In Germany, municipal waste operating company, Rhein-Hunsrück Entsorgung (RHE), has awarded a contract to build a biogas facility in Kirchberg, Rhein-Hunsrück to a consortium consisting of Switzerland-headed cleantech company Hitachi Zosen Inova AG (HZI) and the German construction and composting technology specialist Eggersmann Group. The new installation will convert around 15 000 tonnes of organic waste per annum into biogas and liquid fertiliser.
According to a statement, the HZI/Eggersmann bidding consortium won the pan-European public tender on the strength of the most cost-efficient solution. Sited around 40 km west of the City of Mainz, the plant will have a number of sophisticated technical features to ensure high plant efficiency.
Eggersmann will be in charge of the conveying equipment, construction, and biological drying system, while HZI will supply its Kompogas dry fermentation technology, the digestate separation, and storage components, as well as the combined heat and power (CHP) units.
The new facility will already be the second Kompogas installation in the Rhein-Hunsrück area. The first went into operation back in 1997.
The old Kompogas plant has been operated by a private company and has given us exceptional service over the last 20 years, doing a great deal to assure reliable waste disposal in our region, explained Thomas Lorenz, Managing Director, RHE.
Smart plant design for greater efficiency
The organic waste delivered to the plant will first be prepared in a special separation process before being fed into the digester for anaerobic digestion, and subsequently sieved again. This procedure will maximise the quality of the 10 000 or so tonnes of liquid digestate produced for use as high-grade biofertiliser in agriculture.
The digestion process will yield around 1.85 million Nm3 of biogas annually, which will be used to generate 4.26 million kWh of electricity. Another special feature of the Kirchberg plant will be two cogeneration units configured to generate electricity as it is needed. While one of the units will assure a constant supply of heat and electricity to the plant, the other will only switch in during the day if electricity grid demand is particularly high.
The waste heat from the cogeneration units will also be fed into an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) turbine to generate additional electricity, further boosting the overall efficiency of the plant.
Construction of the facility has begun, with the plant due to go into commercial operation in August 2021. The value of the order has not been disclosed.
