First anaerobic digestion plant
The Hereford-based company, Ynergy Ltd, has just commissioned a new anaerobic digestion (AD) plant to convert chicken litter and maize silage into biogas for renewable electricity and heat generation.
The green electricity will power the farm’s poultry houses and AD system, with a 90% surplus sold to the National Grid, while the captured waste heat will provide warmth for the chicken houses – displacing costly fuel oil and propane gas.
Ynergy Ltd contracted experienced biogas plant manufacturer PlanET Biogastechnik and generation experts ENER-G for project delivery.
The AD system has the capacity to process 700 tonnes of poultry litter and 1000 tonnes of cattle slurry, mixed with 3000 tonnes of maize silage per annum. Use of Maize reduces nitrogen levels in the digestion process and prevents the build up of high concentrations of ammonia that would arrest biogas production.
The ENER-G combined heat and power system will provide 250kW of electricity, sufficient to power 450 homes, and 200kW of heat. This renewable energy source will qualify for financial payments from the government’s Feed in Tariff and Renewable Heat Incentive programmes – providing 14 pence per kW on all electricity generated and 6.5 pence per kW for the captured heat that is used on site.
Plans are in place to convert the heating system in the farm’s broiler houses within the next few months, to utilise heat from the biogas generation process.
The digestion process also produces a residue of 5000 cubic metres of odourless organic liquid fertilizer that will be injected into the soil to provide an enhanced nutrient source for the maize crop.
The farm currently uses its poultry litter as a fertiliser, but by digesting it, methane losses to the environment during spreading will be eliminated. A new poultry litter store has been created to protect the AD feedstock from the elements and prevent the risk of nitrate run-off and leaching into the soil.
Susan Shakesheff, Director of Ynergy Ltd, said “We are proud to be at the forefront of the move to anaerobic digestion in the UK, and to improve our sustainability, and energy self sufficiency, while securing a new income stream. We are able to find a superior alternative for utilising our chicken litter and are helping neighbouring dairy farmers to recycle their cattle slurry”
“PlanET Biogastechnik, and ENER-G both provide us with a modem link to their 24/7 monitoring operations, giving full visibility of system performance and efficiency data. The ongoing maintenance agreement with ENER-G and biological support from PlanET Biogastechnik will maximise efficiency to achieve the fastest possible pay back on our investment.”
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