and comprehensive guide to the bewildering array of technologies, feed materials and output fuels that are being championed as the optimal solutions for meeting the world’s demand for biofuels.

This Guide will be an invaluable tool for investors, corporates and others interested in this market. It guides the reader through this complex and rapidly evolving sector, helping to identify ‘hotspots’ of market activity, pointing to interesting new developments and reviewing the current status of the market on a global basis.”

This should be an interesting report to many of our readers. Although it comes at a price, it should be affordable to those seriously looking to develop biofuels as a potential renewable energy business.

Further information from Juniper can be found here, and your constructive comments are always welcomed when entered into the comments box below this blog article.

UK Tonnages of Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Waste to be Made Available

Those involved in anaerobic digestion will no doubt all welcome this information. For the first time the magnitude of the potential AD market in digestion of these wastes will be clear, however, it will be interesting to see how much wastage the food industry and supply cain will eradicate once awareness is raised! (BlogMaster)

New research led by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) and Envirowise will calculate the total amount of fresh fruit and vegetable waste by product in the UK retail supply chain for the first time - and identify how to reduce it.

A key outcome of the project is the development of detailed ‘resource maps’, which will identify the amounts of fresh produce and packaging waste generated for eleven products at key points in the supply chain1 - and calculate the equivalent carbon and economic impacts.

Best practice guidance will be produced covering storage, handling and packaging, and reports will be made available for companies to benchmark themselves against the aggregated data. Opportunities for achieving environmental benefits and cost savings will also be identified.

WRAP and Envirowise are urging the sector to take part in the research to help provide a detailed understanding of the waste produced across all components of the supply chain - from packhouses through distribution to back of store. Data collection will include a comprehensive industry literature review as well as company-specific waste prevention reviews carried out on-site.

Charlotte Henderson, Retail Supply Chain Programme Manager at WRAP commented: “Understanding where and how much fresh produce food and packaging waste is generated at all points in the chain on a product by product basis will help to identify and develop the best solutions to reduce it. Implementing these solutions will enable considerable benefits to companies operating across the supply chain – economic and environmental – to be delivered and we would actively encourage companies to be part of this research.”

The project is to be undertaken by research specialists Cranfield University, working with food and grocery supply chain experts IGD and the Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC), representing the fresh produce sector.

“This partnership brings together expertise and knowledge of the complexities in the retail and wholesale supply chain in the UK,” commented Dr Leon Terry of Cranfield University. “We are delighted to carry out this essential research.”

Nigel Jenney, Chief Executive of FPC, said: “We are encouraging our members, including retailers, wholesalers and distributors to participate in the project, which will provide valuable information for the fresh produce sector on how to quantify and reduce both food and packaging waste.”

More at WRAP here.

Hear Best Practice Case Studies from 14 Biogas Producers

London, UK:  1 - 2, July 2009

Strategies & Challenges in Scaling up Biogas Production

5th International Biogas networking event


Key players in biogas project development, finance and policy will meet in London at Europe’s must attend biogas meeting to examine growth strategies, investment opportunities and technological advances in biogas production.

• Benchmark your projects with best practice case studies from 14 biogas producers, including: E.on, National Grid, Veolia, Viridor Waste Management, Dalkia, Gruppo Hera, United Utilities, Greenstar, Essent Warme, Naturgas Energia, GWE Biogas and Göteborg Energi
• Identify the key success factors in raising finance for your projects
• Understand the latest policy initiatives and developments in the regulatory framework
• Learn about new developments in biogas production from agri, waste, landfill, sewage and wastewater
• Hear updates in grid distribution, electricity generation, cogen, heating & transport
• Benefit from international insight and hear experiences from 9 countries including the advanced markets of Germany, Austria & Sweden
• Hear expert advice in planning on-farm AD installations during a focused workshop led by Farming Futures

With over 20 producers already confirmed to attend, this event will provide an excellent platform for knowledge transfer and for setting up new business deals.  


Click here to download the full event agenda
Click here to register today


PS – register before 15th May and receive a 10% discount

 

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Another great Green Power Conference:

San Francisco, USA, 1-2 October 2009

Green Power’s 6th Biogas conference will bring together the key biogas players to discuss the potential biogas has in North America. For 2 days participants will discuss strategies to increase production of on-farm, landfill, waste and wastewater biogas for heating, cogen and transportation.

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Biowaste Collection Seen By Press as Forcing Extra Bin Collections on UK Public

My goodness! The poor British Public are supposedly in danger of being overworked, stressed, and presumably oppressed by the EU's extra work burden involved for them to comply with the proposed additional Biowaste Food Waste Collections. There is no mention of the fact that additional collections would actually provide additional good quality feedstock material for Anaerobic Digestion Plants and thus spur on further adoption of AD and greatly benefit renewable energy production from waste.

The following is the short item:

EU considers proposals which could force more bin collections on householders

The EU is considering proposals which could force thousands of extra bin collections on British householders, council leaders will warn. The European Commission recently unveiled a series of ideas for reducing the carbon emissions that are created from people’s leftover food and garden waste. These include measures which would force new targets on councils for collecting so called ‘bio-waste’ and result in extra bin collections for thousands of householders.

http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=1781815

For the specific proposal on separate collection obligations, see point 5.5.3 on p16.
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2008:0811:FIN:EN:PDF

What do you think about these proposals? Is the waste management industry in danger of asking too much of the public?

Indian Biogas Activity Round-Up

Biogas plants continue to be developed and to receive a good press. The take up level for simple domestic anaerobic digestion plants is good where the schemes are available, and reports suggest that once built small scale household and community digesters built by local labour are used well. (See Ashden Awards)

Reportedly small AD Plants are operated consistently once built, with very real benefits for those that use them. Three articles show this optimistic outlook as partially reproduced below:

Samruddhi Foods to Generate Electricity through Biogas

Pune, Mar 21: Samruddhi Jeevan Food India will generate three phase electricity for the farmers and locals of Malthan village in Daund taluka of the district by erecting a biogas generating plant there, in a bid to get over ever-increasing periods of load shedding.

Talking to UNI here today, Samruddhi Jeevan Foods chairman and managing director Mahesh Motewar said ''our company has started to generate our own electricity with the help of biogas and till the end of March, the company will generate three phase electricity power which is certain to guarantee the success.'' He further said ''We have submitted our proposal to be included in the Limca Book of World Record as it is one of the unique project.'' Along with the project of biogas, other projects like animal husbandary, organic fertilizers, milk and dairy products

SKG Sangha, India

Biogas for cooking plus fertiliser from slurry

SKG Sangha uses local masons to build a biogas plant in Bidadi, South India.

Although the state of Karnataka in South India has thriving, affluent cities like Bangalore, most of the rural population are subsistence farmers, growing rice, millet, vegetables and coconuts in the monsoon-watered land. The main fuel for cooking is firewood, which is becoming increasingly scarce and is hugely time consuming to collect. Indoor air pollution as a result of firewood use is responsible for the high incidence of respiratory and eye problems suffered mainly by women and children.

In 1993, moved by his own experience of watching his mother cook on an open fire and suffer from itchy eyes and a bad cough, Mr D. Vidya Sagar set up SKG Sangha with the express aim of providing rural women in Karnataka with an alternative energy source to firewood for cooking. After researching available options, Vidya Sagar chose the 'Deenbandu' cow dung based biogas plant as the most reliable and cheapest alternative and, with the help of a bank loan, began building and supplying these plants to rural households.

Since 1993 SKG Sangha has installed over 43,000 of these biogas plants, which is the highest number of plants installed by a single organisation, certainly in India and probably in most other parts of the world as well.

http://www.ashdenawards.org/winners/skgsangha

Energy clubs planned in each panchayat


Express News Service 11 Feb 2009


THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a bid to take the energy-saving mantra to every household, Biotech- the Centre for development of bio-gas technology and other non- conventional energy sources - plans to start energy clubs throughout the State.

The project is expected to create a marked difference wherever waste and waste disposal pose a headache to the local bodies, Biotech Director Sajidas said.

As a first step, Biotech has called the attention of interested NGOs, engaged in energy-saving movements, to respond to the project. ``We will select one NGO for each panchayat, give them training and help them form the energy club, which will take forward the activities to the public,’’ Sajidas said.

The NGOs will be taught by Biotech members how to install bio-gas plants in households and convert waste collected in houses to energy for cooking.

The NGOs will be trained in setting up energy lamps in houses and also the maintenance works of the plant. Once trained, the NGOs will form energy clubs and will be allotted a panchayat each for carrying out their activities.

``The project is being undertaken with the subsidies granted by the Union Department for Energy Conservation and will be coordinated by our regional offices in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode. Under the project, we plan to start 1,000 energy clubs throughout the State,’’ Saji said.

More here.

Biogasmax Conference on Biomethane 7-9 September 2009

Here is a great conference to attend for those interested in renewable vehicle fuel from biogas. The whole subject of vehicle fuels and air pollution is going to become a really hot subject in my view, after the UK budget in the next few weeks, when we are told to expect moves on reducing emissions and advancing the renewable energy agenda. It is to be hoped it won't just be an elector grabbing take on zippy electric cars...

The EU Biogasmax project has for three years implemented cross-analysis, research and innovation developments on biomethane as a vehicle fuel. This conference will give a great focus on the outcomes brought from this major European Commission funded initiative.

Biomethane offers a unique opportunity to integrate waste management solutions with the production and use of a clean burning, low carbon transport fuel. This event will bring together expertise on the production, upgrading and distribution of biomethane, management of transport fleets and environmental assessment to make a strong case for the production of biomethane from organic waste, and its use in transport applications.

Presentations will include best practice from Sweden, France, Switzerland, Italy and beyond, insights on the gas vehicle market, on the on-coming European Commission policies and vision, expertise in the production, upgrading and distribution of biomethane, and details of assistance available for those considering biomethane projects.

The conference also offers the opportunity to participate in study visits to see projects first hand, and to discuss with those having hands-on experience. Above all, the event will represent an excellent opportunity to meet and network with a wide range of stakeholders involved in the production and use of biomethane, both informally and also through our expert panel sessions.


Book the dates!and welcome to Sweden at the Biogasmax Conference on Biomethane 7-9 September 2009.

US Biocycle Event in San Diego to Celebrate 50 Years

US BioCycle’s 50th Anniversary Conference this April is almost here...

BioCycle International Conference 2009

You are invited to join US colleagues at the only conference, which Biocycle informs us, is based on 50 years of industry leadership in every aspect of US composting, organics recycling and renewable energy.

The past 50 years of experience “captured in the pages of BioCycle” have provided our generation and those to come with the essential tools and knowledge to recycle organic waste streams back to the soils.

You are encouraged to register on-line today – before the conference is closed out due to limited space, and all space may have gone by the time you receive this.

With over 70 scientific and practical presentations scheduled on April 28 and 29 (Tuesday and Wednesday), you will not be able to see them all, and will have choices to make.

Programme

On April 27 (Monday), four workshops are being held:

Preparing Substrates For Anaerobic Digestion
Ruihong Zhang, PhD, Professor, Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, University of California, Davis
Robert A. Gillette, P.E., BCEE, Partner, Carollo Engineers; Nora Goldstein, BioCycle


Expanding Organics Recycling By Expanding Compost Markets
Instructor: Ron Alexander, R. Alexander Associates, Inc.

Organics Recycling In The Food Service Sector
John Connolly, JF Connolly & Associates
Janice Sitton, City of San Jose (California) Environmental Services Department
Robert Spencer, Environmental Planner

COOL 2012

And on April 30, the conference concludes with an all day field trip to facilities in San Diego.

Click here for more information.

Biffa Joins the List of Existing AD Plant Operators Planning Their Second Plants

Biffa Proposes Second Anaerobic Digestion Facility

News like this must surely be a wake-up call to all those just wondering whether to consider diving in and starting their own Anaerobic Digestion project? In this LetsRecycle announcement, Biffa, one of the UK's largest, if not the largest, waste management site operator is clearly voting for AD by this move. Here is part of the LetsRecycle article:

30-03-2009

Biffa Waste Services has announced plans to build an anaerobic digestion facility in the West Midlands capable of processing 80,000 tonnes of organic waste a year.


The High Wycombe-based waste management firm is set to submit a planning application to Staffordshire county council in the next few months to develop the facility at Cannock, in the South of the county. The plant will manage commercial and industrial waste, although there are currently no waste contracts in place.

Biffa explained that when the plant becomes operational in 2011, it would create 4 megawatts (MW) of electricity and 2MW of thermal heat a year alongside a high quality fertiliser for land restoration. It will also divert two million tonnes of waste from landfill over its 25-year operational life.

If approved, the Cannock facility will be the second anaerobic digestion facility built by Biffa after the firm's facility at Wanlip in Leicestershire and represents the company's latest move to establish itself as an energy rather than a waste disposal firm, following its takeover by private equity group WasteAcquisitionco in April 2008.

Andre Horbach, Biffa chief executive, said: "This is a step towards achieving our stated ambition to develop Biffa's energy-from-waste activities.

"It will build on the novel and unique expertise that Biffa has through the development of the UK's first operational Municipal Solid Waste AD plant in Leicester in 2003, which in itself generates 1.3MW annually," he added.

See the full Letsrecycle.com story here.

Going Green is Confusing - Defra Sets Out to Help Us All

Defra Announces Body to Help Businesses and Communities Go Green

Defra has announced a new body to help businesses and communities go green

Defra is bringing together a range of bodies under WRAP’s leadership to provide a one-stop-shop to help businesses, organisations and households become more resource efficient, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn announced today.

The decision was made following the recommendations from the Delivery Landscape Review set up in February 2008 to examine the seven organisations funded by Defra which currently work on resource efficiency. This will make it easier for businesses and households to get the advice they need on how to be more resource efficient by providing a single point of contact.

Secretary of State for the Environment, Hilary Benn said:

“All these organisations have done a great job in helping businesses and households to use resources more efficiently. But we know that some customers were confused by the myriad of services and bodies, so that is why we are making these changes.

“Now, under WRAP leadership we will provide a one stop shop for resource efficiency advice, and this should make it quicker and easier for people to get what they need.”

WRAP CEO Liz Goodwin said:

“We welcome this opportunity to lead a single organisation for resource efficiency. We believe it will help bring clarity for those seeking advice and support on resource efficiency – many of whom have already said they would prefer to deal with one organisation.”

This simplification is part of the cross-Government Business Support Simplification Programme which aims to make it easier for businesses to access Government help and advice.

More here.

Events: Sharing Experiences in Anaerobic Digestion

Forthcoming Events
In response to the reader who recently asked that we provide more information on events of interest to those involved in Anaerobic Digestion, we provide below the details of the forthcoming Aqua Enviro conferences which will be of interest to biogas fans.

SHARING PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES IN ANAEROBIC DIGESTION: WASTE & WATER

28th April 2009, The Hilton, Leeds

The Event will:

· describe the present environment for application of anaerobic digestion technology outlining the potential advantages whilst highlighting potential legal hurdles

· summarise Water Company experiences and operating practices gained from 100 years of sludge digestion

· summarise the more recent experiences of the waste industry applying AD technology to solid waste streams

· discuss potential common ground such as pre-treatment, co-digestion, digester design and operation, digestate treatment and nutrient recovery

· consider optimal uses for biogas

Organisations Involved:

SEPA, WRAP, Thames Water, Viridor Waste, Monsal, Shanks, HotRot Systems, Organic Waste Systems, Belgium, SLR Consulting Ltd

Aqua Enviro ask us to also please circulate these event details to colleagues and contacts that might be interested in attending.

Additional Events

OPTIMISING THE POTENTIAL OF BIOGAS – 2nd July 2009, The Hilton, Leeds

3rd EUROPEAN WATER & WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE - 22 – 23rd September 2009, ThinkTank, Birmingham

CALL FOR PAPERS DEADLINE 3rd APRIL – submit your abstract to: franceseldon@aquaenviro.co.uk
www.ewwmconference.com


14th EUROPEAN BIOSOLIDS & ORGANIC RESOURCES CONFERENCE, WORKSHOP & EXHIBITION – 9 – 11th November 2009, The Royal Armouries, Leeds

CALL FOR PAPERS DEADLINE 19th June – submit your abstract to: sarahhickinson@aquaenviro.co.uk

Frances Eldon
Aqua Enviro Technology Transfer
Unit 8, Appleton Court
Calder Business Park
Wakefield, WF2 7AR

Tel. +44 (0) 1924 257891
Fax. +44 (0) 1924 257455

www.aquaenviro.co.uk

AD Plant Specialist UTS Biogastechnik Moves Offices

UTS Biogastechnik GmbH – New Headquarters, New Projects, and Enables Further Service Improvements

UTS Biogastechnik GmbH moved into a new conveniently located head office in D-85399 Hallbergmoos, next to the Munich airport. This office is easy to get to for our international customers and partners and there are many UTS plants for them to see in the immediate neighborhood.

The new premises in addition to accommodating all customer related functions such as sales, engineering and service also offers expanded facilities for training national as well as international customers and staff and it can be expanded as necessary to support the expected growth of the company.

The production with its service and spare parts warehouse in Gruentegernbach, the product development office in Herzfeld as well as the service and sales points in other locations in Germany are not affected by this move. UTS is inviting customers, potential customers, suppliers and partners to its opening party taking place on Friday, March 27.

This will give all guests the opportunity to learn more about UTS and get to know the whole team. Next to the CEO, Dr. Andrew Benedek, and the President of the German Biogas Association, Josef Pellmeyer, the mayor of Hallbergmoos, Klaus Stallmeister, will welcome all attendants. Pastor Stefan Menzel will consecrate the new company building afterwards.

Despite the global economy crises, UTS has announced that it is continuing to grow during the first quarter of 2009, and still apparently has financing available.

So far this year the company has stated that it has received four orders in Germany and two outside of Germany for Biogas systems. The orders range from 150 kW to 1 MW and there are many more in development in Germany and in our five international offices in Europe. More here.

New - The Business Case for Anaerobic Digestion Page

I always like to see well written and new pages about AD. Here is an extract from a new web page which foots that bill, and below I have placed the contents list which those that subscribe to this blog will probably find interesting and well worth a visit:

A third of UK food goes to waste

Supermarkets are trialling anaerobic digestion as a way to generate energy and minimise their waste, and soon the biological process could have a far wider reaching application

With a spate of announcements on anaerobic digestion (AD) – from supermarkets using the biological process to handle their organic waste to the building of a national AD biogas network - something seems to be exercising decision makers. Are those bacteria that digest food waste at last going to be harnessed to their full potential? Dr Michael Gell examines the potential for AD to kick-start the building of an integrated biowaste infrastructure and to become one of the star technologies feeding energy into a renewables supergrid.

- What is Anaerobic Digestion?
- How does AD work?
- AD as a production process
- How widely is AD being used?
- Recognising the potential for AD
- Turning waste into useful products
- What are the environmental benefits of AD?
- Economic opportunities with AD
- What is driving the surge in interest in AD?
- Who are the key stakeholders for a national AD infrastructure?
- Carbon footprints in the food waste chain
- What are the supermarkets doing?
- Is AD commercially feasible?
- What are the prospects for a renewable gas network?
- What innovations might we expect with AD technology?

Go to ClimatChangeCorp for the full article.

Californian Dairy Farm AD Project Trialblazes US Net Metering

After finding this delightful farm web site I just had to tell you all about it! To be honest I don't know how recent or how newsworthy this is, but this site puts the argument perfectly for installing fairly low-tech tarped lagoon type AD Plants on farms very well. It also seems that issues had to be resolved before the power supply out into the local grid was obtained.

Here is an introduction from their site to explain what this farm did to become more sustainable:

No Greenhouse Gases Here!!

We Power The Dairy With Methane From Our Cows

It’s true!

After a 5-year process, we’re now creating electricity with our methane digester. The digester captures naturally occurring gas from manure and converts it into electricity. With this new system, we’re generating up to 300,000 kilowatt-hours per year. That is about $40,000 a year!

More importantly, tarping manure ponds eliminates the release of methane (a natural by-product of manure) into the air. According to the 2003 U.S. Department of Energy Report on Greenhouse Gases, agricultural sources, primarily animal waste, account for approximately three percent of greenhouse gas emissions.

A dairy cow can generate 120 lbs. of waste each day, totalling about 40,000 lbs. per year!

Solids separated from the waste are composted and reused as fertilizer, providing additional, far-reaching benefits.

The project received a 50 percent grant from the California Energy Commission. Ours is the first system to take advantage of regulations of “net metering”. Net metering allows Straus to run meters in reverse and also offset other electrical usage from other meters at the farm and the creamery.

More at The Straus Family Creamery web site.

Plans for £45m West Yorkshire Waste-to-Biofuel Plant Announced

Plans to develop a £45 million waste-to-ethanol facility in West Yorkshire have been unveiled by Leeds-based waste management company, Mytum and Selby.

The company has teamed up biomass-to-ethanol technology provider AqueGen to develop the Maltings Organic Treatment Plant at South Milford, with the eventual aim of converting 400,000 tonnes of waste as biomass into at least 100 million litres of the biofuel ethanol a year.

Operating through a subsidiary, The Maltings Organics Treatment Company, which it has set up in a joint venture with AqueGen, Mytum & Selby said that it hopes to have the plant up-and-running by 2011.

The company was granted a certificate of lawful use to allow it to treat waste on the site of a former brewery in March 2008 and says that, when built, the biomass-to-ethanol plant would be the first of its kind in the UK.

Mr Carrie said: "Our planning permission on site makes the plant the only one of its kind in the UK and enables us to handle huge quantities of food waste, ABP and liquids.

"Initially this will provide compost for agricultural and horticultural use and on completion the plant will convert the bulk of the biomass to the biofuel ethanol.

"This new initiative means we will be the first biomass to ethanol plant in the UK utilising biomass recovered from waste sources. The facility will meet increasing demand for environmentally-friendly fuel across the country,"

he added.

Speaking to letsrecycle.com on March 12, Mr Carrie explained that Mytum & Selby has just invested £500,000 in the site to allow it to develop a 25,000 tonne-a-year capacity in-vessel composting (IVC) plant , which it hoped to have operational by October 2009.

Phase two of The Maltings project, which the company hopes to complete by the end of 2010, would see the IVC facility's capacity increased to 75,000 tonnes-a-year, involving a total investment of around £1 million from the parent company. More.

Making Electricity from a Methane Digester

How is electricity produced using biogas, is a common question being asked by our visitors. In fact over 150 per week are seeking the answer to that question.

To answer the question I have written a new page at the Anaerobic Digestion web site, and I have tried to keep the article accessible as possible to all readers.

For my blog and email readers I have summarised the article as follows:

It is possible to generate electricity from the natural gas or biogas from an Anaerobic Digestion Plant (Biogas Digester) using a number of systems. The two types used are by an internal combustion gas engine, and a gas turbine.

A gas engine is similar to a automobile car engine, and a gas turbine is similar to a jet engine.

The first stage is to produce mechanical energy from the chemical energy released in the expansion produced by the heat rise of the burning gas. The mechanical energy in a rotating drive shaft is then coupled into an electrical generator.

The mechanical energy is utilized to drive the AC (alternating current) in magnetic windings in the generator giving us electricity. A turbine acts similarly.

It may seem a little strange to us at first, to use gas in an engine, but the principle is actually very old and goes back to the first days of engine development. Early automobile engines used methane and coal gas.

However, the person deciding to start a digester project must always consider the cost of connection into the local power grid when planning to build a biogas digester to produce electricity.

Another plus can be that carbon dioxide emission credit is available. Credits may be given reflecting the difference in greenhouse effect index between releasing landfill methane gas to the atmosphere and releasing the methane gas to the atmosphere after burning it to form carbon dioxide. In some cicumstances this can be registered on emission credit markets.

Biogas digesters are already producing electrical power in many countries, and the number is growing.

A Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system is always worth considering for all AD Plants.

Without the "cooling" provided by CHP, this heat goes into the atmosphere without serving any purpose.

CHP is a good way to gain better efficiency of power use, and usually it should bring in further income to fund the biogas digester operation.

For the full article visit the Anaerobic Digestion web site and the Making Electricity from a Methane Digester page.

Another AD First - NationalGrid Announces the Merits of Biomethane as an Energy Source

National Grid presents biogas report to UK government

(First posted 02/02/2009)
Half Britain's homes could be heated by renewable gas, says National Grid in a report it has presented to the UK Government.

The report looks at how all the biodegradable waste streams such as sewage, food and wood could be turned into biogas and injected into the gas distribution system.

Biogas is produced by two main processes. Anaerobic digestion which turns wet waste such as sewage and animal manure into biomethane and gasification which is better suited to drier wastes and energy crops. Biomethane is already being produced and injected into the gas grids in Europe.

It is estimated that biogas would be a similar price to other renewable energy sources. However because the country already has an extensive gas grid, there would be little need for disruptive infrastructure development or any major inconvenience to consumers in their homes or streets.

The report concludes that there are no insurmountable technical difficulties to delivering biogas. The main hurdle will be about getting the right commercial incentives in place so waste can be turned into biomethane for gas grid injection rather than electricity. This needs to be allied with a comprehensive waste management policy.

A copy of the report can be found in the Publications section of the National Grid web site.

Steve - This is one BIG and welcome turnaround! for the UK gas suppliers to, for the first time, welcome biomethane from Anaerobic Digestion Plants into the natural gas distribution system

Breakthrough Quality Protocol for Anaerobic Digestate Published

This protocol should assist the producers of AD Digestate massively to sell their digestate, if all goes well (Steve Last - www.anaerobic-digestion.com).

02-01-2009

Anaerobic digestion technology is expected to become more attractive to investors following the publication of a long-awaited Quality Protocol aimed at cutting red tape governing solid residues from the process, known as digestate.

The revised Quality Protocol is available now on the Environment Agency website

The revised Quality Protocol is available now on the Environment Agency website
WRAP, Defra and the Environment Agency have published a document which, subject to approval from the European Commission, will enable digestate which meets set criteria to be classified as a product rather than a waste. Such a move would mean the material would no longer be subject to waste management controls.

Anaerobic digestion is the process through which biodegradable waste is broken down by micro-organisms in the absence of oxygen. This process produces biogas, which can be used to generate energy, waste water and digestate.

The protocol is particularly significant because, despite government support for anaerobic digestion technology and its carbon benefits, there has been limited uptake of the technology in the UK to date - with marketing digestate one of the main sticking points.

Nick Bethel, policy advisor at the Environment Agency, told letsrecycle.com that
the protocol had been designed to "bring value into the resource" and one of its purposes was to create a "climate for investment". Mr Bethel added the EA was "expecting to see further investment and more AD facilities being built" thanks to the re-classification of digestate from a waste to a product.
Requirements

The Quality Protocol, which has been revised since an original consultation in April (see letsrecycle.com story) lays out a number of requirements for AD operators who want to produce "quality digestate" from biodegradable waste.

Digestate must be produced using source-segregated materials listed in the Protocol, such as municipal food waste which has been collected separately and specified food and animal wastes.

Significantly, the Protocol designates end market for the digestate. Those markets are:

• Agriculture
• Forestry
• Soil and field grown horticulture
• Land restoration
• Soil manufacture and blending operations
• Land reclamation

In all cases the digestate must be used in a way that does not "pose a risk to the environment" and does "not compromise the future sustainable use of the soil to which they are applied".

Waste operators must also keep strict records showing showing that digestate meets the approved standards and the Quality Protocol. AD operators must also obtain certification from an approved body such as the Association for Organics Recycling.

Before publication as a final document in England and Wales, the draft Quality Protocol must be notified before the European Commission's Technical Standards committee, which may take up to six months.

During this period, the Environment Agency will continue to regulate the production and use of quality outputs from anaerobic digestion of source-segregated biodegradable waste in accordance with the interim regulatory position statement available on the Environment Agency website.

A spokesman for Defra commented: "The Government recognises the potential of food waste to generate energy in an environmentally friendly way. For example, we are investing £10 million over the next three years into new anaerobic digestion demonstration plants to encourage a number of industries including energy providers to take up this important new technology."

Defra Announces New Anaerobic Digestion Initiative

Anaerobic digestion: new energy initiative

Food Waste

Farming Minister Jane Kennedy, speaking at the annual conference of the National Farmers Union in Birmingham on 18 February 2009, announced a new joint initiative with the public and private sector to make greater use of anaerobic digestion – the technology which produces energy from organic material like food waste and manure.

Ms Kennedy said:

"We're producing more organic waste in this country than we can handle, over 12 million tonnes of food waste a year – and farmers know all too well the challenges of managing manure and slurry.

"There are alternatives to sending organic waste to landfill. Anaerobic digestion is a true solution.

"This material could produce enough heat and power to run more than two million homes – helping to prevent dangerous climate change by providing a renewable energy source as well as reducing our reliance on landfill."

A report, ‘Anaerobic Digestion – Shared Goals’, has been drawn up in discussion with a wide cross section of the business community including: agriculture and biogas industries, supermarkets, water and energy companies, the waste and food sectors, Regional Development Agencies, local government, and regulators. It sets out collective ambitions for the use of this technology.

Ms Kennedy will also convene a new Task Group, to be chaired by Steve Lee, Chief Executive Officer of the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM), and with members drawn from a broad range of sectors. It will lead the development of an implementation plan setting out the practical measures that Government and stakeholders will take individually and collectively to achieve these shared goals.

More here, and a link to the Defra Shared Goals Report - at least it appeared to be but was not working when we tried to access it!

Biogas Nord Expands to UK and Reports Tremendous United Kingdom AD Potential

Only two days ago, here at Anaerobic Digestion News we announced that UTS Biogastechnik is now also in UK & Ireland, but we have to admit to being slow off the mark with Biogas Nord's Press Release, below which shows their earlier UK AD Market entry which was announced last Autumn!

04. November 2008
BIOGAS NORD expands to UK

Mian Points:
• UK's first energy crop biogas plant commissioned
• Construction of second biogas plant commenced in October
• Tremendous potential thanks to an attractive legal framework

Bielefeld, 4 November 2008. The BIOGAS NORD group has constructed its first English biogas plant in Dorset. This also marks the commissioning of the first energy crop biogas plant in the UK. The plant, with a capacity of 370 kW, operates on liquid cattle manure as well as corn and grass silage.

Farmer Owen Yeatman, who is also the manager of BIOGAS NORD UK Ltd., operates the facility.

"German biogas technology enjoys a good reputation in the UK. The completion of this construction project by BIOGAS NORD generated a lot of local interest. Many farmers from all over the country are coming to see the new plant. They are impressed by its sturdy construction and high efficiency. Our phones haven't stopped ringing since the BBC aired its television report,"

says Yeatman.

BIOGAS NORD AG now intends to increase its British market share. "Since numerous prospective customers from Britain had to travel to Germany in order to see biogas plants in the past, the construction of our first local reference facility will make a tremendous contribution towards future sales efforts. With currently less than 10 existing biogas plants, the English biogas market offers significant growth potential," explains Hardy Radke, sales manager at BIOGAS NORD UK.

Construction of another BIOGAS NORD biogas plant with a planned capacity of 1 MW commenced in West Sussex in October 2008. This construction project in the Southern UK is slated for completion in the spring of 2009.

Supply remuneration in the UK for electricity generated using biogas - among others - is regulated by a bonus system. In addition to certificates with baseline remuneration, the so-called ROCs (Renewable Obligation Certificates), variable payments for electricity supplied to the network are linked to market prices. This applies regardless of the size of the facility and the choice of substrates. Amended bonus regulations will come into force and ROC remuneration will double starting in April of 2009.

"By entering the British biogas market early, we have put ourselves in a favourable starting position in this important core market,"

explains Matthias Kubat, member of the BIOGAS NORD AG executive board.

"Since our flexible plant technology is not limited to the agricultural sector, we are extremely well positioned. We also offer corresponding solutions for other types of organic waste, for example in the food service industry. Thanks to the commitment of the British government to continue promoting renewable energy sources and the planned increase in supply remuneration, we are expecting significant market growth. BIOGAS NORD is ready to reap the benefits,"

Kubat adds. More here at Biogas Nord's web site.

Major German AD Company UTS Opens UK and Ireland Operation

UTS Biogastechnik is now also in UK & Ireland

Foundation of UTS Biogas Ltd.

The UTS Biogastechnik Group of companies were extended into the United Kingdom and Ireland by a new subsidiary on December 1, 2008.

UTS Biogas Ltd., with Rob Heap as General Manager, is located in North Yorkshire, near Scarborough and will provide full support to biogas markets in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Rob Heap has many years of experience in the agricultural and allied industries.

The CEO of the parent company, Dr. Andrew Benedek, said:

"It is now the right time to enter this very interesting and rapidly expanding market. Government plans to support renewable energies are well developed and already the first bills have been accepted by Parliament. It is our belief that this act will certainly help with climate change and, most importantly, will also significantly help local environments by turning waste into energy."

From the German perspective they view the biogas sector in the UK as hardly developed – compared with other European markets.

First developments show that mostly small – medium output plants are appealing to potential customers.

UTS has over sixteen years experience in building reliable plants in this range and they believe that they have a lot to offer the UK market as they can also support the developing UK AD market as the plants in the larger megawatt ranges become important.

With the full support of the parent company situated in Germany, Rob Heap and the UTS team want to offer their future customers a total-solutions concept including feasibility, planning, design & build, operating, training and complete after-sales support following hand-over of the plant.

Rob’s view is that:

“With the vast experience, flexible approach and advanced technical standards of UTS-products, we can deliver more reliable plants and comprehensive supporting services to the UK & Irish markets than those that have been available before."

Further information can be obtained at their website: www.uts-biogas.com

Remade to Offer £25k Cash for Scottish Pilot to Study EfW Heat Use

The Scottish Government looks for pilot plant looking at heat use from EfW plants.

The Scottish Government under its ‘Remade Scotland’ programme is going to make an award of £25,000 towards a pilot plant looking at heat use from EfW plants. Do you have a suitable plant to apply with an expression of interest?

The Scottish Government have asked Caledonian Environment Centre (CEC) as part of its Remade Scotland programme to manage a tendering, evaluation and funding award project for a pilot on heat use from Energy from Waste plants (EfW). This project was suggested by the Zero Waste Think Tank for Scotland.

It is expected that suitable projects will contribute to the flexible development of waste heat use from EfW plants in line with Government policy to ensure EfW systems recovery energy efficiently.

Specifically the project will look to cover a number of factors or issues including:

* Technical evaluation
* System optimisation
* Scale-up costs
* Barriers
* Energy recovery – heat capture and transfer efficiency
* Innovation

There are no technology restrictions for funding although it must be for a pilot project of heat recovery and from an EfW or Waste to Energy (WtE) plant, thermal or non-thermal, including landfill gas and composting. Deliverables from the pilot will include a publicly available report from the successful applicant detailing the outcomes from the defined project criteria. Funding is only available for pilot projects based in Scotland.


Remade Scotland, if you have not yet heard, is a major initiative which seeks to stimulate, develop and strengthen recyclate material markets in Scotland.

Supported by the public and private sector in a unique partnership, the Remade programme - the first of its kind in the UK - was launched in 1999. The Programme has been assisting both Local Authorities and the Waste Industry for nearly 10 years providing successful, cost effective and sustainable solutions. Well aware of the importance of others players such as community groups to further develop recyclate material markets, Remade Scotland also works with and provides guidelines to several of these organisations.

As part of the Scottish Government's Zero Waste Initiative, in partnership with two other delivery programmes, SWAG and WRAP, Remade Scotland has agreed a three programme of support to help Scotland achieve ambitious recycling targets.

For more information Go to the Remade News section.

The Gribble and Yorkshire Research Seeks to Isolate Biofuel Producing Enzyme to Compete with Anaerobic Digestion

Simon McQueen-Mason, Professor of Materials Biology at the University of York, has won a record budget to investigate how the gribble consumes wood.

According to Michael McCarthy the Independent Environment Editor the little creature could hold the key to a discovery which would turn wood into sustainable motor fuel on a vast scale.

If they can isolate and synthesise the enzyme the quirky named creature uses to feed on wood, the way may then be open to greatly increase production of biofuels such as ethanol can be made without using food crops.

We are told that Simon came across the gribble when he was a professional fisherman on the Isle of Wight for six years before beginning his academic career. "I used to clean the bottom of other people's boats, and gribble was a major problem," he said.

Now his laboratory will study gribbles collected from rotting wood by staff from the University of Portsmouth, identifying their enzymes and trying to reproduce them synthetically.

The name of the gribble sounds as if it must be a purely fictional creature straight out of a children’s story or cartoon. But in fact it's a small marine creature resembling a woodlouse.

The gribble spends its life boring into the planks of boats and the pillars of piers and to eat them, and its wood-consuming technique is highly successful. The gribble, is actually, the four-spot gribble, Limnoria quadripunctata, and will feature strongly in Britain's biggest-ever publicly-funded bioenergy research programme, announced last week.

£27m will be spent over five years in the project which aims to create so-called "second generation" biofuels, which are much more efficient than those in production today and in a way which will be much more environmentally friendly than present biofuels, which are largely manufactured from food crops such as maize, wheat or sugar cane.

These proposed second-generation fuels will be derived from non-food plant material, ideally plant waste such as straw and wood, with fast growing high calorific value willow being particularly favoured. If they can isolate the enzymes the gribble uses to extract the nutritious sugars from wood they will have made a big step on this path.

Success could mean an enormous expansion of willow as a biofuel crop in Britain, on some of the three million acres of lesser quality or marginal farmland countrywide, which would go a long way to meeting Britain's targets of drawing 5 per cent of motor fuel from biological sources by 2010 and 10 per cent by 2020.

Would it compete with Anaerobic Digestion? To a certain extent; Yes! However, demand for renewable fuel is likely to be so high that there will be a place for the second generation biofuels and biogas/anaerobic digestion.

As ever - please give us your views by commenting on the blog site, we would be delighted to know your thoughts about this.

Stockholm - Biogas First Choice as the Cleanest Fuel Available

This is a posting from KARAMEL BiogasMax the EU sponsored biogas web site:

Stockholm : an increasing number of buses fueled with biomethane
bus stockholm 050109

SL, the company in charge of Public Transport in the town and the county of Stockholm, announced that its fleet will include 80 buses running on biomethane this year. An SL analysis showed that biomethane is the most environmental friendly and economically attractive biofuel.

SL (Storstockholms Lokaltrafik), in charge of the whole of the Public Transport in and around Stockholm, operates more than 700 000 travels a day. As SL is concerned about environmental impact of its activity, it has run for quite a long time an environmental policy of CO2 emissions reduction. Thus, our Biogasmax partner introduced its first biogas buses by 2003, to reach lately the number of 52 units, which run today with gas natural and bioethanol buses.

An SL analysis that tackles different alternative fuels shows that biomethane is the most efficient biofuel : bioethanol does not offer the same environmental advantages, apart from other ethical concerns. The biomethane use as fuel for vehicle in Public Transport clearly creates an attractive environmentally closed loop : this means that the town-dwellers themselves, with the production of their organic wastes, supply the ressources required for the fuel production of their own public transport.

SL states that biogas is the first-hand choice as it is the cleanest fuel available today. Thus, it announces an expansion of the number of biogas buses : 80 (currently 50 articulated gas buses) by the end of that year, and, over the next four years, a view of 500 units. Today, these buses operate in the inner city of Stockholm, where air quality is the worst. But, as the number of these biogas buses increases, they will operate in the suburbs of Stockholm.

The expansion of the biogas buses depends of course on the local production capacity of biomethane. SL has secured the long term supply via agreements with Stockholm Water and Käppala Association. Go to BiogasMax here.

Scottish Water to Team Up with Monsal on Biogas Plant in Cumbernauld

Scottish Water to build biogas plant in Cumbernauld

Scottish Water's plans to build an anaerobic digestion facility at Cumbernauld which will generate electricity and heat have made a major step forward with the signing of agreements to design and build the 30,000 tonne-a-year capacity plant.

The utilities company has secured the services of Nottinghamshire-based AD specialists Monsal and HBS Construction of Glasgow to design and build the Deerdykes facility, which will be built on the same site as its existing 24,000 tonne-a-year capacity in-vessel composting plant.

Expected to be fully operational by April 2010, the plant will generate 1MW of electricity - to be used on site, by neighbouring industrial estates and, potentially, sold back to the National Grid.

It will also produce 1.1MW of heat which can be used in district heating schemes for local homes and businesses.

Planning permission for the site, which will be run by the commercial arm of Scottish Water Waste Services, Horizons, has already been awarded and the company is in the process of securing operating permits.

Aidan Cumisky, managing director of Monsal, said: "This will be a flagship project for Scotland where Scottish Water Waste Services has taken the initiative to demonstrate the viability of biowaste anaerobic digestion on a large scale.

"This solution can be applied across Scotland to make a significant impact on waste recycling and renewable energy generation targets using the latest Monsal technology."

The development was welcomed by Mike Russell, environment minister for the Scottish Government, who said: "The extension to Deerdykes is precisely the kind of forward-thinking that we want local authorities to undertake as we push to minimise the waste generated in Scotland."

The plans were also well-received by Duncan McLaren, chief executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland who said: "This is an example of a big company taking sound initiative to help address the twin problems of climate change and excessive organic waste being sent to landfill."

A spokesman for Scottish Water explained the plant would at first take in food waste collected by local councils and it is hoped that the food industry will also use the facility to process its waste.

He said that "initial waste streams to provide raw materials have already been secured" and added that Scottish Water is currently trying attract the commercial sector to the operation.

More at New Energy Focus...

Biogas-to-CNG Vehicle Fuel Projects Announced in Asia and Europe

QuestAir Drives Biogas-to-CNG Vehicle Fuel Projects in Asia and Europe
Market Developments Escrito por NGV Global, Martes 06 de Enero de 2009 00:00

Canada, Vancouver

QuestAir Technologies Inc. announced in mid December 2008 that it will supply M-3200 pressure swing adsorption systems for two unique projects that create renewable compressed natural gas (CNG) from biogas. The projects will use the systems to remove carbon dioxide and other contaminants from biogas waste streams to produce clean CNG that will power vehicles.

Austria's Spezialgase und Kryotechniksysteme Limited (SKS) and Salzburg AG, a large utility provider, have ordered a new system to expand their demonstration project in Salzburg. The plant purifies biogas generated by the digestion of grass clippings and other green waste from the city's municipal gardens, providing clean, green CNG for use as a vehicle fuel for city buses. Salzburg AG has plans to develop up to 20 additional biogas projects in Austria.

South Korea's Daesung Industrial Gases Co. Ltd. is developing one of the first biogas-to-CNG projects in Asia in Gimpo City, where biogas produced at the municipal landfill will be purified to create CNG fuel for use in city vehicles. Daesung Industrial and Hansol EME, a Korea-based environmental engineering company, plan to build a large-scale biogas upgrading plant in 2010 if the demonstration project meets expectations. More...

World Carbon Market Doubles and that Includes Anaerobic Digestion Credits

Analyst: World carbon market doubles in 2008
Latest research shows global market enjoyed strong performance in fourth quarter despite economic downturn and falling carbon prices

BusinessGreen.com Staff, BusinessGreen, 14 Jan 2009

According to the Point Carbon report, the global carbon market doubled in size to $125bn.

Further evidence emerged today backing up predictions that the carbon market will shrug off the worst of the economic downturn, as Point Carbon became the latest analyst firm to confirm that the global carbon market enjoyed record growth throughout 2008.

According to the latest figures from the company, the global carbon market doubled in size to €92bn ($125bn) last year, while traded volumes soared by 83 per cent year-on-year to 4.9 giga tonnes of carbon.

The release of the research comes just days after rival analyst firm New Carbon Finance reported that the global carbon market almost doubled to $118bn last year. It also predicted that the market would still enjoy a growth rate of 27 per cent this year, despite the slowing global economy.

The Point Carbon study did not offer predictions for the scale of the market in 2009, but Endre Tvinnereim, senior analyst and author of the report, said that there were encouraging signs during the fourth quarter of the year that the sector could resist the worst impacts of the global recession.

"There was steady growth in traded volumes throughout 2008, with brisk EUA trading in the fourth quarter and high activity in the secondary CER market," he said.

Veronique Bugnion, managing director of trading, analytics and research at Point Carbon, added that the rapid growth expected from new cap-and-trade schemes such as the recently launched RGGI scheme in the US meant that the outlook for the sector remained upbeat, despite the recent slide in carbon prices experienced by the EU emissions trading scheme. "

"The fact that global carbon markets have now broken the £100bn mark is more than symbolic," she said. "It represents a market that has doubled in size in an otherwise depressed environment. It is all the more remarkable since the prices of European Union Allowances have in fact dropped significantly in the past months."

More...

Much Needed Quality Protocol for Anaerobic Digestate Published

Anaerobic digestion technology is expected to become more attractive to UK investors following the publication of a long-awaited Quality Protocol aimed at cutting red tape governing solid residues from the process, known as digestate.

The revised Quality Protocol is available now on the Environment Agency website

WRAP, Defra and the Environment Agency have published a document which, subject to approval from the European Commission, will enable digestate which meets set criteria to be classified as a product rather than a waste. Such a move would mean the material would no longer be subject to waste management controls.

Anaerobic digestion is the process through which biodegradable waste is broken down by micro-organisms in the absence of oxygen. This process produces biogas, which can be used to generate energy, waste water and digestate.

The protocol is particularly significant because, despite government support for anaerobic digestion technology and its carbon benefits, there has been limited uptake of the technology in the UK to date - with marketing digestate one of the main sticking points.

Nick Bethel, policy advisor at the Environment Agency, told letsrecycle.com that the protocol had been designed to "bring value into the resource" and one of its purposes was to create a "climate for investment". Mr Bethel added the EA was "expecting to see further investment and more AD facilities being built" thanks to the re-classification of digestate from a waste to a product.

Requirements

The Quality Protocol, which has been revised since an original consultation in April (see letsrecycle.com story) lays out a number of requirements for AD operators who want to produce "quality digestate" from biodegradable waste.

Digestate must be produced using source-segregated materials listed in the Protocol, such as municipal food waste which has been collected separately and specified food and animal wastes.

Significantly, the Protocol designates end market for the digestate. Those markets are:

• Agriculture
• Forestry
• Soil and field grown horticulture
• Land restoration
• Soil manufacture and blending operations
• Land reclamation

In all cases the digestate must be used in a way that does not "pose a risk to the environment" and does "not compromise the future sustainable use of the soil to which they are applied".

Waste operators must also keep strict records showing showing that digestate meets the approved standards and the Quality Protocol. AD operators must also obtain certification from an approved body such as the Association for Organics Recycling.

Before publication as a final document in England and Wales, the draft Quality Protocol must be notified before the European Commission's Technical Standards committee, which may take up to six months.

During this period, the Environment Agency will continue to regulate the production and use of quality outputs from anaerobic digestion of source-segregated biodegradable waste in accordance with the interim regulatory position statement available on the Environment Agency website.

A spokesman for Defra commented: "The Government recognises the potential of food waste to generate energy in an environmentally friendly way. For example, we are investing £10 million over the next three years into new anaerobic digestion demonstration plants to encourage a number of industries including energy providers to take up this important new technology.

Reflecting On UK Anaerobic Digestion Policy to Start the New Year

The Christmas and New Year period allows a little more time than usual to reflect on the path that we are treading in the UK, and many other EU nations as well, toward greater utilisation of AD and organic waste in the quest to divert waste from landfill.

Also, by using biogas we will both be gaining renewable energy from an otherwise wasted resource, and avoiding the emission of methane which is such a potent greenhouse gas and we will at least move in the right direction toward sustainability.

Also, there are opportunities via carbon credit funding for EU companies to buy CERs from developing nations, thus enabling them to utilise AD and similar sustainable processes.

I think that what I am describing was in fact very well stated by Dr Stephen Etheridge*, as Chair of the UK Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental management, in his CIWEM Water & Environment Magazine, July/August 2006.

The following is an extract from that article:-

In the UK, around 31 million tonnes of MSW are produced annually. Approximately 30 percent of this waste is biodegradable. As a result of the EU Landfill Directive, the UK waste management authorities must divert the biodegradable fraction of MSW from landfill to other treatment options.
Based on experience from full-scale AD facilities for MSW in Europe, the use of AD technologies in the UK could contribute significantly to waste and renewable energy targets. In order to address this, Defra carried out a consultation in 2003 on the potential role of AD as a bioprocess that could meet energy and soil conditioner objectives for Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPI).

The consultation confirmed that if all the biodegradable MSW in the UK was used to generate biogas from digestion plants, approximately 2,420 million kilowatts of electricity could be produced each year.
As a result of the drive to combat climate change the emphasis in many parts of the world is now on mitigating emissions of methane to the atmosphere from existing treatment lagoons, landfills and other waste management systems. Methane is 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas and for every tonne saved there is the potential to secure a tradable certificate of emissions reduction (CER) worth 23 tonnes of carbon dioxide, Under the Kyoto Protocol emissions reductions in developing nations can be purchased by developed countries as a way to cost-effectively reduce their obligation to reduce carbon emissions.

Since many developing countries are in warm climates where methane is readily generated, anaerobic digestion is an ideal technology to mitigate emissions and to capture the biogas for the production of a renewable energy. In addition, developed nations are keen to buy CERs to offset difficult targets which must be achieved at home.
In a recent study funded by the UK FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) significant opportunities were identified for cattle, pig and agro-industrial operations in Mexico. To benefit from emissions trading opportunities each developing country must have a host nation office and a local infrastructure to certify emissions saved. These are now more prevalent and where they are not established many countries are in the process of doing so.
Although it is early days for CER trading, companies are already signing up potential clients in developing countries. Often the climate is naturally warm and with an appropriate low cost technology based on covered lagoons lined with flexible liner materials such as HDPE (high density polyethylene), digesters can be deployed to treat many agro-industrial wastes. The Asia BioGas Company has constructed nearly 50 anaerobic digesters in the last four to five years. One of these, based at a cassava factory, is thought to be the largest digester in the world.
Anaerobic Digestion is a unique technology which presents a range of opportunities to generate renewable energy, treat biodegradable MSW and reduce carbon emissions. It is precisely because the technology straddles different areas that incentives and support must be cross-sectoral. Whilst this has been implemented very successfully elsewhere in Europe, there are still challenges to be overcome in the UK if this technology is to achieve its true potential. ■
*Dr Stephen P Etheridge was the Chair of the CIWEM Scientific Group and a member of CIWEM's Waste Management Panel. He was co-Chair of the Environmental Protection Subject Group of the Institution of Chemical Engineers and Editor for Waste for the European Federation of Chemical Engineering. He has led a number of international projects in Asia and Europe in the environmental and renewable energy sectors and was recently appointed Chief Technology Officer for the Asia BioGas Company.

So, there it is, and we are now two and a half years further down this path and real progress has being made in the adoption of AD on a much wider scale than thought possible even in 2006.

Hopefully, 2009 will see energy prices returning to a viable level from recent lows of scarcely $50 per barrel, and the lending banks will return to being just that, and all before we see a derailment of this progress.

Wishing all our readers very best wishes for 2009.

(Oh! Yes! Before I forget! Please participate by commenting whenever possible on these posts throughout the New Year! We have over 400 subscribers to these posts. However, responses are so much appreciated otherwise your Blogger wonders whether anyone is actually reading these posts!)