EnviTec Biogas opens own laboratory for biological services in Lohne (Germany)
77 sqm of ultramodern lab technology rounds off EnviTec’s service Portfolio
Lohne / Germany -- Precise analysis with ultramodern equipment – now offered by the second lab just opened by EnviTec Biogas AG. After the opening of the company’s first lab in Verona (Italy) in 2015, the laboratory based at the head office in Lohne now also offers a full range of services from a single site.
The investment in own state-of-the-art laboratory technology gives EnviTec’s customers access to analyses that are both efficient and time-saving: initial results from a sample are available to the company’s experts in just a few hours. To fulfil the latest requirements, EnviTec’s specialists utilise the kinds of methods which are compliant with certification standards that are to be used in other major lab setups. Offering 77 sqm of space, the laboratory rounds off the biogas all-rounder’s service portfolio – not least because every hour that a biogas plant is offline means a serious loss of earnings for the operator.
“Our Service Management operations are naturally focused on minimising outages while also ensuring that every plant is operated to maximise its performance,” explains Martin Brinkmann, Managing Director of EnviTec Service GmbH & Co. KG. “Since we can now offer our customers sampling and analysis either as part of a service contract or as an on-demand service, we can now respond more quickly and give the operator valuable, proactive advice about the best course of action,” Brinkmann continues. Biological services include standard monthly sampling work, which measures the pH value or the acetic acid equivalent, for example, as well as specialised samples taken in the event of the plant’s biological systems “going off the rails,” as Brinkmann puts it.
“In many cases, our colleagues from the Biological Team can get a very good picture of the situation just by visiting the plant in person and discussing current problems directly with the customer,” says the service expert. “Thanks to their wealth of expertise, our colleagues know these plants inside and out, and can offer detailed advice on what needs to be done.”
To provide biological long-term support for operational plant, regular examination of the substrate quality and the ambient conditions of the anaerobic biology in the digester is essential. This enables a proactive approach and is the only way to identify negative trends and intervene before they become problematic – thus avoiding long-term problems with gas production. “Digestion is a natural process and therefore subject to fluctuations now and then – and no two biogas plants will behave the same,” says Clemens Willenborg, Manager Biological Service at EnviTec Service GmbH & Co. KG.
Providing biological support to biogas plants doesn’t just involve lab work but also requires effective teamwork from the service partner and the operator. The best results are achieved by careful monitoring of the biological systems plus frequent discussion of ideas and suggestions, reports Willenborg from experience. In the space of a few short weeks after routine site visits to the biogas plant from EnviTec’s experts, significant improvements to performance are often seen, frequently coupled with a reduction in operating costs due to improvements made to pump and agitator settings.
The biological service experts from EnviTec Service GmbH now support around 85 MW of plant. Key competitive advantages here include EnviTec’s all-round, single-source approach to service provision and the company’s many years of experience, Willenborg explains – now rounded off by an in-house lab service.
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