WELTEC BIOPOWER Accomplishes Market Entry in Belgium

Biogas Plant to Generate Power and Heat for Textile Industry

The Belgian investor and project developer NPG Energy has requested WELTEC BIOPOWER GmbH from Vechta, Germany, to set up a biogas plant. The investor will also serve as the operator of the 2.4-MW plant, which is to go live in spring 2014.

This is the first order that the German manufacturer WELTEC has received from the Kingdom of Belgium. The biogas plant in the district of Limburg generates an amount of power that could supply close on 5,000 households.

However, the 19 GWh that will be generated every year will be consumed by the Spin-group BV, a company that needs the electricity for its production facilities in which special carpet yarns are manufactured in a demanding polymerisation process. The group‘s transition to green power demonstrates that sustainable energy concepts are gaining in significance in conventional sectors such as the textile industry.

The plant concept ensures efficiency in all areas. The generated heat will be utilised directly on site: The digestate will be extracted directly from the 2,000m3 second-stage-digester in order to be dried with the entire heat produced by the plant. The dry fertiliser will then be sold to fruit and winegrowers across the border.

The use of the 50,000 t of substrate every year will also be efficient. Initially, most of the employed substances will consist of maize silage (about 20,000 t). However, the operator will gradually replace the maize with other renewable substrates and agricultural leftovers.

A highly efficient mix from grease separators and a pre-mixed, ready-to-use substrate will account for another major portion of the input. Apart from plant residue, this mix will also contain fats and vegetable waste. Additionally, the two bioreactors of a capacity of 4,700m3 each will be fed with soap water from biodiesel production and cereals prune. This substrate mix is typical for Belgium, where biogas digesters have always been charged with diverse mixtures.

Apart from the stainless-steel digesters, the plant equipment comprises a second-stage-digester and two 80m3 dosing feeders. Besides the separation and the two combined heat and power (CHP) plants, the MULTIMix, which further shreds the input material prior to the entry into the digester, also comes from WELTEC.

The EU goal to raise the share of renewable energy in the Belgium energy consumption to 13 percent by 2020 can only be achieved with high-quality plant technology. The preconditions for the use of bioenergy are ideal, and its share in renewable energies is high, as the country offers a wide variety of raw materials and the biogas fermenters are capable of handling these.

The proportion of regenerative energies amounted to 3 percent in 2008 and is now about 5 percent. On the way to the 13-percent goal, the country‘s plant population still needs to be expanded considerably over the next seven years. However, Belgium has an adequate stock of incentives to provide, and the effective modernisation of the Belgian industry has become a growth driver that the entire country relies on.

In 2013, WELTEC BIOPOWER GmbH, one of the first manufacturers of biogas plants, celebrated its 12th anniversary. WELTEC is one of the pioneers of the constructors of biogas plants. Based on the modern approach of experienced engineers, the company from Vechta, Germany with its expertise of a staff of close to 80, offers complete biogas plants from one source and has developed to a leading constructor of biogas plants in the world.

As the hydrogen sulphide and ammonia compounds contained in biogas corrode unprotected parts, WELTEC builds the digesters from stainless steel. This ensures a long useful life of the plant. The manufacturing depth also guarantees a consistently high standard regardless of the location and ensures an export rate that is far above the industry average.

The plants have a modular structure. WELTEC uses only proven system components and develops most of the technologies along the entire value chain internally: digester technology, mixing technology, control technology, hygienisation systems, and digestate processing solutions originate from the company.

By means of its comprehensive services, WELTEC ensures the technical and economic stability of the biogas plants. The CHP service guarantees stable output, the biological supervision ensures continuous monitoring of the relevant parameters, and systematic repowering makes sure that the biogas plant is always up to date. Operators can choose from a range of service packages of different types and scope.

One of the main strengths of WELTEC is the ability to deliver individual and flexible solutions worldwide – from compact plants to large computer-controlled plants in the megawatt range, waste recycling plants, and biogas parks with gas processing technology.

WELTEC BIOPOWER GmbH
Zum Langenberg 2
49377 Vechta

Ann Börries
Marketing
Phone: +49 4441/99978-220
Email: presse@weltec-biopower.de
www.weltec-biopower.de

This release was published on openPR.