Biogas pasteur
IMIDCA/2022/59
FILE NUMBER
IVACE
CONCEDENT
25/07/2022
DATE
12 MONTHS
DURATION
€ 17.580,00
BUDGET
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TITLE: The project is co-financed by the Valencian Institute for Business Competitiveness (IVACE) and the European Union within the framework of the R&D Projects in Cooperation co-financed by the ERDF Funds within the framework of the 2022 ERDF Operational Programme of the Valencian Community.
Beneficiaries: Genia Bioenergy and Inderen.
BIOGAS PASTEUR
The main goal of Genia Bioenergy in this project carried out in collaboration with Inderen, is to research, develop and experimentally test a system that enables the introduction of modular (containerised) pasteurisation systems into biogas plants in a much more efficient, economical manner compared to systems already on the market.
The resulting ground-breaking system, a blueprint for future commercial dissemination, is expected to provide between 30% and 60% better heat harnessing for reuse in the pasteurisation process itself and/or other processes in the biogas plant and will consume less energy compared to the current demand of 41 kW per ton of digestate. Easily transportable in containers and capable of treating other by-products (sludge, waste, etc.) in addition to digestate, the system will enhance biogas production efficiency while complying with all the currently-applicable regulations such as PAS110 (www.wrap.org.uk/content/bsi-pas-110-producing-quality-anaerobic-digestate), ABPR (animal by-product regulation) and the European Animal By-products not Intended for Human Consumption (ABNIHC) regulation.
innovation
Pasteurisation systems are becoming more and more important and are being integrated into waste treatment installations. Pasteurising the raw materials or digestate can be a useful, cost-effective method of improving or maintaining product quality.
However, current pasteurisation systems, particularly when applied to digestates, tend to employ standard techniques based on thermal processes involving application of high temperatures for a specific period to achieve the required reduction of unwanted microorganisms. However, these solutions have several disadvantages:
They are designed for traditional plants and are usually conceived and developed hand-in-hand with the entire plant, typically requiring complex reconfiguration of the target facility and costly transport when installed a posteriori.
They consume significant amounts of energy to raise the digestate temperature.
They usually display low heat-reuse efficiency, often below 40%.
They are designed specifically to treat digestates, a more challenging substrate to handle than homogeneous liquid substances.
They incur considerable maintenance costs due to improper waste management resulting in accumulation of residues.
The project aims to document the results as a blueprint for future solutions to be implemented in biomethane production plants.
The specific objectives include: developing a specialised system for treating by-products (waste, sludge, digestate) involved in biogas plants designed to increase biomethanisation, thus achieving a more efficient biogas production process.
To create an easily-transportable and installable modular system (monobloc or containerised) at the target plant.
Energy consumption of less than 41 kW per ton of digestate.
To enhance heat storage for reuse in the plant. The main technological challenge is to achieve a minimum thermal recovery value of 30% that should reach 60% with aspiration.
Genia Bioenergy and Inderen.