Bioenergy Insight January/February 2017

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017 Volume 8 • Issue 1

Much ado about palms A look at oil palm biomass in Malaysia

What’s ahead for bioenergy in 2017?

Market leaders make their predictions

Regional focus: bioenergy in Europe

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contents Bioenergy

Issue 1 • Volume 8

Contents 2 Comment

January/February 2017 Woodcote Media Limited Marshall House 124 Middleton Road, Morden, Surrey SM4 6RW, UK www.bioenergy-news.com MANAGING DIRECTOR Peter Patterson Tel: +44 (0)208 648 7082 peter@woodcotemedia.com EDITOR Liz Gyekye Tel: +44 (0)20 8687 4183 liz@woodcotemedia.com DEPUTY EDITOR Ilari Kauppila Tel: +44 (0)20 8687 4146 ilari@woodcotemedia.com INTERNATIONAL SALES MANAGER George Doyle Tel: +44 (0) 203 551 5752 george@bioenergy-news.com NORTH AMERICA SALES REPRESENTATIVE Matt Weidner +1 610 486 6525 mtw@weidcom.com PRODUCTION Alison Balmer Tel: +44 (0)1673 876143 alisonbalmer@btconnect.com

3 News 9 Incident report 10 Plant update 12 All eyes on AD

14 REDII: Coming to a country near you

No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in any form by any mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording or other means without the prior written consent of the publisher. Whilst the information and articles in Bioenergy Insight are published in good faith and every effort is made to check accuracy, readers should verify facts and statements direct with official sources before acting on them as the publisher can accept no responsibility in this respect.

Any opinions expressed in this magazine should not be construed as those of the publisher.

ISSN 2046-2476

Bioenergy Insight

Industry leaders give their predictions for the year ahead

24 A bigger problem than you think

Food waste is a growing global issue, but fortunately solutions exist

26 Moving from inside to outside

A UK AD facility cut back on energy consumption by switching internally-mounted mixers to external ones

28 Reaping sustainable benefits from AD

How a UK malt producer created a local circular economy through AD

30 Chasing a certificate

A food plant guide to obtaining PAS 110 certification for anaerobic digestate

32 Much ado about palms

Oil palm products and biomass in Malaysia

35 Solving the siloxane measurement problem

Follow us on Twitter: @BioenergyInfo Join the discussion on the Bioenergy Insight LinkedIn page

After years of discussions, the European Commission published its revised Renewable Energy Directive

16 New year, new predictions

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Contact: Lisa Lee Tel: +44 (0)20 8687 4160 Fax: +44 (0)20 8687 4130 marketing@woodcotemedia.com

Multi-channel supply: Who picks up the pieces when things go wrong?

A UK project demonstrates the benefits of traceable online measurement of siloxanes in industrial biogas

38 Creating strong links in the biomass supply chain

What does it take to develop and operate a successful supply chain facility?

40 The contribution of intelligent energy

An analysis of an EU programme providing a boost to the European bioenergy industry

42 What a ride

What can operators expect in 2017?

46 Combatting the invisible energy

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017 Volume 8 • Issue 1

Getting planning permission for an anaerobic digestion plant is tricky

Much ado about palms A look at oil palm biomass in Malaysia

What’s ahead for bioenergy in 2017?

Market leaders make their predictions

48 Smell no more

Activated carbon filtration systems can help prevent odour issues at waste processing plants

Regional focus: bioenergy in Europe

Front cover image courtesy of Balmoral Tanks FC_Bioenergy_Jan-Feb_2017.indd 1

13/01/2017 10:01

January/February 2017 • 1

Bioenergy guest comment

Global bioenergy outlook

2 Remigijus Lapinskas, president of the WBA

016 was a positive year for the global climate negotiations.

120 countries ratified the Paris Agreement limiting the global warming to less than 2°C. With the ratification, countries pledged to reduce fossil fuel use, increase energy efficiency and deploy renewable energy technologies. These pledges are now turned to action. The agreement will be the major driver for all renewable energy sectors including bioenergy. To meet the goals of the Paris agreement, bioenergy will play a significant role and it is estimated that bioenergy can contribute at least 150EJ (56EJ in 2013) to the energy supply sustainably in the near future.

Last year saw major developments for the bioenergy sector. The sector

employed more than three million globally. Innovative developments in the aviation industry witnessed airports offering biojet fuels and airlines and manufacturers, e.g. United Airlines, KLM, Cathay Pacific, Boeing and Airbus launching biofuel flights around the world.

Studies showed that bioenergy is crucial for sustainable development, dispelling myths about issues like land use, water use and food and fuel. Countries pledged higher blending mandates and targets for biofuels and bioenergy.

Power plants increased the shift from coal to biomass.

For the future, the growth of the bioenergy demand (e.g. pellets) in Asia will be one to watch. Decarbonising the heating sector via replacing fossil fuels with biomass for combined heat and power

production for district heating will be prominent. In addition to this, efficient energy recovery from municipal solid waste and agriculture residues along with innovation and finance in these sectors will be crucial. Elsewhere, another promising green trend will be the use of biofuels in transportation (read Bioenergy Insight’s sister publication Biofuels International for more).

All biofuels irrespective of their definition (advanced, conventional and first generation etc.) should be developed based on their emission savings to satisfy the increasing demand in transportation including aviation and maritime sectors, heavy duty transport and agriculture machinery.

A strategy for a step-by-step and year-by-year reduction of fossil fuel use globally and nationally will be important.

The key instrument will be carbon tax — a simple and efficient way to reduce the use of fossil fuels, improve energy efficiency, and make renewables competitive.

The importance and support of local and national governments will be essential.

World Bioenergy Association (WBA), as the global voice of sustainable biomass to energy industry, will work towards strengthening the national and regional associations, creating of regional bioenergy hubs/branch offices to favour bioenergy policy and opening new markets worldwide.

Best wishes, Remigijus Lapinskas (Guest editor and president of the World Bioenergy Association)

2 • January/February 2017

Bioenergy Insight

xxxxxx Bioenergy

biomass news EC approves Drax’s coal power plant switch to biomass The UK’s largest coal power producer Drax has gained European Commission (EC) approval to convert a third power plant unit to biomass from coal.

The EC opened an investigation into government support for the project last January (2016) and concluded that it was in line with the European Union’s environmental and energy targets.

Drax is in the process of converting its coal-fired power generating plant in Yorkshire to biomass. The company announced a shift away from coal in December with the acquisition of business energy supplier Opus Energy and four gas stations. The deal had been contingent on the EC’s state aid approval.

The UK government has guaranteed a minimum electricity price for Drax’s

biomass project of 100 pounds per megawatt-hour (MWh) until 2027, which Drax said had not changed following the EC’s approval.

Andy Koss, Drax Power CEO, said: “Drax now leads the world in biomass technology ­— three million households are powered with renewable energy generated by Drax and we’re the largest carbon saving project in Europe.

“We have demonstrated how to reinvent a coal-fired power station, using an existing asset, so there are no hidden costs to the grid and it is quick to achieve. This is a testament to the expertise and ingenuity of our engineering team and everyone at the power station.”

Koss said that what has been achieved to date at Drax showed the power station could help switch from coal in an affordable way for bill payers sooner than a 2025 deadline.

He added: “The energy challenge facing the UK is how to replace the contribution currently made by coal. Biomass technology is proven, ready to go and ideally placed to help the country transform to a lowcarbon future with reliable, secure and affordable renewable power.

“With the right support from the government, we could upgrade the remainder of the power station to run solely on biomass and provide up to eight per cent of the UK’s total electricity from sustainable sources.”

The company said it could convert its remaining three coal-burning units to biomass in the next two to three years if the UK government set the right conditions.

Last year, Drax said the unit would be able to run 100% on biomass instead of co-firing coal. Britain wants to close all of its coal-fired power plants by 2025. l

China to boost biomass power by 2020 China plans to increase the share of biomass-based energy in its power supply in a bid to reduce reliance on coal and improve air quality.

According to China’s National Energy Administration’s 13th five-year plan, covering the period of 2016 to 2020, the country aims to cap coal-fired power capacity at 1,100GW by the end of 2020.

Despite China producing biomass equivalent to approximately 460 million tonnes of coal annually, most

of it is not put to use as the proper technology is not fully in place.

The new five-year plan is part of China’s attempts to promote the use of non-fossil energy, including biomass energy, to fuel its currently coaldominated economy in a cleaner way and to improve the country’s pollution issues.

The Chinese government wants to increase the share of non-fossil energy in the energy mix to 20% by 2030 from the current level of 11%.

China ratified the Paris climate agreement, which legally requires it to cut back on its greenhouse

gas emissions, last September in partnership with the US. “I have said many times that green mountains and clear water are as good as mountains of gold and silver. To protect the environment is to protect productivity and to improve the environment is to boost productivity,” China’s president Xi Jinping said at the time.

“We will unwaveringly pursue sustainable development and stay committed to green, lowcarbon and circular development and to China’s fundamental policy of conserving resources.” l

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January/February 2017 • 3

biomass news

Danish city provides drinking water with help from sewage A city in Denmark is about to become the first in the world to provide most of its citizens with fresh water using energy created from household wastewater.

According to the New Scientist, the Marselisborg Wastewater Treatment Plant in Aarhus has undergone improvements which means it can generate electricity needed

to run the plant and use the surplus power to pump drinking water around the city.

As well as regularly powering the entire water system of 200,000 people living in the inner city area, any excess electricity can be sold into the local grid.

“We are about to be the first energy-neutral catchment area,” Mads Warming of Danfoss Power Electronics, which provides the technology for Aarhus Water, the municipal water utility, told the New Scientist.

The plant generates energy from the biogas it creates out of household wastewater. Sewage is extracted from the wastewater and pumped into digesters kept at 38°C filled with bacteria. These produce biogas — mostly methane — that is then burned to make heat and electricity.

“We don’t add any extra organic material from restaurants or energy from wind turbines or solar panels,” said Lars Schøder, general manager of Aarhus Water. l

Finance boost for Finnish biomass plant The Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) has signed a 15-year loan with the Finnish utility Lahti Energia for the construction of a new biomassfuelled heating plant called Kymijärvi III. The project is part of the city of Lahti’s plan to halve

CO2 emissions by 2025, compared to 1990 levels.

The new 170MW Finland-based facility will replace the existing 350MW coal-fired plant, Kymijärvi I, which will come to the end of its technical life in 2020.

The new plant will produce heat for the district heating network of the city of Lahti and Hollola.

The new biomass plant is designed in accordance with the best available technologies and will use certified biomass as its primary fuel, NIB said in a statement.

Kymijärvi III will also be equipped with efficient flue gas treatment to comply with the EU’s Industrial Emissions Directive.

The project is expected to decrease CO2 emissions by up to 500,000 tonnes per year, while emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides will be decreased by around 600 tonnes per year.

Lahti Energia estimates the total cost of the heat production project to be around €165 million.

Lahti Energia, owned by the city of Lahti, was founded in 1907 as an energy company that invests in eco-efficiency and emerging technologies. l

Convergen Energy buys Michigan biomass plant US energy company Convergen Energy has bought the L’Anse Warden Electric Co. biomass plant in Michigan from Traxys Power Group for an undisclosed amount.

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• District heating plants Polytechnik Luft-und Feuerungstechnik GmbH, 2564 Weissenbach (Austria), Hainfelderstr. 69 - 71 Tel: 0043/2672/890-0, Fax 0043/2672/890-13 E-Mail: office@polytechnik.at, www.polytechnik.com

4 • January/February 2017

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L’Anse Warden is a 20MW combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula that supplies electricity and steam to the CertainTeed plant in L’Anse, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Convergen said the acquisition is part of its strategic growth plan to buy power plants and expand in the renewable energy market.

The company makes renewable alternative fuels that can be substituted in boilers for coal and other fossil fuels. l

2016-02-15 15:15

Bioenergy Insight

biomass news

Engie announces two ‘dry biomass-to-gas’ project collaborations French energy company Engie has announced two new major collaborations to foster new innovative green gas production methods across Europe.

According to Engie, green gas is a key element in the global energy transition to sustainable sources because of its potential to significantly reduce CO2 emissions while contributing to the development of decentralised new energy solutions.

The new biomass-to-gas production approach is focused on the gasification of dry biomass, such as wood waste, straw and dry residue from forests, agriculture and paper industry, and is still at its first demonstrations stage.

Its technical potential for European countries (EU27) is 880TWh/year, and like any new technological pathway will rely on the development of a new group of dedicated dry biomassto-gas industrial players.

Engie has signed a technical and commercial cooperation contract with Göteborg Energi, to push the industrialisation of this dry biomass-to-gas production approach.

The agreement covers three main areas of cooperation. This includes sharing industrial know-how on commissioning plants and their operations, commercial cooperation on green gas retailing, and innovation regarding the technologies used.

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‘Surrounding forests’ Göteborg Energi is the energy supplier of the city of Gothenburg in Sweden. It has developed the first commercial dry biomass-to-gas production plant in Europe called GOBIGAS with 20MWth of green gas produced from woody biomass coming from the surrounding forests and injected in the Swedish gas grid.

The company aims to increase the content of green gas in the Gothenburg city energy mix and deliver greener solutions for heat, power and mobility to their 210,000 customers in Sweden.

Elsewhere, Engie is also involved in the Ambigo project, the first dry biomass-to-gas project which will be located in Alkmaar, Netherlands.

Ambigo aims to develop innovative gasification technology that is focused on waste valorisation. With a huge market forecast, the Dutch government wants to accelerate the development of this new green industry and will support the project with a dedicated feed-in tariff for the injection of the produced biogas in the Dutch grid. Engie brings engineering and operational know-how to the project.

Sandra Lagumina, executive VP in charge of Infrastructure BUs and China at Engie, said: “We are convinced that green gases and new ways to produce them with flexibility at local level, while valorising all types of residues, both humid and dry, will play a major role in the energy revolution we’re living right now.

“We are therefore partnering with the European best in class to accelerate the deployment of our vision. It is not about competition, it is about setting up alliances to move together faster and for the benefit of our clients and society at large.” l

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www.landia.co.uk January/February 2017 • 5

biogas news Scania unveils first bi-articulated Euro 6 gas bus Scania has unveiled the world’s first biarticulated Euro 6 gas bus with a capacity for 250 passengers.

The 26m long, front-engine bi-articulated F340 HA 8×2 bus was developed in collaboration with the Colombian bus body builder Busscar de Colombia.

Scania already has its largest Euro 6 gas bus fleet in the Colombian city of Cartagena, and their capacity for high-altitude operations without loss of power and torque has been verified through independent tests.

“This large bus is specially designed for mobilityenhancing bus rapid transit

(BRT) systems and each bus can actually replace 125 cars — with two passengers in each — on congested urban roads,” said Rutger Hörndahl,

Scania said many cities will be interested in its bi-articulated bus

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6 • January/February 2017

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“The efficient gas-powered engine will help decrease energy consumption and

reduce urban pollution.”

Gas operations can significantly reduce particulate matter emissions and, when operated with biogas, carbon emissions can be reduced by up to 90% compared with conventional diesel.

Carbon emissions are also slightly lower when using natural gas, and gas operations have the added advantage of a substantially lower noise level.

Scania is convinced that the bi-articulated bus will be of increasing interest to cities around the world as they now address urban pollution and reducing their carbon footprint. l

Bioenergy plays a key role in Dutch energy policy The use of natural gas to cook and for heating will be phased out in the Netherlands under the government’s new energy strategy up to 2050.

Instead, homes and offices will be heated by surplus heat generated by industry and energy-from-waste plants as well as from geothermal sources.

The Energieagenda policy document, published on 7 December, 2016, states that gas firms will no longer be required to connect households to the gas supply and that no new gas infrastructure will be developed. Cooking will be done on electric hobs.

The Energieagenda is a follow-up to the energy agreement reached in 2013 between the government, industry, lobby groups and unions. That agreement set out a programme to ensure 16% of Dutch energy requirements are met from sustainable sources by 2023.

Now, in order to meet the agreement reached in Paris last year, CO2 emissions must be reduced to almost zero by 2050, Kamp said.

In an interview with the NRC, Kamp said that the shift to a gas-free society will happen gradually. Some seven million households are currently connected to the gas grid. l

Bioenergy Insight

biogas news

Pakistan inaugurates first commercial-scale biogas plant

Pakistan’s first commercialsize biogas plant has been inaugurated by US consul general Yuriy Fedkiw and the Minister for Livestock and Dairy Development Department of Punjab Asif Saeed Manais.

Dancers and singers joined dignitaries at the government-owned Bahadurnagar farm in Pakistan, to officially open the plant.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Nestle

Pakistan, working together through the Dairy and Rural Development Foundation (DRDF), collaborated with the Punjab Livestock and Dairy Development in the construction of the biogas unit.

The plant will yield “significant” benefits including electricity generation for agricultural production, cooking gas and manure production.

“Promoting energy efficiency and scaling up renewable energy requires an effective and supportive enabling environment. The ceremony highlights the importance of alternative energy resources, not just in Pakistan, but globally as well,” said Fedkiw.

UK RHI seeks to boost EfW A review of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) in the UK has set new feedstock requirements for biogas manufacture which will encourage the production of energy from waste.

The UK government published its response to a consultation on reforming the RHI in December, 2016.

Among other measures, the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will reset biogas and biomethane tariffs under the non-domestic RHI. The new levels will be banded in three tiers, the first of which applies to the first 40,000MWh of eligible biomethane injection to the gas grid by a plant each year, the second of which applies to eligible biomethane injection between 40,000 and 80,000MWh each

year and the third of which applies to all eligible biomethane injection in excess of 80,000MWh each year.

The tariffs for each of these bands will be set at 5.35p/kWh, 3.14p/ kWh and 2.42p/kWh respectively.

In addition to these tariff resets, BEIS proposes to introduce new rules for biogas feedstock which will require at least 50% of biogas to be produced form waste or residue.

BEIS said this should increase the cost effectiveness of carbon abatement provided by biogas production by reducing the risks associated with inflation in the price of food crops which are also used for biogas manufacture.

The new feedstock rule will apply equally to biogas produced for combustion and to biogas produced for conversion into biomethane and injection into the gas grid. All plants will be required to report their feedstock composition to Ofgem. l

South Africa’s first independent landfill gas project comes online South Africa’s first independent landfill gas-to-power project has begun generation in Johannesburg, providing 3MW of renewable electricity to supply more than 5,500 homes.

Project developer Energy Systems has started operation at the Robinson Deep landfill site in Johannesburg, launching the first stage of a £7.2 million (€8.5m) investment in five landfill gas generation plants — the largest of its kind ever developed in South Africa.

Energy Systems is the majority shareholder in the investment project. l

Bioenergy Insight

“Establishing biogas units in rural communities is an efficient and effective way of meeting local energy needs by utilising renewable resources,” he added.

“The Government of Punjab is committed to resolve the energy crisis which has adversely impacted the agriculture and industrial sectors.

The vast potential of biogas should be explored further to provide an alternative to 122 million people in Punjab without a reliable source of energy,” Manais said. l

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January/February 2017 • 7

wood pellet news New pellet plant to launch in Butia, Brazil Brazilian firm Butia Industria e Comercio de Pellets will invest BRL 5.16 million (€1.45m) in the construction of a pellet factory in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state.

The plant, in the city of Butia, will produce pellets both for the domestic market and for exports mainly to the European market, which is currently looking for biomass to help reduce its coal dependency,

the company said in a statement.

When complete, the plant is expected to have an annual production capacity of 36,000 tonnes of pellets.

The raw material to be used in the production of the pellets will come from eucalyptus, sourced from the forests grown in the Centre-South region of the state. The pellets can be used as fuel for renewable power generation.

The plant is expected to bring 12 direct jobs and 60 indirect jobs to the state. l

EIA releases new monthly report on US wood pellet production The US Energy Information Administration has published the results of a new survey collecting data from manufacturers of densified biomass fuels, primarily wood pellets.

The survey began collection in January 2016 with data from about 120 planned

8 • January/February 2017

and operational densified biomass manufacturing facilities in the US. These facilities have the capacity to produce a total of 11.4 million tonnes of densified biomass annually.

During the first half of 2016, US manufacturers produced approximately 3.3 million tonnes of wood pellets and sold 3.1 million tonnes, mostly to foreign markets, according to EIA’s newly released Densified Biomass Fuel Report.

About 85% of raw materials for biomass pellets come from wood waste streams such as logging residues, sawmill residues, and wood product manufacturing residue.

Roundwood timber — generally logs harvested for industrial use — account for about 15% of raw materials.

Utility-grade wood pellets used by electric utilities account for more than 75% of total wood pellet production.

The remainder is mostly

premium-grade pellets used for heating in the residential and commercial sectors.

Utility-grade pellets generally have higher ash content than premium pellets, whose lower ash content and higher heating values are better suited to heating applications where use of pellets with high ash content might have adverse impacts on wood pellet stoves and air quality.

During the first half of 2016, about 82% of pellet sales were utility pellets in the export market, of which more than 85% were sold to the UK’s Drax power plant.

The remaining 18% of pellet sales were sold in the US, with domestic sales driven by winter heating demand and wood’s price competitiveness with fossil fuels.

During winter 2015-16, prices for heating oil, propane, and natural gas were relatively low, reducing wood’s price competitiveness, while state policies also played a role in wood pellet sales.

Some north eastern states have promoted switching from heating oil to biomass to improve local economies and to address growing concerns related to greenhouse gas emissions. l

Bioenergy Insight

incident report Bioenergy A summary of the recent major explosions, fires and leaks in the bioenergy industry Date

Location

Company

Incident information

11/12/2016 Minnesota, US

Hibbing Public Utilities

A small fire broke out in a conveyor belt moving wood chips at a power plant in Hibbing, Minnesota.

No injuries occurred and operations continued at the plant during the same day, despite an estimated $70,000 (â‚Ź69,000) worth of smoke and water damages.

8/12/2016

Massachusetts, US

N/A

A malfunctioning wood pellet stove caught aflame and destroyed a barn and an art workshop in Northfield, Massachusetts.

No injuries were reported and the fire was brought under control before it could spread to the house attached to the barn.

1/12/2016

Anglesey, UK

N/A

A cargo ship carrying wood chips burst into flames when out at sea off the coast of Wales.

At the time of writing the ship had returned to the port of Liverpool after being stranded in the sea while a port for unloading the cargo was found.

The extent of the damages had not been released by the time Biofuels International went to press.

1/12/2016

British Columbia, Canada

Diacarbon

The Diacarbon wood pellet plant in Merritt remains closed with no timeline for the plant to open after a fire gutted an industrial dryer on the property on 10 October, 2016.

The cause of the fire was still unknown at the time Biofuels International went to press and the dryer is thought to have been damaged beyond repair.

Bioenergy Insight

January/February 2017 • 9

Bioenergy plant update

Plant update – Europe Ambene Location Perpignan, France Alternative fuel Combined heat and power Capacity 79GWh/electricity, 90GWh/heat Construction / expansion / Bioenergy France 3, the French acquisition arm of Spanish biofuels producer Ambene, is building a biomass-fired cogeneration plant Project start date January 2016 Investment €50 million

Apple Location

Athenry, Ireland and Foulum, Denmark Alternative fuel Biogas Construction / expansion / Apple has entered into an acquisition agreement with the University of Aarhus in Denmark to establish a biogas research and development programme Designer/builder University of Aarhus Project start date October 2016 Investment €1.7 billion Comment The venture is part of Apple’s plans to establish two data centres in Europe

Blue Sphere Location Tortona, Italy Alternative fuel Biogas Capacity 1MW Feedstock Waste Construction / expansion / Blue Sphere, a US-based power acquisition producer, has acquired a biogas plant from Agrilandia Societa Agricola Completion date April 2016 Investment $4.8 million (€4.26m)

Cogéneration Biomasse de Novillars Location Novillars, France Alternative fuel Combined heat and power Capacity 63MWth, 20MWe Feedstock Waste paper Construction / expansion / Aalborg Energie Technik has begun acquisition construction on the new Novillars bioenergy plant Designer/builder Aalborg Energie Technik Project start date December 2016 Investment €87 million

10 • January/February 2017

Covanta Location Dublin, Ireland Alternative fuel Renewable electricity Feedstock Municipal waste Construction / expansion / Covanta is building an energy-fromacquisition waste facility in Dublin Project start date January 2016 Completion date Late 2017 Concord Blue Location Herten, Germany Alternative fuel Renewable electricity Capacity 5MW Feedstock Municipal waste Construction / expansion / Gasification technology firm acquisition Concord Blue and Lockheed Martin are to begin phase two of a new 5MW waste-to-energy project Designer/builder Lockheed Martin Energy Project start date Early 2016 Completion date 2017 Investment $43 million (€40.5m) Groen Gas Gelderland Location Lingewaard, Netherlands Alternative fuel Biogas Feedstock Manure, crops, gas Construction / expansion / Groen Gas Gelderland has started acquisition construction of a biogas plant Designer/builder Greenlane Biogas Project start date July 2016 Completion date 2017 Lithuanian government Location Vilnius, Lithuania Alternative fuel Combined heat and power Capacity 88MWe, 227MWth Feedstock Non-recyclable municipal waste Construction / expansion / The European Commission has acquisition approved support for a combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Vilnius, Lithuania, under EU state aid rules Project start date September 2016 Investment €150 million Pelagonija Location Bitola, Macedonia Alternative fuel Biogas Capacity 3MW Feedstock Cattle manure Construction / expansion / Macedonia’s Minister of Agriculture, acquisition Forestry and Water Economy has opened the country’s first AD facility Completion date January 2016 Investment €20 million

Bioenergy Insight

plant update Bioenergy Segezha PPM Location Segezha, Karelia, Russia Alternative fuel Renewable steam Capacity 90MW Feedstock Wood residues, sludge Construction / expansion / Finnish process technology and acquisition automation provider Valmet will deliver a biomass-fired boiler plant and related automation and environmental systems to the Segezha Pulp and Paper Mill Designer/builder Valmet Project start date July 2016 Completion date 2017

SudWasser Location Burgebrach, Germany Alternative fuel Biogas, CHP Capacity 420m3 gas, 28kWe, 58kWh Feedstock Sewage sludge Construction / expansion / Technical operator SudWasser acquisition is installing an AD unit at its wastewater plant Designer/builder Weltec Biopower Project start date April 2016

Weltec Biopower Location Varazdin, Croatia Alternative fuel Biogas Capacity 250kW Feedstock Pig manure Construction / expansion / German plant manufacturer Weltec acquisition Biopower has constructed a biogas plant at a Croatian pig farm Completion date August 2016 Weltec Biopower Location Falkenhagen, Germany Alternative fuel Biogas Capacity 3.3MW Feedstock Maize silage, pig manure Construction / expansion / Weltec Biopower’s subsidiary acquisition Nordmethan has acquired and brought back into commission a decommissioned biogas plant Project start date February 2016 Completion date Late 2016 Investment €2 million *This list is based on information made available to Bioenergy Insight at the time of printing. If you would like to update the list with additional plants for future issues, email liz@woodcotemedia.com

Stream Bioenergy Location Cork and Dublin, Ireland Alternative fuel Biogas Feedstock Food waste Construction / expansion / Stream BioEnergy will build two acquisition identical AD plants in Cork and Dublin by 2017 Project start date January 2016 Completion date Late 2017 Investment €50 million

Suez Location Combrée, France Alternative fuel Renewable electricity Capacity 8,000MWh Feedstock Agricultural and other organic waste Construction / expansion / France-based waste management acquisition company Suez has bought a 52% stake in Meta Bio Energies’ waste recycling centre in a bid to strengthen its biowaste-to-energy activities Completion date January 2016

Bioenergy Insight

January/February 2017 • 11

Bioenergy anaerobic digestion

All eyes on AD

Multi-channel supply: Who picks up the pieces when things go wrong?

T

here is an old adage that we are all familiar with; ‘cheap today, expensive tomorrow’. With the stakes being so high on product performance within the anaerobic digestion (AD) market, it is time for end users to seriously consider their project liability portfolios, particularly when there is more than one supplier on a single project.

The operating parameters for mechanical and other equipment within the AD sector are demanding. More often than not, clients are looking for a process solution bespoke to their own technologies. Balmoral Tanks believes versatility, forward thinking and innovation is vital in meeting those demands while remaining relevant and competitive in the marketplace.

With so much work going into the front end of projects, has the industry started to take its eye off the ball with regards to the end product?

After all, it is the end product that will be put under the microscope when the switch is turned on and it is the end product that actually forms the product liability portfolio.

With good practice and thorough review, in this era of quality assurance and product compliance, products leaving the factory gates should be of good quality, suitably tested and ready to

Jonathan Smith, sales director, Balmoral Tanks

go. A reputable AD equipment supplier will encourage its clients to witness the moment their products come off the manufacturing line so they can see the factory testing first hand and take that confidence away with them. Quality is a minimum expectation nowadays, not a differentiator.

No company operates in a perfect world and product issues do occur; these should always be dealt with in a timely, professional and customer-friendly manner.

That said, the most important factor for clients is that they know Balmoral can and will deal with any issues — it is recognised as the company’s responsibility. This sentiment, and the security it provides, is something the industry needs to focus on, particularly when the manufactured product arrives on site to be built or used.

Accountability This is where the market has seen significant and

recent issues at national and international levels. Products purchased via a multi-channel supply chain are manufactured by one company, can be delivered by another company and frequently installed by yet another organisation. With so many points of responsibility it could be very difficult to know who to call if that dreaded issue arises during installation or, even worse, when the tanks are full and in operation.

Who is actually accountable for the end product and who is liable for the warranty certificate if procurement is carried out through a multi-channel system?

With international markets opening up for AD, Balmoral is experiencing an increase in the request for supervisionbased installation input only which is usually either resource or budget driven.

Once again, people are looking at pre-install factors and not paying enough attention to post-install implications.

Yes, it may be more costly for clients to employ a direct installation crew from the source manufacturer. However, based on a hypothetical project cost of £1 million (€940,000) for an AD tank farm, it is reasonable to consider the average increased spend for a direct installation crew versus a third party supervisor would be £50,000.

Is it worth putting the project warranty into the hands of a multi-channel supply chain for the sake of a 5% saving?

Issue of warranty

Working with a single supplier makes project liabilities ‘easier to manage’ says Balmoral Tanks

12 • January/February 2017

Does it make good business sense to consider an additional 5% as a burden on the projected budget, or is that 5% actually a blessing in disguise, given it brings absolute clarity

on the issue of warranty and project portfolio liability?

Looking at this objectively, and thinking of the worst case scenario, how much might it cost to decommission a digester tank? What is the potential loss of revenue? How much could the repair costs amount to and who is picking up the bills? The solution to those problems is surely to remove the potential for them happening in the first place?

When working with manufacturers that provide an ‘end to end’ service that includes installation there has to be huge value in procuring a turnkey package. Put simply, a single source supplier results in one point of contact when product performance and warranty issues may need to be considered.

The influence of economics and budgets will always be present when procurement of materials and equipment is taking place. To the same end, if product is being purchased from one company with another undertaking delivery, and yet another supervising the installation, then the importance of being clear on who is responsible should the product underperform can be critical.

Clients must have clarity on who is responsible for each part of a multi-channel supply chain and, more importantly, how it affects product performance and warranty when the project is operational. In the absence of clarity then, in reality, the responsibility will revert to the client. That 5% saving then becomes very insignificant — wouldn’t you agree? l For more information:

This article was written by Jonathan Smith, sales director at Balmoral Tanks. Visit: www.balmoraltanks.com

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Bioenergy regional focus Europe

RED II: Coming to an EU country near you After years of discussions, the European Commission published its revised Renewable Energy Directive. Here, Liz Gyekye analyses the proposal

L

ast November, the European bioenergy industry was able to breathe a sigh of relief after the European Commission (EC) published its revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED), also known as the Clean Energy Package.

The proposal has three main goals: putting energy efficiency first, achieving global leadership in renewable energies and providing a fair deal for consumers.

Background A lot of work happened behind the scenes to get to where the EC got to today. In October 2014, the European Council agreed on the 2030 climate and energy policy framework for the EU, setting an ambitious economy-wide domestic target of at least 40% greenhouse gas emission reduction for 2030. The Paris Agreement vindicates the EU’s approach.

Implementing the 2030 energy and climate framework as agreed by the European Council is a priority in follow up to the Paris Agreement.

The EU is consolidating the environment for the transition to a low-carbon economy through a wide range of interacting policies and instruments reflected under the Energy Union Strategy, one of the ten priorities of the EC. The EC has already brought forward key proposals to

14 • January/February 2017

implement the EU’s target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. In 2015, it presented a proposal to reform the EU Emission Trading System (ETS) to ensure the energy sector and energy-intensive industries deliver the emissions reductions needed. In summer 2016, the EC brought forward proposals for accelerating the low-carbon transition in other key sectors of the European economy. The EC’s current proposals present the key remaining pieces to

entire European renewables industry and for the EU’s climate and energy targets, as bioenergy represents 60% of all European renewable energy consumption.

Proposing a sustainability criterion on forest biomass in order to ensure that the production of wood-based fuel is sustainable was also on the EC’s agenda. The EU sustainability criteria are also extended to cover solid biomass and biogas used in large heat and power plants (above 20MW fuel capacity).

The EC’s main aim with its revised RED is to put energy efficiency first and achieve global leadership in renewable energies

fully implement the EU’s 2030 climate and energy framework notably on renewables and energy efficiency.

All the Energy Union related legislative proposals presented by the Commission in 2015 and 2016 need to be addressed as a priority by the European Parliament and Council.

Meat on the bones The EC unveiled a new sustainability criteria for bioenergy in its new legislation. This represents a major outcome for the

This means, for instance, that electricity and heat from biomass have to produce at least 80% less GHG emissions compared to fossil fuels by 2021 and 85% less by 2026.

Large-scale biomass electricity plants will need to use highly efficient combined heat and power technology (reaching efficiencies above 80%).

Speaking about the EC’s sustainability plan, Didzis Palejs, president of the European Biomass Association (Aebiom), says: “This proposal is an important step for the European bioenergy industry,

which has been calling for an EU harmonised policy over the past years.”

The EC also opted for a rational land-based sustainability approach per type of biomass (biomass from forestry, biomass from agriculture, etc.) and not per energy use. “As wood can be used to make biofuels or produce heat and electricity, the Commission’s approach addressing sustainability of forest biomass, whatever its energy end use, makes sense,” says Palejs.

Kimmo Tiilikainen, Finland’s Minister of Agriculture and the Environment, estimates that the proposal will also reduce the amount of red tape faced by Finland.

He explains: “As Finland’s climate and forest policy is sustainable when examined as a whole, there will be no need for item-specific sustainability assessments in the case of domestic forest energy. We can avoid a lot of red tape.”

Recognising voluntary schemes is also a crucial aspect of the revised RED. Nevertheless, by giving flexibility to Member States in defining additional sustainability rules, the EC’s proposal may not set an equal playing field for the whole sector, Aebiom says. “I am very concerned that a lack of full harmonisation at EU level could hamper biomass trade and lead to unequal treatment among economic operators,” Eric Vial,

Bioenergy Insight

regional focus Europe Bioenergy president of the European Pellet Council, explains.

On biopower, Aebiom notes the political rationale to account it towards the EU renewable energy target only if produced through highly-efficient cogeneration technology. However, Aebiom says that this approach ignores the role that biopower could play to back up variable renewable electricity sources such as wind and solar. “One can fear that it could open a backdoor to fossil fuels, in contradiction with EU decarbonisation objectives and commitments,” the trade association says.

Heating and cooling The revised RED also provides Member States with options to increase their share of renewable energy in heating and cooling supply, aiming at increasing the share of renewable energy by 1% point per year in their total supply until 2030.

The legislation also opens access rights to local district heating and cooling systems for producers of renewables, under certain conditions.

Yet, on the whole, the European green energy industry did not welcome this element of the proposal.

“How is the EU planning to reach its 2050 objectives and its COP 21 commitments by always endorsing fossil fuels in its energy system?” says Jean-Marc Jossart,

Bioenergy Insight

secretary general at Aebiom.

Until now, this loophole has allowed half of the EU Member States to subsidise more efficient fossil fuel heating technology. “Even if more efficient than the old ones, new oil boilers can continue to burn oil well beyond 2050. And this is not compatible with the EU’s longterm objectives. Solutions that are not ‘2050 ready’ should not be promoted anymore. Instead, renewable and highly-efficient solutions must be phased in fast. The industry is ready for this but requests clearer goals,” says Thomas Nowak, secretary general of the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA).

The World Bioenergy Association (WBA) concurs with the views of Nowak and Jossart. In a statement on the revised RED, the trade body says the package contains many well designed proposals but fails to comply with the challenges set by the Paris Agreement.

The package sets on improving the energy efficiency in buildings and the energy performance of products, partly financed

by EU funds. The focus is on efficiency independent on the energy source. According to the WBA, this is a strategic error. The WBA says the EC should “propose the better efficiency of buildings in combination with a clear priority of renewable heating systems based on pellets and

other biomass combustion, solar thermal heat and waste incineration, in combination with heat grids and waste heat from industry”.

Consumer power However, bioenergy groups have failed to mention that the EC has plans to give citizens the right to generate and sell their own electricity.

“Consumers and communities will be empowered to actively participate in the electricity market and generate their own electricity, consume it or sell it back to the market,” the Commission said in a briefing note accompanying its Winter Package of energy laws, part of EU plans for an Energy Union.

Households and neighbourhoods feeding smallscale electricity and heat into a decentralised European energy grid: this is the vision developed by proponents of microgeneration. Yet at present, the EU’s energy system remains centralised and dominated by large power plants. Hence, it is unclear how the EU will achieve its vision.

Moving away from the consumer and back to industry, other stakeholders have expressed concern with the EC’s revised RED plans.

Environmental campaigners expressed dismay at the proposals. Sini Eräjää, EU Bioenergy policy officer at environment group BirdLife

Europe & Central Asia, says: “Ignoring science and brushing aside evidence of the destructive impacts of current bioenergy use will not make these problems go away — it will more likely make them worse.

“The EU needs to limit the use of bioenergy, rather than putting new targets for its use in heating and transport and stop the use of whole trees and landbased crops for energy. The European Commission has to come clean on bioenergy.”

Biodiversity considerations According to BirdLIfe, as Europe heads for full decarbonisation and an increasing share of renewables, more caution about their deployment is needed across the different technologies to ensure that “they do not harm biodiversity and actually provide genuine decarbonisation”.

Ariel Brunner, senior head of EU policy at BirdLife Europe and Central Asia, adds: “Europe needs to get more ambitious, not only about the amount of renewable energy but also about its quality.

“Stronger safeguards are not only needed to scrap harmful bioenergy but also to ensure wind, solar and other renewables are planned and located in a smart way.

Environmental integrity is still missing from the Commission’s Clean Energy Package.” l

January/February 2017 • 15

Bioenergy 2017 outlook

NEW YEAR, NEW Industry leaders give their predictions for the year ahead

Louisa Blair, research manager at Hawkins Wright

Out of the woods?

The global wood pellet market has endured a challenging 2016. Acute oversupply in both industrial and heating sectors, combined with relatively warm temperatures and overrunning maintenance issues at Drax have pressured operating rates and led to a record drop in prices. While certain players have taken steps to rebalance the market, fundamentals remain weak moving into 2017.

Despite the currently sober sentiment, there is plenty to look forward to this year. From a regulatory and policy standpoint 2017 is likely to be a year which shapes the future of the pellet market, at least in Europe.

In January, the Netherlands is expected to publish the verification protocol for biomass sustainability, announce the results of the autumn 2016 SDE+ auction, and clarify its position on a coal phase out. Together, these announcements will determine whether the country will add 3.5 million tonnes

16 • January/February 2017

of annual demand to the European landscape over the next few years or not. Meanwhile, negotiations will start for the European Commission’s Winter Package of proposals, including EU-wide biomass sustainability criteria and the second Renewable Energy Directive covering 2021-2030 (REDII). And in the UK, Article 50 will be triggered opening up formal negotiations for the UK’s exit from the EU. Although these negotiations will continue beyond 2017, by this time next year we would expect to see the potential paths ahead with more clarity.

In April, the UK will also hold its second contract for difference (CfD) auction for installations commissioning in 2021/22. We are unlikely to see many biomass installations bid for support in this auction. Biomass poweronly is no longer supported, there is currently no funding allocated for the biomass conversions pot, and there is no guarantee that the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI support for the heat portion of biomass combined heat and power) will continue past 2020/21, making it financially difficult for biomass CHP installations. However, the department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is currently investigating whether and how it would be appropriate to support future biomass conversions in the UK, and we expect to hear whether the RHI will be extended in the Spring Budget — both of which could lead to increased applications for biomass support in the further two CfD auctions during the remainder of this Parliament.

Meanwhile, the conversion of Energetický a průmyslový holding’s (EPH) Lynemouth coal plant to wood pellets is well underway and will start commissioning during 2017, before ramping up to full load in 2018. Should the Netherlands decide not to close RWE’s Amer coal power plant by 2020, then we could also see the start-up of this facility before the end of 2017. The SDE+ spring 2016 auction has already awarded support equivalent to 1.3 million tpy of demand to the plant.

Next year we will also discover whether Estonia-based wood pellet producer Graanul Invest is able to secure financing and take a final investment decision on its long-awaited Langerlo conversion in Belgium. The clock is ticking, as the project has a start-up deadline of mid-2018 to ensure it receives the support it has been awarded.

Outside of Europe, demand growth is gathering pace in Asia. South Korea has already tendered for more than 660,000 tonnes of wood pellets for delivery in 2017, of which around 400,000 tonnes is for KOSEP’s Yeongdong unit conversion — the first unit in the country to run on 100% wood pellets.

The conversion is due to start operating in the first quarter of 2017. Meanwhile, Japanese imports increased by around 52% in the first 10 months of 2016 to 273,000t. Consumption is expected to grow substantially there next year, with co-firing ramping up at Tokyo Electric Power’s Soma Kyodo Power Station in Shinchi and the start-up of co-firing at Osaka Gas’ Nakayama Nagoya Unit 2.

From coal to biomass

China’s bioenergy future

On 19 December, the European Commission approved CfD support for Drax’s third unit conversion at €100/ MWh. The unit is currently running at the 85% enhanced co-firing rate under the Renewables Obligation, but the added certainty will now allow the company to complete the conversion.

China has yet to make its mark on the global bioenergy market, but it appears the government is now making bioenergy a priority following the country’s support of the Paris Agreement. The National Energy Administration released its fiveyear plan for biomass development on 5 December, which focusses on growth in

Bioenergy Insight

2017 outlook Bioenergy

PREDICTIONS four areas: biogas, biomass pellet fuel, biomass for electricity generation and biomass liquid fuel. The plan calls on the government to develop policies to stimulate biomass consumption in the country and support private capital investment into the industry.

The plan sets a goal for 2020 of 30 million tonnes of annual biomass pellet consumption in the country, displacing 15 million tonnes of coal.

Total investment for this will be an estimated CNY 18 billion (€2.5 billion).

The National Energy Administration’s estimate shows 8 million tonnes of biomass pellet fuel consumption

Johan Ostlund, director at CooperOstlund

currently in the country, but very little of this is wood pellets. It is also unclear how much of the 2020 target will be wood pellets, or whether secondary policies will support imported fuel. Nevertheless, these targets are ambitious and could completely alter the global biomass landscape over the next few years if realised.

There is much evidence to suggest that 2017 will be an exciting year for the wood pellet industry, though at an operational level we expect the challenges of oversupply and generation economics to continue, at least until consumption ramps up in 2018.

370 operational facilities in the UK generating more than 477MWe. However, the expansion does not end there. Fuelled in part by the prospect of lucrative government subsidies, principally Feed-In Tariffs (FITs) and the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), nearly 500 additional facilities are currently in the planning pipeline, demonstrating huge future potential.

AD is now at the heart of energy policy and playing a crucial role in helping to combat both climate change and energy security, in particular as we work towards the legally binding EU target of 15% of total energy from renewables by 2020. Phew! Job done, cut to credits, wait for the plaudits and let’s order the gold plated bathtub …

(Almost) fatal attraction

The Good, the Bad and the Truth Over the past 12 months, anaerobic digestion (AD) in the UK has shown continued growth, with more than

Bioenergy Insight

Subsidies helped the industry, they brought outside investment, made you successful, you thought they were your friend, and then they turn around and stab you in the back. Okay, a bit dramatic, but the reality is that those very subsidies that so successfully drove market growth are in the process of being cut. This creates an

undeniable pressure on the market and something that will characterise 2017.

The very factors that have made the industry so attractive are now seemingly turning against it, as the government admits that spending on clean energy support cannot continue. As part of the latest review, it is cutting expenditure on the FITs scheme to between £75 million and £100 million (€87.3m and €116.4m) from January 2016 to 2018/19. In addition, October saw the latest round of RHI degressions, offering another niggling blow to the industry.

One of my grimmer predictions for this year will be that, in light of these cuts, some planned AD sites will be unable to secure finance. As such growth will inevitably plateau as the market readjusts to its new reality.

Truth, actually It is worth highlighting that subsidies are an excellent way to generate quick growth and momentum in any market, but are rarely intended to be a long-term solution. It may well be that 2017 is the year that we see the stabilisers fully removed (albeit a little earlier than hoped), but that

January/February 2017 • 17

Bioenergy 2017 outlook is the reality, and smart businesses will need to grasp the opportunities that circumstances necessitate.

In 2017, what do these opportunities look like? I think they take a number of forms, involving doing more and being smarter with what you have and also looking at new ways to generate income and security of supply.

There are no dramatic Hollywood endings here, more pragmatic, collaborative and sensible solutions.

Using the right technology in the right way is key to making more of what you have, and nothing is more integral to AD efficiency than your CHP engine. As a leading gas engine specification and maintenance expert, CooperOstlund has a wealth of expertise and insight, having installed engines at many sites across the UK. Plus, as an independent business, it is not tied to a single engine manufacturer. As well as helping clients choose the right engines, the company delivers high quality servicing that can ensure your CHP engine can improve its efficiency by 30% and run at full capacity 24 hours a day. It is those types of smarter working practices that can make all the difference, turning a potential tragedy into a happy ending.

Self-generation is another buzzword that I think we will see more of in 2017. What this means is generating your own electricity from AD rather than feeding it solely into the grid. You can use it to not only secure your own supply, but also provide energy for your neighbours and then sell off any surplus to the grid. A great example of this in action is Cheltenham-based Andigestion, which operates entirely independent of the grid. The plant can even operate in “island mode” — ensuring security of supply if the grid went down.

Closing scenes 2017 will undoubtedly be a time of change for the AD industry. We hope it will deliver further incremental growth but this relies on the sector to encourage greater understanding, uptake and expansion of AD technology.

In the long-term, the AD process offers significant benefits in generating and removing the reliance on landfill.

However, the resilience of the industry is being tested by the scaling back of government support. What will emerge remains to be seen, but I hope in 2017 it is a stronger, leaner, and more focused industry, which all rather reminds me of one of my favourite

18 • January/February 2017

quotes, from one Walt Disney: “All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me. You may not realise it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”

Philip Simpson, commercial Director at ReFood

Uncertainty continues for UK biogas industry It has been a challenging time for the UK anaerobic digestion (AD) industry and, unfortunately, we expect further doubt this year. From amends to the Climate Change Levy, announced as part of the government’s annual budget, to the uncertainty posed by Britain voting to leave the EU, mutual feeling across the industry is one of ongoing concern.

As well as further planned Feed-in Tariff (FIT) degressions and widelyexpected reluctance from the government to impose strict legislation when it comes to banning food waste to landfill, it seems we are still struggling for the necessary levels of support and guidance from those in power.

This presents numerous hurdles for the industry. It begins with a distinct lack of clarity and failure to address the ongoing uncertainty surrounding renewable subsidies.

Combined with the ongoing struggle of identifying and securing a sustainable

energy supply, this presents a global concern that must be addressed worldwide. With 2020 renewable energy targets looming ever closer, something must be done — and soon.

Unfortunately, we are still falling way behind targets. It could be argued that the real challenge we face is the government’s short-term approach, which fails to commit to a comprehensive and considered waste management strategy. Businesses looking to invest in state-of-theart recycling facilities need this safeguarding, which includes both subsidy commitment and feedstock security, without which it fails to make commercial sense. We need more structured government support to enable the industry to prosper. Without this financial backing, investment into the UK — and the many benefits it brings in terms of corporation taxes, jobs, and R&D — will halt, as well as our desire to be a leading light on the world stage for sustainability.

One lucky project Despite these hurdles, at ReFood we remain committed to providing a sustainable solution for the UK’s food waste. Work is currently in progress to construct our brand-new £32 million (€38m) AD plant in Dagenham — the third ReFood facility in the UK. Capable of recycling 160,000 tonnes of food waste each year, ReFood Dagenham will be able to generate more than 2,000m3/hr of methane via AD. Using gas to grid (G2G) technology, this will be upgraded to reflect the qualities of natural gas — allowing it to be injected directly into the national gas grid and used to power more than 10,000 homes across the region.

The plant, expected to open in summer 2017, is a landmark achievement, especially given the current industry climate. It hasn’t been a straightforward task and we’ve had to amend our strategy on several occasions to ensure a commercial return. However, across the industry such struggles are shared. Projects are being delayed — or even pulled entirely — due to difficulties sourcing project finance. Investment on a national scale is needed as a priority.

Otherwise we all run the risk of simply treading water and failing to realise the many long-term benefits available.”

Bioenergy Insight

2017 outlook Bioenergy

George Giles, head of environmental power at Siemens UK & Ireland

Optimise now for a better future Energy-from-waste (EfW) plants need to focus more on long-term strategies required to deliver highly efficient and cost-effective plants that need to operate for up to 25 years. Working in partnership with technology suppliers to drive the adoption of optimised solutions for EfW plant design, build, and operation can help operators maximise the future operational and financial viability of new plants as they come on stream.

We await the outcome of the next UK Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction scheduled for April 2017 with increasing interest. In particular, I wonder how many applications will be made and accepted as the next raft of subsidy funding is made available by the government. With an imposed limit of 150MW for EfW projects, which also includes biomass, it looks like there will only be a handful of successful projects to gain this CfD round. There is, therefore, a pressing need to look at how EfW schemes can still be developed without this additional financial support.

There is continued pressure on local government to seek alternative means of waste disposal. This, in response to the huge increase in landfill taxes over the past decade, as well as the need to meet the ongoing national

Bioenergy Insight

carbon reduction target, ensures that EfW remains a popular and sustainable waste-related answer for many.

Improvements in technology invites the sector to revisit its financial models and focus just as much, if not even more so, on the operational costs (Opex) rather the just focusing on the upfront capital cost (Capex).

A prime example is the development of the steam turbine used to generate electricity and steam. It is now possible to extract larger amounts of power from the same amount of feedstock and so increase the efficiency and profitability of the plant. Whilst the Capex costs will be higher, the additional power produced, usually 5-10%, offset this increase with payback measured usually within months of the plant starting.

Put simply, no one believes that moving from a subsidy-based support system to one where investors can finance a fully functional, integrated and self-sufficient EfW plant will be easy. That said, as the subsidy landscape becomes ever more complex, it is clear operators with a technologyfocused vision, combined with a belief in the benefits of advanced technology, can generate a powerful business case for a successful long-term future.

Long-term operational focus I welcome the recent trends that are making operators look more intently at the long-term viability of EfW plants, and not just the shortterm priorities of obtaining planning consent, securing feedstock, and getting finance in place. The type of conversations Siemens is now having with operating companies are focusing more closely on critical longer term issues, such as whole lifecycle costs, improved integration of technologies, and optimised daily operation.

There are three central elements behind a successful plant development — design, build, and operation. By adopting a holistic view, taking into account the operational requirements that will stretch to 25 years, operators and technology suppliers can together deliver highly optimised and financially viable plant models.

By carefully assessing plant preparatory work from an overview standpoint, leading operators in the EfW market can minimise future risk and operational expenditure over the lifetime of the facility. They can do this whilst simultaneously

optimising plant performance — so they are best placed to meet growing customer and market expectations.

Harri Laurikka, CEO of Bioenergia (Bioenergy Association of Finland)

Finland: Key policy decisions ahead Some people said 2016 was a super year for European energy policy in general and particularly for bioenergy as the European Commission laid out several important proposals. This year these proposals will be negotiated in the Council and in the Parliament. We will see how far the institutions can get during the year, but much remains to be agreed also beyond 2017.

At the end of January, the Parliament will kick off the discussions on the legislation on land-use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF). This is an important legislative file for the Finnish bioeconomy sector, as it will determine how the use of wood for different purposes — including for bioenergy — is accounted for in the EU 2030 climate and energy package. Finland has a vast carbon sink in its LULUCF sector: some 47% of the total emissions of the country in 2015. Since 1990 around 600 million tonnes of carbon dioxide — around ten times Finland’s annual emissions — has been sequestered in the Finnish forests.

Despite this, the Finnish bioenergy sector has been able to double production

January/February 2017 • 19

Bioenergy 2017 outlook since 1990 and, at present, wood is Finland’s largest energy source (27% of total energy supply). In November, the Finnish government outlined a new energy and climate strategy, in which it aims to further replace coal and oil by increasing the use of renewable energy — including bioenergy — beyond 50% of final energy consumption by 2030. This will require also a 35% increase in the use of bioenergy. The good news is that this is fully possible so that the carbon stock of Finnish forests continues to grow.

The Finnish bioenergy sector thereby supports negotiation outcomes for LULUCF accounting that ensure that carbon stocks in Member States’ LULUCF sector keep on growing, but do not create situations where real carbon sinks are treated as artificial

Jennifer Green, executive director of the Canadian Biogas Association

Canada: Looking back and looking forward Reflecting back on the past year, those in the biogas industry would have to admit that 2016 has been a time of considerable progress for the industry. Several climate change initiatives have been brought forward by the federal and provincial governments and advances have been made with respect to several specific renewable energy initiatives on which the Canadian Biogas Association

20 • January/February 2017

emissions for accounting purposes.

Another important policy file for the Finnish bioenergy sector in 2017 is the European Commission’s proposal for its second Renewable Energy Directive covering 2021-2030 (REDII). In general, there is a lot of support in Finland for the objective to further develop the European energy system towards a more market-based system.

We have also highlighted the importance of ensuring sustainability of biomass used for energy in the EU. Such a system should be risk-based and take into account differing national circumstances and already existing certification systems.

The new legislation should not unduly increase administrative burdens, in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises. It should provide sufficiently

clear guidance for cross-border trade with biomass. It is positive that the Commission has now proposed incentives for the use of advanced biofuels beyond 2020, including in aviation and maritime transport. Nevertheless, the raw material base for the production of advanced biofuels should be sufficiently broad in order to effectively support a marketbased circular economy in the EU. Finally, we particularly look forward to the Nordic Baltic Bioenergy Conference that will take place in Helsinki during 29-31 March this year. The Conference provides an excellent forum for all market players and stakeholders interested in the Nordic and Baltic countries’ markets and technologies to discuss the policy proposals mentioned in this piece and other market developments.

(CBA) has been a major player.

In Ontario, the government announced its Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) in June setting aside C$100 million (€71m) for the Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) industry, as well as $100 million for natural gas infrastructure and $20 million for a pilot programme using methane from agricultural materials or food wastes for transportation purposes. Ontario also implemented a Cap and Trade system effective 1 January, 2017, which will support the CCAP initiatives.

A number of decisions related to the CCAP have yet to be made by the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, including specific renewable fuel content percentage, timelines for these targets, and how CCAP funds will be allocated. When the Ontario government brought forward its Offset Credit Proposal for comments at the end of the year, CBA expressed concerns about how smaller biogas developers will receive credits for GHG emission reductions and highlighted that different baselines in different provinces would be needed to be taken into consideration.

A number of other energy policies were brought forward by the Ontario government in 2016 that may create a more conducive atmosphere for further development of the Canadian biogas industry such as changes to net-metering to encourage biogas developers to increase production for their own usage. While the Large Renewable Procurement (LRP) Program

was suspended (projects >500kW), the Small Feed-in Tariff Program’s (projects <500kW) final procurement call saw 74 biogas applications totalling 16.5MW, moving into the review process. CBA participated in the Long Term Energy Plan (LTEP) consultations and submitted a detailed submission calling for greater recognition for biogas and RNG in the next LTEP. There was also movement to advancing the Strategy for a WasteFree Ontario, and commitment to develop a food and organic waste framework. The Ontario government is also reviewing an environmental activity sector registry approach that may allow smaller biogas projects to undergo a more flexible approval process.

New incentives Other provinces have also implemented climate change policies, which encourage the further development of renewable energy including biogas. In August, the British Columbia (B.C.) Utilities Commission allowed for a rate base change for RNG lowering the premium for RNG to voluntary customers. B.C. will also be amending the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Regulation to encourage emission reductions in transportation.

This amendment will allow utilities to double the total pool of incentives available to convert commercial fleets to natural gas, when the new incentives go towards vehicles using 100% renewable natural gas.

In Alberta, the Climate Leadership

Bioenergy Insight

2017 outlook Bioenergy Plan, which went into effect 1 January, 2017 encourages renewable energy development by establishing a target of 30% of electricity coming from renewable energy by 2030.

The CBA voiced the need to include small-scale biogas (<5MW) in existing programmes, to recognise the economic advantage of biogas and the delivery of greater GHG reductions to assess the self-sustainability of all renewable energy forms on an equal footing, and to consider alternative means to valuing environmental attributes that are simple and effective.

Quebec’s Energy Policy 2030 has four objectives — to decarbonise Quebec, to reduce energy consumption and increase energy efficiency, to make full use of Quebec’s natural resources and to develop its green economy. The Quebec Government wants renewable energy to meet 61% of Quebec’s needs by 2030 (it currently stands at a little more than 47%). Quebec wants to reduce fossil fuel usage, particularly in transportation, by electrification of transportation, the use of natural gas in trucking and the expansion and increased use of public transit.

At the end of 2016, the federal government announced the PanCanadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change which sets forth actions such as making greater use of renewable power, reducing methane emissions from oil and gas, protecting forests, wetlands, agricultural areas and reducing emissions from government operations. The objective of this Framework is to reduce GHG emissions and contribute to meeting or exceeding Canada’s 2030 climate change target of a 30% reduction below 2005 greenhouse gas levels. The federal government also announced a commitment to develop a Clean Fuel Standard to reduce the carbon footprint of the fuels supplied in Canada.

Consultations will begin early 2017.

These are positive signals of support for climate change and a move in the right direction for the biogas industry.

During 2016, the federal government and several provincial governments committed to more actively opening up export markets to energy products.

This is an objective of the federal Pan-Canadian Framework as well as the Alberta Climate Leadership Plan. Several Ontario government Ministers recently met with the CBA, other renewable energy associations and private companies to discuss the

Bioenergy Insight

barriers to and ways of encouraging the export of renewable energy products.

The CBA has also prepared detailed pre-budget submissions for both the federal and Ontario governments in 2017 recommending more funding to develop infrastructure for the biogas industry.

In summary, during the past year, the Canadian biogas industry has been pleased that federal and provincial governments are placing more emphasis on designing major initiatives to increase their supply of renewable energy, on devising more effective energy export policies, on moving toward streamlining environmental approval processes and on providing more funding to encourage the development of RNG. CBA hopes that federal and provincial governments continue to move down this path and more fully recognise the importance of biogas.

Fanny Pomme Langue, policy director of the European Biomass Association (AEBIOM)

EU: Decisive debates on bioenergy future expected in 2017 If 2016 has been a crucial year for bioenergy at EU level, 2017 will also be a decisive time. After years of discussions and several deferrals, in late November, the European Commission

(EC) released a long-awaited legislative package, which was entitled ‘Clean Energy for all Europeans’. It consists of more than 4,500 pages and it aims to set the scene for EU energy policy up until 2030. This includes the revision of the EU Renewable Energy Directive. As bioenergy represents more than 60% of all renewable consumed at EU level, it is easy to understand that such a package will have important implications for all European bioenergy players from local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to major installations.

First and foremost, the EC’s proposal featured a new set of sustainability criteria for all bioenergy uses. This proposal was considered as a major step forward for the European bioenergy industry, which has been calling for European harmonised rules over the past years. The proposal took a pragmatic approach, considering some on-the ground realities faced by many European bioenergy players, proposing sustainability requirements for installations over 20MW capacity, endorsing a risk-based approach for forest biomass and allowing the possibility to recognise voluntary schemes. Some improvement can of course still be made and, as usual, the devil will be in the details for the implementation of such criteria.

Sustainability is not the only topic of the package that will have consequences for the EU bioenergy sector. Despite ambition on energy efficiency, the EC’s package falls short of the immense challenge of the energy transition with limited ambition on renewables (27% target binding at EU-level only).

The heat is on The future EU policy concerning the heating and cooling (H&C) sector is also important for bioenergy. While the 2009 Renewable Energy Directive focused on the electricity production from renewable sources, more attention has been brought to H&C in the package. This could be considered at first sight as good news, as this segment represents 50% of EU energy consumption. However, if the proposal for a revised Renewable Energy Directive contains attempts to increase the share of renewables in the H&C sector, such increase is currently only recommended and has not been made mandatory.

Also, regrettably, the current proposal for a revised Energy Efficiency Directive

January/February 2017 • 21

Bioenergy 2017 outlook does not foresee action to fix loopholes allowing Member States to give subsidies to new fossil fuel installations in the heat sector. In this context, efficient oil boilers might continue to get financial support to burn oil well beyond 2030, risking creating a lost decade for decarbonising Europe and for the bioenergy sector in this key market segment.

The release of the proposals in 2016 was only the conclusion of the first chapter. In 2017, a new sequence will start with the ordinary legislative procedure, during which the EC’s package will be jointly debated along the year by the European Parliament and the European Council.

The Commission proposals will be adopted when both bodies agree on a compromise. Considering the rather tense and complex debate that appeared during the preparation of the proposal, the final outcomes for the renewable energy sector and bioenergy sector are currently unpredictable. That is why, it is crucial that all bioenergy players, caring for the future of the sector, engage with us in the promotion and the defence of their interests at EU level but also at national level.

way, what is 2017 likely to bring?

The triggering of Article 50 and subsequent Brexit negotiations will dominate discussions in the UK Parliament in the short term, and the negotiation outcomes could have considerable implications for UK farming, waste and energy policy in the longer term. There is also the possibility of the UK’s Prime Minister, Theresa May, calling a snap general election to seek a stronger mandate, making it critical

The triggering of Article 50 and subsequent Brexit negotiations will dominate discussions in the UK Parliament in the short term

to get positive commitments on AD in political parties’ election manifestos.

The UK Government will continue to consider the most cost-effective ways to meet carbon reduction targets, with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) due to release its emissions reduction plan this year. There’s a strong message to communicate about the cost-effectiveness of AD in reducing emissions, particularly in the farming and heat sectors where the UK is behind target.

The AD sector will also be closely following and seeking to help shape BEIS’ industrial strategy, due to be launched early in the year, in which the bioeconomy can and should play a key role in improving the performance of UK industry.

Opportunities for supportive policies

Charlotte Morton, chief executive at ADBA

A clearer direction?

If 2015 was the year that saw big policy changes for anaerobic digestion (AD) and 2016 the year that biomethane production took off in a meaningful

22 • January/February 2017

a hot topic for discussion, and ADBA will look to demonstrate how schemes like the FIT can both support farming and help meet emissions targets.

We are hopeful that with some encouragement, Defra will roll out greater consistency across local authorities in England for waste collection, facilitating the use of food waste as a feedstock for AD plants.

The Food Waste Recycling Action Plan may also help to contribute to this,

In terms of heat policy, the renewable heat incentive (RHI) will see new tariffs, a tariff booking system and new restrictions on crop use come into force from April.

UK biogas will face fresh challenges in 2017 with the closure of the Renewables Obligation in April and a quarterly cap of 5MWe in the Feed-In Tariff (FIT).

With regard to transport, there are hopes that the Department for Transport’s (DFT) consultation on the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation, which closes on 22 January, will help the transport market finally open up to biomethane. The future of UK farming in the wake of Brexit is also

but will need teeth to ensure that it is effective. More can also be done to extract commercial food waste.

More support to develop a world-leading industry A key aim for 2017 across the AD industry should be an improvement in the operational performance — environmental, safety and energy output — of AD plants. ADBA will hold a number of events for operators and others to share best practice, and in July we’ll publish our Best Practice Scheme, which will support AD operators to deliver high-performing plants.

ADBA will also be arguing the case for a much higher level of investment in UK AD research and innovation — for the cost of as little as £50 million (€57m), the UK could develop the capability to become the leading exporter in the potential £1 trillion global AD market. Indeed, the opportunity that this market represents for UK industry was one of the key reasons for ADBA supporting the creation of the World Biogas Association, whose president David Newman gives his thoughts on the global AD picture on the opposite page.

ADBA will continue to support the AD industry through whatever the coming year brings. In both 2014 and 2015 we witnessed more than 100 plants being built — we want the industry to be growing at least at that rate again in 2017 and beyond.

Bioenergy Insight

2017 outlook Bioenergy

David Newman, president of World Biogas Association

2017: A year of promise Whilst biogas is already a renewable industry player in developed nations, such as the UK, its potential in less developed countries has still to be realised. Indeed, the recognition of

what the anaerobic digestion and biogas industry can contribute globally is really low. Hence, the establishment of the World Biogas Association (WBA).

In 2015, the United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development goals and the Paris Agreement on climate change, which has already entered into force in 2016. These were both amazingly positive steps for the world’s environment but also for human and economic development, setting us on a course for low-carbon growth. Diplomacy and American leadership were essential in pushing both agenda, while the election of US President Trump now puts these gains in doubt. Frankly, Brexit is irrelevant in a global context and in comparison to how the American scene plays out.

Within the context of low-carbon growth, biogas has so much to offer.

We know the story well, but from a developing country perspective the key drivers for biogas will be energy independence and waste/sewage management.

Indeed, we know how rapid urbanisation and population growth have strained to breaking point already

weak public service infrastructure, leading to a waste and sewage crisis in developing nations everywhere. We also know how these nations suffer from lack of energy supplies causing continual black-outs. This in turn creates an investor nightmare, adding physical constraints to the legal and security barriers many developing nations face.

Given the right policy frameworks, biogas can contribute solutions to the energy, waste and sewage nexus.

Moreover, its principle output, nutrients, can help farming especially in many of the more arid and desertifed regions which have a desperate lack of organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous.

This low-carbon, continuous renewable source of energy can be a major driver for economic growth, if harnessed and nurtured intelligently.

So the potential is enormous — the role of the WBA is to get this message across through the international fora and to help governments enact their national biogas strategies. 2017 promises to be exciting, Trump or no Trump! l

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January/February 2017 • 23

Bioenergy food waste The European Landfill Directive of 1999 stipulates that local authorities should send less biodegradable waste to landfill in order to reduce methane emissions

A bigger problem than you think Food waste is a growing global issue, but fortunately solutions exist

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ood waste is a big challenge across the globe. In fact, one third of all good quality food produced in the world ends up as waste, and most of this waste ends up in landfill or in incinerators, according to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). This means that, each year, 1.3 billion tonnes of food are wasted worldwide. While recycling of materials such as plastic, glass, aluminium,

24 • January/February 2017

and paper have become commonplace, less than 3% of the organic waste we produce annually gets recycled, states the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Reducing food waste worldwide can make a significant contribution to tackling climate change. A report of the UK government’s Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap) shows that – as waste is responsible for around 3.3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent

(CO2e) a year, or 7% of all greenhouse gas emissions globally — reducing food waste is a great way to also reduce these emissions that contribute to climate change.

High financial and environmental costs Aside from the impact on climate change, waste has high financial and environmental costs as well.

This includes the businesses that lose revenue, the

consumers who pay for food and do not consume it, and the millions of people who lack regular access to healthy food. Moreover, the energy, water, and land implications are enormous, concludes a report of the National Consumer League.

For example, in the US this means that at a time of increasing resource scarcity, 20% of land, 4% of energy, and 25% of water is used to produce food that ends up being thrown out.

Bioenergy Insight

food waste Bioenergy Governments, legislating bodies, and companies are more and more concerned with food waste management.

Clearly, reducing food waste has huge economic, environmental, and societal benefits. However, education, funding, and policy shifts will be needed to make this reduction a reality.

According to the waste management hierarchy, landfilling is the least preferable option. Leftover food ultimately breaks down into methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas, so landfilling should be limited to the necessary minimum.

Where waste needs to be landfilled, it must be sent to landfills that comply with the requirements of the European Landfill Directive from 1999. To reduce methane emissions, the Directive obliges local authorities to send less biodegradable waste to landfill and has widereaching implications for those producing, collecting, and disposing of waste.

In addition to the environmental impact, the costs of disposal make a significant impact on the bottom line of the businesses who deal with large quantities of waste. As the costs of food waste disposal continue to increase, businesses strive to handle their food waste in a socially responsible and economical way.

Finding solutions for food waste Fortunately, the issue is starting to get some muchneeded attention. For example, foods that were previously discarded as they approached their “best by” dates are now being directed to those in need.

And different solutions that prevent food from being wasted in the first place, such as standardised date labelling, consumer education campaigns, and packaging adjustments, require relatively little capital

Bioenergy Insight

to achieve great gains.

On 3 February, 2016, France passed a law banning supermarkets from throwing away or destroying unsold food, forcing them to instead donate it to charities and food banks. Italy followed a few months later, passing legislation that removed obstacles and risks associated with donating food slightly past its sell-by date and creating tax incentives for businesses based on the amount of food donated. So the topic has caught on in Europe, with many observers believing the EU will pass its own legislation soon.

Recycling is the answer Food waste prevention and food recovery have the potential for enormous positive environmental and societal impacts, but it is food recycling that has the greatest growth potential and will have a major impact on further reducing waste in the coming decades.

odour and has a rich nutrient content. The methane-rich biogas resulting from AD is a source of renewable energy.

So, by sending food waste to AD plants, it can be used to generate clean energy and produce a valuable biofertiliser for farmland, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Food waste depackaging Clearly food waste is a bigger problem than we might think. This has inspired Mavitec Green Energy to find structural solutions for handling food waste. The company developed a new and innovative system for organic waste management – the Kerbside Waste Recycling Line. This recycling line complements Mavitec’s standard food depackaging line and consists of a Paddle Depacker, a compact, high-capacity machine, which enables operators to treat urban waste from “brown containers”.

Reducing food waste worldwide can make a significant contribution to tackling climate change

Food scraps need to be diverted away from landfills and into special organics recycling facilities. Significant impacts can be achieved with anaerobic digestion (AD), a fast growing technology. This efficient and environmentallysustainable technology can make a significant contribution to help manage organic wastes. AD technology recovers the energy from organic waste and produces a material that is suitable for spreading on farmland.

The digestate produced from the process is free from contaminants, pathogens, and

In order to recycle the large quantities of food waste and to achieve the best quality of biogas and biofertiliser, AD plants need clean organic material for their installations. The Paddle Depacker produces a clean organic product up to 99% by separating the organic material from the packaging. With its simple and low-maintenance design and quickly opening doors for easy cleaning, the Paddle Depacker distinguishes itself from other systems. It is an enhanced and high capacity de-packing solution.

Main advantages of the Paddle Depacker: • Solves food waste and recycling challenges • Produces up to 99% clean organic material suitable for biogas installations • Handles up to 30m3/h of waste depending on material composition • Is an enhanced and high capacity de-packing solution • Offers a green technology solution to the food waste problem.

The company Mavitec Green Energy is a Dutch process technology company active in the food recycling industry. It engineers, delivers, and installs systems for unpacking wet and dry co-products, melting fats, and recycling kerbside waste or brown bin waste. The company provides answers and solutions for businesses that have large quantities of by-products, biomass, or other fuel sources. Moreover, Mavitec offers a complete solution for gasifying organic streams into a number of usable energy forms (including heat, steam, and electricity) and high quality EcoChar through the use of readily available technologies.

Mavitec Green Energy is part of the Mavitec group, a privately-owned company.

With headquarters based in the Netherlands, it has international sales/ service offices worldwide.

The solutions that Mavitec brings to its customers are complimentary and help provide a more complete solution to recycling issues which companies, consumers, and governments are facing throughout the world. l

For more information:

This article was written by Maco van Heumen, managing director, and Manja Weppner, marketing director at Mavitec Green Energy.

Visit: www.mavitecgreenenergy.com

January/February 2017 • 25

Bioenergy anaerobic digestion A UK AD facility cut back on energy consumption by switching internally-mounted mixers to external ones Landia GasMix at Eco

Moving from inside to outside

S

ince its formation in 1993, Eco Sustainable Solutions has always looked for improvement with a total commitment to innovation that has distinguished itself in renewable energy. From supplying soils, composts, top dressing, turf and grass seed, mulches, barks, and playground surfaces, Eco opened its first anaerobic digestion (AD) plant in Dorset, UK, determined to create a highly innovative and cost-effective process.

The 2.5 acre site, which was Eco’s first move into renewable energy, supplies 60% of its power to Mole Valley Farmers’ neighbouring Dorchester Feed Mill, the first feed mill in the UK to be powered completely by renewables. The remaining 40% generated is sold on

26 • January/February 2017

to the National Grid. PAS 110-approved digestate is also sold on as fertiliser to two local farms.

Success was achieved, but when the company built its second digester and introduced a new externally-mounted digester mixing system, it almost

immediately found vastly improved gas yields. So much so, Eco retrofitted its first digester — also realising a big reduction in energy costs.

Cutting back on energy use Externally mounted GasMix systems, designed and

manufactured by Landia, have helped Eco Sustainable Solutions increase the amount of biogas it produces by 12.5%.

GasMix, which utilises Landia’s chopper pump, replaced inefficient and unreliable rotary submerged equipment.

The 1.6MW AD facility in Piddlehinton, near Dorchester,

Food waste collected by Eco

Bioenergy Insight

anaerobic digestion Bioenergy The 1.6MW AD facility in Piddlehinton, near Dorchester, takes in food waste from around 60,000 Dorset households

takes in food waste from around 60,000 Dorset households, along with liquid waste from milk and cheese production. At first, around 5 to 10% chicken manure was added to the feedstock, but gas yields have remained higher without. Since the installation of GasMix, which was also chosen for ease of access (no moving parts inside the tank) and reduced health and safety risks, the digesters’ contents are kept at a constant 41˚C, with a retention time of 40 days.

Initially, Eco had employed the standard rotary submerged equipment for its first digester, but opted instead for GasMix when the second digester was built.

Such was the noticeable increase in gas and additional benefits that the first digester was then retrofitted with GasMix. A total of four GasMix systems serve the two 2500m3 digesters, utilising 18.5kW chopper pumps to generate a total of 700m3/h of gas. Total mixing is achieved via specially angled recirculation nozzles.

Compared to many energyburning systems that have to run flat-out, 24/7, the GasMix at Piddlehinton only needs to operate for approximately 10min/h. Despite using 18.5kW motors, compared to typical 7.5kW submersible units, GasMix has been shown to use 50% less energy than the previous system. Even at 15min/h, the energy usage is just 110kW per day, compared to 180kW. This is on just one mixer/pump.

“Primarily, we chose the Landia GasMix system because all the pumps and pipe-work parts are on the outside of

Bioenergy Insight

the digesters, so they can be maintained without interruption to our 24/7 process,” Eco Sustainable Solutions’ MD, Trelawney Dampney, comments.

He added: “Since the installation, we have had absolutely no performance or reliability issues, but to see such an improvement in the process by way of increased gas, as well as reducing our energy usage, is a massive bonus. For any AD operator, a proven boost of 12.5% is very significant.”

In separate tests, GasMix reduced viscosity by more than 31% when used in a heat exchange tank treating agricultural residues prior to AD. This reduced viscosity input from the heat exchange tank allowed for a 12.5% reduction in downstream reactor mixing times, equivalent to a saving of 210kWh per day in electrical consumption.

Attention from beyond the sea The success of Landia’s GasMix at Piddlehinton has already drawn international attention with the visit by a delegation of business leaders from South Korea who made a special

South Korean delegation at Eco Sustainable Solutions

trip to site. The delegation included representatives from the Korea Environment Corp., the country’s Ministry of Environment, two engineering companies, and a livestock cooperative association. On a separate visit to the UK, the South Korean delegation also visited Landia at Whitchurch in Shropshire to take a closer look at the pump and mixer manufacturer, from whom they had placed an order for GasMix systems as a direct result of their visit to Eco. Goods were rigorously inspected before leaving on their 5,000 mile journey to East Asia.

Paul Davies, key account manager at Landia, explains: “This was a very significant day at our premises on Waymills Industrial Estate.

Our guests from South Korea very much liked what they’d seen at Eco and placed a sizeable order with us.

“The visit to Whitchurch gave our visitors the opportunity to see Landia for themselves and make a detailed inspection of the GasMix systems we’ve built for them. As with Eco, their initial interest was in reliability and ease of service, but such a vast improvement in gas yields and overall optimisation of the process was impossible to ignore.”

Dampney adds: “Completed on time and within budget, our AD facility at Piddlehinton is proving itself as a highly efficient plant and I believe will act as a blueprint for future resource projects.” l

For more information:

This article was written by Chris French, a freelance writer specialising in environmental topics. Visit: www.landia.co.uk

South Korean delegation visit to Landia UK

January/February 2017 • 27

Bioenergy company profile How a UK malt producer created a local circular economy through AD

Reaping sustainable benefits from AD

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NER-G biogas CHP technology is powering an anaerobic digestion (AD) facility for Suffolk, UK-based malt producer Muntons. The facility is providing organic fertiliser from digestate to local farms to grow the barley used for malting, thus creating a local circular economy. The high efficiency ENER-G 499kW system began operation in April 2015 and is supplying 11% of the site’s electrical baseload and heat for use in the AD process, achieving significant cost and carbon savings.

Muntons decided to invest in the AD project as part of its ‘Practical Sustainability’ strategy.

The key reasons for developing the plant were: 1. To help decarbonise the site’s energy supply by converting process waste residue into renewable biogas and to provide sustainable power and heat for on-site processes.

2. To achieve energy security and reduce reliance on the National Grid by becoming an independent on-site energy producer.

3. To achieve energy cost savings from high efficiency on-site generation and create additional revenue from the government’s feed-in tariff.

4. To avoid the cost and environmental impact of waste disposal of processing residue.

28 • January/February 2017

Previously, Muntons was spending £750,000 (€887,750) every year paying for 3,000 truckloads of residue from its processes to be removed from the site.

Now this same residue is utilised in the AD plant to create a methane-rich biogas and digestate.

5. To help achieve zero landfill and reduce transport miles involved in disposal.

6. To create high quality biofertiliser as the digestate by-product of AD and create a useful resource for local farms to enrich fields used to grow cereals. These cereals are Muntons’ prime raw material — hence the benefit is circular. Muntons also generates a revenue from this valuable product.

7. To treat liquid waste from the production process and reduce the cost of wastewater disposal and reduce environmental impact. The high chemical oxygen demand effluent is now treated anaerobically in the digester and can be safely released to the local river.

Following a full tendering process and technology trials to test the CHP system and associated AD equipment and prove that it would process barley as a feedstock, Muntons appointed ENER-G as its CHP partner to design, manufacture, install, commission, and maintain

proving trials on pilot plants over many months. It was constructed to generate a significant amount of our electricity use on site, which is vital when we hear of potential electric shortages in the winter months. It is designed also to de-risk our business by providing highspec wastewater treatment.”

Sustainable benefits

Heather Foster, head of operations at ENER-G

the biogas CHP system.

The methane-rich biogas created by the AD process powers a CHP engine that generates electricity and heat, which is used to pasteurise the sludge that comes off the reactor.

The sludge is subsequently centrifuged to render it dry enough for spreading back onto farm land as an

The carbon reduction from this project amounts to 400 tonnes per annum through the removal of 3,000 truck journeys between the two Muntons sites in the UK. An additional carbon saving of 466 tonnes per year is achieved by displacement of energy from conventional fossil fuel sources. The payback on investment is 4.6 years, which will reduce if Muntons is successful in gaining renewable heat incentive (RHI) payments for the associated activities.

Around 3,000 tonnes of biofertiliser per year is produced in the AD plant and

Around 3,000 tonnes of biofertiliser per year is produced in the AD plant and is supplied to local farmers organic fertiliser. The CHP provides the main factory with green electricity and heat to supply the digester conditioning tank and pasteuriser with hot water.

Muntons environment manager Ryland Cairns says: “This state-of-the-art plant was selected after extensive

is supplied to local farmers, who in turn supply Muntons with its barley, helping them to thrive and become more sustainable. Muntons buys almost all its malting barley from within a 50-mile radius.

This creates a virtuous and sustainable circle of recycling.

As such, all products used

Bioenergy Insight

company profile Bioenergy

ENER-G biogas CHP technology is powering an AD facility for malt producer Muntons

in the AD plant are totally traceable and food safe.

The social benefits of the project are summed up by Nigel Davies, Muntons manufacturing and sustainability director. He says: “The generation of

highly nutritive fertiliser is a genuine cradle-to-cradle process by returning to our growers material generated solely from malting barley.”

The AD process has helped Muntons malt to be classified as 100% sustainable, endorsed

by the Sustainable Agriculture Platform Initiative.

Muntons is keenly focused on sustainable production — focussing its efforts around carbon footprinting and taking the lead in promoting its ethos to both suppliers and customers. The biogas CHP system is helping the company in its aim to reduce their carbon footprint of farming cereals by at least 50%.

The company is the first maltster to develop a bespoke farming carbon footprint calculator and the first to make the pledge that all of its malt will be low carbon within five years. This is part of an overarching objective to minimise the impact of its business activity on the environment wherever possible.

To get the most out of this investment, Muntons has also conducted a number

of research projects. This included the dosing of a novel strain of sulfolobalus archea to reduce hydrogen sulphide in the biogas, and digestate composition and efficacy trials with Lincoln University to demonstrate its effectiveness over artificial fertilisers.

Muntons also participated in University College London’s ‘Swab and Send’ project, which has discovered a source of bacteria that produces antibiotics that kill the multidrug resistant e.coli superbug. This AD project is a perfect example of the circular economy and 360 degree sustainability in action — a powerful demonstration of Muntons’ mission of ‘Practical Sustainability’. l For more information:

This article was written by Heather Foster, head of operations at ENER-G. Visit: www.energ.co.uk

biogas expo & congress

8. + 9. Feb. 2017 Exhibition Center Offenburg www.biogas-offenburg.de

bg17_anz_190x135_en.indd 1

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Messe Offenburg-Ortenau GmbH Schutterwälder Str. 3 77656 Offenburg · Germany FON +49 (0)781 9226-33 FAX +49 (0)781 9226-77 biogas@messe-offenburg.de

13.11.16 23:25

January/February 2017 • 29

Bioenergy opinion A food plant’s guide to obtaining PAS 110 certification for anaerobic digestate

Chasing a certificate

P

AS 110: six characters which, depending on your point of view either strike terror into your heart or show the wider world, and customers in particular, the attention to detail and quality that lies behind your anaerobic digestion (AD) process and your digestate. Whatever your reaction, there is certainly no need for plant operators to be wary of the requirements of PAS 110. Achieving the voluntary standard can provide significant benefits — not least an increase in the value of digestate sales — and, contrary to some perceptions, the standard is not overly prescriptive.

PAS 110 actually stands for Publicly Available Specification number 110.

As it suggests, this means that unlike many British and international quality standards that must be purchased, it is available free of charge to anyone. The standard was first published in 2010 by the British Standards Institution (BSI) and the latest second version was updated in July 2014.

When used in conjunction with the Quality Protocol for the production and use of anaerobic digestate, it provides the best evidence of the safety and consistent quality of digestate produced by an AD plant, allowing it to be classified as an organic fertiliser product rather than a waste, and certified under the Biofertiliser Certification Scheme (BCS) rules. This provides another potential income stream for AD plants using food waste as a feedstock, which can be

30 • January/February 2017

safety of the end product.

However, it is the requirement for pasteurisation which tends to scare off plant operators considering applying for PAS 110.

The role of pasteurisation

Matt Hale, international sales manager at HRS Heat Exchangers

increasingly important in the current economic climate.

Understand your feedstock A number of plants in the UK meet the requirements of the standard, including several that handle food and mixed organic waste. But before attempting to join them, it is important for an AD operator to understand what PAS 110 is and is not. It is a voluntary industryled specification designed to boost the market for digestate and act as a precursor for a potential full British Standard at some time in the future. It is not a statutory document and, as such, compliance with PAS 110 does not absolve plant operators and digestate producers from other legislative requirements, such as compliance with animal by-products (ABP) regulations and environmental permitting.

The standard requires producers to have sufficient control processes and to undertake hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) planning through an appropriate quality management system (QMS).

The DCS system has not only reduced the volume of digestate, but increased its agronomic value as well

It also has specific definitions for different terms, including “catering waste” and “source segregated”. Much of the standard is about ensuring that producers have the right management policies in place to prevent contamination and ensure the quality and

The standard does not specify the type of pasteurisation to be used, or where in the process it should occur (i.e. treatment of feedstock before digestion or treatment of the digestate itself). It does provide some exemptions where pasteurisation is not required, such as where the plant is already covered

by ABP regulations, or where certain specified feedstocks arise within a holding where the digestate will be used exclusively.

In terms of the actual pasteurisation requirements, PAS 110 specifies: “All digestates shall be produced by an AD process that includes: a) a pasteurisation step capable of heating all material to at least 70°C for one hour; or b) an equivalent alternative treatment validated for its efficacy at reducing a suitable plant pathogen indicator species.”

HRS 3 tank batch sludge pasteuriser system components

Bioenergy Insight

opinion Bioenergy It can be seen from this that the reasons for pasteurisation are as much to protect agricultural soils and crops from the risk of spreading crop diseases and pests as they are about preserving human and animal health. This means that plant operators and their equipment suppliers have a large degree of flexibility about how and where to install a pasteurisation step.

Reducing energy use and maximising efficiency As the temperature of material leaving the anaerobic digester is generally warmer than the feedstock entering it (typically around 35˚C postdigester compared with 15˚C pre-digester), less energy is typically required to heat the material to the required 70˚C (about two thirds as

The HRS 3 tank batch sludge pasteuriser system provides 40% heat regeneration

much). But even installing a traditional single tank pasteurisation system at this stage can be very inefficient and may require additional buffer tanks to avoid slowing down the overall AD process.

A more energy-efficient alternative is an HRS 3 tank batch sludge pasteuriser.

The system has three tanks, allowing one to be pasteurised

while one is emptying and the other is filling, ensuring that pasteurisation does not slow down overall throughput. Ultimately, it is a simpler solution than a single tank option, which may require buffer tanks and additional controls to restrict flow elsewhere in the process. Furthermore, the heat exchangers used in

the HRS system recapture the heat and use it again, making them up to 70% more efficient than traditional single tank “heat jacket” type pasteurisation systems.

Installing pasteurisation to meet the requirements of PAS 110 need not be complicated and there are likely to be many suitable equipment solutions on the market.

However, care needs to be taken that the one you choose is suitable, not only to meet the standard’s straightforward requirements, but also to fit in with your overall AD process without adding unsustainable energy or management costs. l

For more information:

This article was written by Matt Hale, international sales manager at HRS Heat Exchangers. Visit: www.hrs-heatexchangers.com

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January/February 2017 • 31

Bioenergy oil palm biomass Oil palm products and biomass in Malaysia

Much ado about palms

Palm oil potential The palm oil industry, for instance, generates a fair amount of lignocellulosic biomass with an estimated 100 million tonnes on an annual basis. Most of it, however, is left in the field as fertiliser due to the lack of available technology or

32 • January/February 2017

know-how to further process the biomass other than the standard practice of leaving it to rot. The readily available surplus of oil palm biomass does not take land away from food production, therefore eliminating the food versus fuel/feed debate.

“In Malaysia, biomass is abundant, hence availability is not an issue,” says Zainal Azman, a senior VP from the Malaysian Bioeconomy Development Corp. (formerly known as the Malaysian Biotechnology Development Corp.). “The challenge is to find the right conversion technology to add value to the biomass and logistics issues.

Currently, most of the biomass projects in Malaysia are focusing on renewable energy, biofertilisers, biocomposites and biofuels, because these technologies are already available. This is not enough, as we need a conversion technology that would be able to triple the value of biomass that we have”.

Malaysia is already intensifying efforts to develop renewable energy, especially biomass, as an alternative resource in the country. Under the Eleventh Malaysia Plan (RMK11), renewable energy capacity is expected to reach 2,080MW by 2020 from 243MW from 2014, contributing 7.8% of total installed capacity in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah. Out of this, biomass is expected to reach 38MW by 2020 from 23MW from 2014, which is a 65% growth from 2014.

Table 1 shows the current and forecasted renewable energy installed capacity.

Being more efficient and productive with existing resources is a good idea.

2014 2020

Sources of renewable energy

Total installed capacity (%) 243MW

Total installed capacity (%) 2,080MW

Solar photovoltaic

66

9

Biomass 23 38 Mini hydro

6

24

Biogas 5 12 Solid waste

-

17

Total

100 100

Table 1: Renewable energy installed capacity by sources

Biomass coming from the palm oil industry, such as oil derivatives, oil palm fronds and leaves, oil palm trunks, empty fruit bunches, shells, mesocarp fibre, and palm oil mill effluent (POME) could be put to better use.

Investing in development Although the initial focus on renewable energy is a significant step in reducing dependence on fossil fuels, other areas of biomassbased products should also be explored and developed to raise competitiveness levels in the global market.

Over the years, bio-based chemicals have gained traction as a sustainable alternative to petrochemicals. The government’s support and commitment in developing bio-based chemicals is palpable through the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) and Bioeconomy Transformation Programme (BTP), both aimed at steering Malaysia’s downstream palm oil sector towards the production of high value oleo-derivative products and uncovering ways to economically utilise the various parts of the oil palm tree and fruit.

As of September 2016, the BTP, spearheaded by the Malaysian Bioeconomy Development Corp., includes 14 projects that involve producing biochemicals and biomaterials from renewable resources, while 15 projects are focused on using biomass as industrial upstream inputs.

All these 29 projects are expected to provide a total of more than 10,000 job opportunities and secure cumulative gross national income (GNI) of more than RM9.5 billion (€2bn) by 2020.

One of the more significant investments secured in the bio-based chemical sector is Verdezyne’s commercialscale renewable chemicals manufacturing facility in Bio-XCell, a purpose built and dedicated bio-based industrial park located in the state of Johor, Malaysia.

The manufacturing facility leverages on Verdezyne’s yeast fermentation technology with the abundant supplies of non-food, plant-based feedstocks to produce a variety of commercial diacids, including dodecanedioic acid ( DDDA). These diacids are used to produce nylon or other polymers in a variety of applications,

Bioenergy Insight

Source: 11th Malaysia Plan

M

alaysia is transitioning towards a new economy, one that is driven by sustainability and innovation.

This new economy will have to overcome a myriad of socio-economic challenges. In order to address population pressure and dwindling natural resources, the solution would be to utilise renewable biological resources to produce food, feed, materials, and industrial goods.

Malaysia has one of the highest figures in the world for biocapacity, in terms of the annual production of biomass per person. Given the abundance of biomass resources, the country is well positioned to be a forerunner in the development of bio-based materials and products. This is further supported by commitments from both the public and private sectors to finding ways to make better use of biomass, and to derive novel products that will minimise environmental pollution.

Bio-based technologies are able to add value to these bio-resources.

Consequently, profound and innovative strategies centring on the utilisation of biomass are crucial in order for Malaysia to transit to a bio-based economy.

oil palm biomass Bioenergy including engineering resins, automotive parts, athletic clothing, carpeting and toothbrush bristles, all at lower cost than traditional, petroleum-derived nylons.

Moving further, secondgeneration conversion technologies and treatment methods also set sights on converting from most nonfood feedstock — including oil palm biomass — into lignocellulosic-derived sugars, which are precursors to renewable fuels, fine chemicals, and polymers.

It is important to note that technological uncertainty does still remain around the step of breaking down the biomass into individual sugars in a manner similar to first-generation approaches.

The existing challenge is thus to further optimise the process to better suit oil palm biomass in order to produce value-added chemicals at high selectivity, high yields, and at economical cost.

“At the moment very little focus is given on specialty chemicals, though the market value is higher.

We expect that by 2020 there will be more high-end products to be created from biomass, such as bio-based chemicals and biopolymers once the conversion technologies are commercially available,” adds Azman.

Having said that, Malaysia aims to fully capture the commercial benefits from oil palm biomass. From the economic standpoint, the benefits of turning palm biomass into fuels and chemicals far outweigh any of its current usage. Currently most palm biomass is converted to wood products, bioenergy, and pellets.

Sabah and Sarawak, two states in East Malaysia, own more than 50% of the total oil palm hectarage in the country, and thus have tremendous potential in adding value to their economy through high-tech utilisation of its huge palm biomass reserves.

Bioenergy Insight

Oil palm trees in main plantation nursery in Borneo Malaysia

Malaysia’s National Biomass Strategy 2020 and Sabah and Sarawak’s Biomass Industry Development Plan target for Malaysia to become a biomass hub by 2020. Based on these blueprints, the country is expected to attract RM3 billion worth of investments in biomass projects by 2018.

Cluster lustre As a hub, Malaysia is well positioned to become a one-stop centre for industry players in the region to participate in the biomass value chain, starting from feedstocks to markets.

With many downstream opportunities to be explored, industry clusters such as the Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) provide the needed platform to bring together stakeholders from oil palm companies to estate owners, millers, technology providers, and financial investors.

Sabah, the largest palm oil producing state in Malaysia, has two POICs, one located in Lahad Datu and the other in Sandakan. The Lahad Datu POIC is the first dedicated palm oil industrial cluster of its kind in Malaysia. It is an important component of the Sabah Development Corridor, targeting key biomass industries including palm oil refinery, oleochemicals, food, phyto-nutrients, biodiesel, and other support services. The POIC in Sandakan is also being developed to capture higher

value-added downstream processing of palm oil.

These specialised industry clusters complement larger industrialisation efforts and speed up the development of other bio-based downstream activities. By focusing efforts and tools in clusters, the strategy channels resources to targeted areas to deliver collective impact, i.e. to enhance the competitiveness of an entire group of companies simultaneously.

Since its establishment, the Lahad Datu POIC has attracted more than RM2 billion in investments and created more than 2,000 job opportunities.

A high-impact project

by Genting Plantations and Elevance Renewable Sciences based at the POIC sets the direction through the setting of its integrated biorefinery to produce from biomass and renewable oils high performance olefins and specialty chemicals that can be used in multiple endproduct applications, including lubricants, surfactants, and detergents. Taking full advantage of investment opportunities in downstream activities, the biorefinery initiative signifies a win-win collaboration between the public and private sector in adding value to the palm oil industry, with the POIC participants benefitting from many economic advantages and supported by modern and complete infrastructures.

Peripheral industries can also reap additional benefits

from this collaboration.

Conclusions The Malaysian Bioeconomy Development Corp. is working towards attracting more industry players and investments into the POIC, while continuing to engage strategic partners to create ecosystems conducive to the growth of bio-based chemicals.

The value proposition coming from the POIC would be its close proximity to feedstock and plants, lower cost of transportation for biomass, and by leveraging on the surrounding industries built up around it. Therefore, this enables industry players to structurally mobilise biomass and entices bio-based chemical companies to be in the POIC. All in all, the Malaysia’s bioeconomy agenda has set high expectations for the country to become one of the key biomass hubs in the AsiaPacific region. The high-value utilisation of biomass is the needed solution to reduce Malaysia’s dependency on petrochemical derivatives.

Eventually, the economic multipliers from biomass development will contribute to national economic growth and propel the country into achieving the status of a highly developed and highincome status nation. l For more information on the Malaysian Bioeconomy Development Corporation (Bioeconomy Corporation), visit www.bioeconomycorporation.my

January/February 2017 • 33

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research project Bioenergy A UK project demonstrates the benefits of traceable online measurement of siloxanes in industrial biogas

Solving the siloxane measurement problem

O

f all the hurdles the biogas economy has faced, the challenge of impurity measurement remains at the forefront of industrial and scientific interest. A recent project funded by the European Metrology Research Programme for Innovation and Research (EMPIR) has taken steps towards providing a solution to one of biggest measurement challenges in biogas quality.

There are currently no standardised methods for the measurement of siloxanes in biogas or biomethane, so scientific research projects such as this are proving vitally important for underpinning the growing biogas economy.

During the novel 18 month project, the UK National Physical Laboratory (NPL) worked in collaboration with the UK-based company Protea to demonstrate the benefits of traceable online measurements of siloxanes in industrial biogas. The results indicate that moving towards real-time measurement provides a large advantage over more traditional methods, which have been plagued with issues.

damage to gas processing equipment, as abrasive silicon dioxide deposits are formed during combustion. The fouling of thermocouples and oxygen sensors has also been observed, causing feedback errors and efficiency loss.

Siloxanes are a relatively new impurity found in biogas, as their use within household products has gradually increased over the last few decades. They are now commonly added to products such as cleaning agents, deodorants, and cosmetics to improve their consistency and performance. Once disposed of, these products become part of the waste streams that are typically used for biogas production.

Due to their volatility, the siloxanes become entrained with the biogas during the digestion stage, and must be removed to below a threshold level before the biogas can be safely used to produce energy. This “total silicon” limit level varies by application, and the limit values themselves are still under scrutiny at European standardisation level.

The current “gold standard” for siloxane quantification

Figure 2: FTIR spectrum showing siloxanes in biogas and the AtmosFIR instrument

involves collecting samples within sampling media such as sample bags, which are then sent to laboratories for analysis, and results provided after several days. Although offline methods do not require an initial investment, over time they prove to be an expensive technique.

Looking beyond the figures reveals a bigger problem, as studies have widely reported problems with the short-term stability of siloxanes within media such as sampling bags.

This often leads to large differences in results when samples are sent to separate laboratories, as the sampling

The siloxane challenge Amongst the diverse impurity content of biogas, siloxanes are amongst the most problematic both in terms of measurement challenge and their harmful effects on infrastructure.

Siloxanes can cause irreversible

Bioenergy Insight

Figure 1: Molecular structure of L2, L3, D4 and D5 siloxanes (C: black, H: white, O: red, Si: teal)

January/February 2017 • 35

Bioenergy research project

RAW BIOGAS

TREATED BIOGAS

Figure 5: Plant schematic showing sampling points

measurement technology.

The gas and particle metrology group has refined their techniques through over six years of biogas impurity research, and their reference standards are at the cutting edge of accuracy.

Traceability is vitally important, as it ensures that measurement results are valid through using an unbroken

4

3

2

1

0 04:00

06:00

08:00

Field trial

10:00

12:00

Time of day

14:00

Siloxanes measured by FTIR 5.7 3.8 1.9 0.0 1.59 1.06 0.53 0.00 0.44 0.33 0.22 0.11 0.00 1.23 0.82 0.41 0.00 0.33 0.22 0.11 0.00 0.105 0.070 0.035 0.000

16:00

22 Sep

23 Sep

24 Sep

25 Sep

26 Sep

Amunt fraction (ppm)

Ampunt fraction (ppm)

5

chain of comparisons back to national standards. In this case, the mixtures are traceable to the SI kilogram, as components are individually weighed using high precision balances as they are added to the gas cylinder. The standards are then validated using a high precision gas chromatograph, which separates the siloxanes on a thin capillary column before detecting them with a mass spectrometer. In contrast to Protea’s FTIR technique, this lab-based solution is not Switching from treated to raw gas appropriate for performing PMDS online measurements due to L2 D3 L3 its high cost and maintenance D4 L4 requirements. It is barriers D5 Total SiOx such as this that have thus far posed a challenge to biogas upgraders, as there is often a trade-off between accuracy and cost.

Total SiOx

ENGINES

CHILLER

D5

CARBON BEDS

L4

BIOGAS PROCESSING

DIGESTER

D4

Figure 4: Lab-based techniques are accurate, but expensive

L2

Protea has developed an instrument that utilises Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) detection to identify and quantify siloxanes in real-time.

The full spectrum technique utilised by its AtmosFIR instrument also allows for the measurement of methane and carbon dioxide, which are the main biogas components.

Although siloxanes appear similar to the detector, there are small changes in response due to differences between the molecules. This enables each siloxane to leave a unique fingerprint, and allows for multiple biogas components to be measured simultaneously, providing a holistic measurement solution.

In order to validate Protea’s FTIR technique, traceable gas standards containing siloxanes in biogas were prepared by NPL in order to provide a reference. NPL is the UK’s national standards laboratory, a world-leading centre in the development and application of highly accurate

L3

Spectroscopic solution

wastewater treatment plant.

The plant uses anaerobic digestion (AD) to convert waste sludge into biogas, which is burnt in gas turbines to generate renewable energy.

Raw biogas from the digester is upgraded using a series of activated carbon beds before it is fed to gas turbines. The beds undergo a nine-hour regeneration cycle, in which a bed is taken offline after six hours for cleaning. The biogas flow is diverted onto a clean bed, whilst the previous bed regenerates to ensure there is no interruption to the process.

Real time data collected from Protea’s instrument clearly captures how this regeneration cycle affects the amount fractions of individual siloxanes within the biogas. D4 siloxane in particular can be seen to follow a clear rise and fall pattern, which aligns with the bed regeneration schedule.

The real time data also captured a surprising result when it was switched to measure raw biogas (see 27 September in Fig 6). Although some of the heavier siloxanes were seen to increase as expected, the total silicon was lower overall in the raw biogas. NPL and Protea chemists have theorised that this is likely due to the chemistry of the carbon beds and a feature of aging material. After contacting the site, it was discovered that the carbon beds were indeed due for replacement,

D3

method fails to provide a representative view of the siloxane content. So while the laboratory-based measurement techniques may be accurate, the sample they are measuring is often compromised as the technique is not fit for purpose.

2.46 1.64 0.82 0.00 27 Sep

Date

Figure 3: Reference mixtures are prepared by weighing each component

36 • January/February 2017

The AtmosFIR instrument was taken to a UK-based

Figure 6: Online measurements capture the trends that grab samples may miss

Bioenergy Insight

research project Bioenergy which served to explain the anomalous result and highlight the advantage that continuous monitoring would provide.

During the field trial, NPL’s traceable gas standards were used to perform calibration checks on the AtmosFIR. Traceability in instrument calibration is important for providing confidence in results, so a full labbased validation of the AtmosFIR took place at NPL in advance of the trial. It is through this mechanism that the results are validated, through an unbroken chain of comparisons back to the SI. Conclusion The bioenergy industry is growing and its need for fast and accurate measurements of biogas quality is a vital issue to address. Impurities such as siloxanes currently

have no standardised methods for their quantification, so it is important to develop new solutions to feed into future standardisation. The development and validation of online instruments such as Protea’s AtmosFIR are taking important steps in moving the biogas quality framework forward.

The monitoring of individual siloxanes in real time is currently not widely practised, but this case has proved valuable by highlighting the breakthrough of lighter siloxanes in aging carbon beds. Direct online measurement has the advantage of removing the uncertainty associated with existing sampling methods, which is widely recognised as one of the largest sources of error. This project has demonstrated that techniques such as FTIR provide a viable

solution to the siloxane measurement challenge, revealing hidden trends that would have otherwise gone unnoticed and providing plant operators with quality assurance and a platform for process optimisation.

The validation of Figure 7: Online sampling measurement techniques such as this will ensure that biomethane can For more information: This article was written by play a significant role in Lucy Culleton, higher research delivering a sustainable and scientist at the National Physical Laboratory. Visit: NPL.co.uk secure energy future. l

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Bioenergy biomass storage at port What does it take to develop and operate a successful supply chain facility?

Creating strong links in the biomass supply chain

T

he Peel Ports Group is one of the UK’s largest port operators with facilities in Liverpool, Clydeport, Dublin, Great Yarmouth, Heysham, London and Manchester. The group has been supporting Europe’s biggest carbon-saving project at the Drax power station in North Yorkshire, where 12 million tonnes of carbon is being saved each year since half the power station was upgraded to produce renewable energy using biomass.

The Port of Liverpool is owned and operated by Peel Ports Group and has a proud heritage of dealing with a wide range of cargoes during its 300 years’ operating as a wet port, ranging from the goods that fuelled the Industrial Revolution to the latest generation of massive offshore wind-turbines.

For centuries the port has adapted to different materials, ships and port technology, and Liverpool has continued to be one of the UK’s most important ports. Even today, it doesn’t stand still. One of the port’s most recent investments was the recent opening of the port’s new container terminal, Liverpool2 and upgrading its facilities for handling steel imports.

Another new feature on the waterfront at the Port of Liverpool is a £100 million (€116m) biomass terminal it built in partnership with Drax to supply its power station in North Yorkshire with compressed wood pellets.

38 • January/February 2017

Having provided 20% of the UK’s renewable electricity in the first half of 2016, Drax’s power station is the single biggest carbon-saving project in Europe. Equally, thanks to the conversion of half of the power station to biomass from coal, the site continues to support around 14,000 direct and indirect jobs across the UK, and contributed £1.2bn to the UK economy in 2015.

Liverpool biomass terminal – case study The origins of the development go back to 2011, when we began considering the future of solid fuel imports with the decline of coal usage as the UK moved towards more renewable sources. Once again, the company was looking to adapt and provide options for new cargoes.

Around the same time Drax was looking for a logistics provider to help with imports of compressed wood pellets. Since 2009, Drax Power Station had begun

Biomass train at Peel Ports Liverpool

a process of upgrading its coal-fired boilers to run on sustainable biomass, sourced from huge, well-managed working forests that have increased in size over the last 50 years. More than this, it had plans to set up its own pellet manufacturing plants in South East US and needed to import large quantities of compressed wood pellets.

These shared interests gave rise to the relationship between Peel Ports and Drax, culminating in the building of the new facility, with the terminal making use of the Port of Liverpool’s existing expertise in handling biomass and its large land footprint at Gladstone Docks.

The Port of Liverpool’s work with Drax taught the operator about the importance of collaboration from the get go.

Like any bulk cargo, biomass has its own characteristics and challenges, particularly in large quantities. Idea sharing has led to a very safe working environment allowing teams to move the cargo quickly and efficiently using lessons

learned from previous efforts.

Biomass requires specialist equipment and processes in order to be handled safely.

It has different properties to coal and so needs to be stored and transported in a unique way. For example, it cannot be left open to the elements as moisture content must be kept to a minimum.

To address these challenges, the keystone of the Port of Liverpool’s partnership with Drax was to invest in a technical infrastructure that could handle the fuel.

The first obstacle to overcome was getting the high-density pellets off the giant ships that had transported them across the Atlantic. For this, the port operator’s invested in two fully enclosed unloading machines designed by Siwertell which uses an Archimedean screw — a long tube with a spiral winding up the inside that allows liquids, or materials that can behave like a liquid (including wood pellets), to defy gravity and travel upwards.

From the top of the screw, the pellets are transported through a series of covered conveyors to one of three purpose-built silos, tailored to safely store thousands of tonnes of biomass.

The technology has greatly increased berth capacity, allowing Panamax vessels to turn around quickly. And due to the fact that the unloaders are fully enclosed, they also keep the pellets dry, which is essential. Peel Ports manages the combustible nature of the pellets using nitrogen and

Bioenergy Insight

biomass storage at port Bioenergy

The Drax plant has been described as the largest, cleanest and most efficient coal-fired power station in the UK

CO2 to store them safely. This is different to coal, which can be transported in open containers and stored outside.

With a storage capacity of 100,000 tonnes and throughput capacity of three million tonnes per annum, the facility also needed an innovative supply chain to safely, reliably and efficiently transport the biomass across the north of England.

Within the storage facility, the pellets wait until another conveyor belt deposits them onto specially-designed biomass trains, which then ferry the cargo across the peaks of the Pennine hills to the power station itself, near Selby in North Yorkshire.

Each step at the port is automated, designed with safety and efficiency foremost by a joint team of engineers from the Port of Liverpool’s contract partners, its own internal teams and Drax. Endto-end, from port to power station, the whole process can take as little as 12 hours.

Once fully operational, the new terminal will allow Drax to transport up to ten biomass trains each day. It also secures a fourth port for Drax, crucially on the UK’s west coast. With the three others being on the east, Liverpool’s strategically important location provides additional reliability and security of supply for this most important commodity.

As well as these benefits,

Bioenergy Insight

the facility directly employs 50 people and around 500 additional contractors worked on the project during its construction and development.

History of biomass in Liverpool Wood pellets for energy generation only really became a commodity in the UK around ten years ago, when power stations were exploring modern, low-carbon alternatives to coal. After much research, the use of biomass was found to dramatically reduce many air pollutants and cuts greenhouse gases by more than 80% compared to coal. Gradually, the UK became the world leader and other countries began to explore the opportunity provided by biomass as well. And as demand for the commodity grew, so too did the need for more ports

to handle larger cargoes.

Historically, Liverpool has exported small quantities of wood pellets for domestic uses such as cat litter trays and animal bedding. However, that changed in 2013 when Eon invested in its own Liverpool bulk terminal, designed to discharge large quantities of wood pellets to fuel Ironbridge Power Station in Shropshire, with Peel Ports Group supporting the operation until the power station closed in 2015.

By this point, the plans with Drax were well underway, and in September 2015 the new biomass terminal began operation, since then more than a million tonnes of material have been discharged and transported via the port. Biomass now accounts for between 5-10% of the Port of Liverpool’s annual tonnage and around 3-5% of the Group’s annual volume.

The biomass market Over the past decade renewable energy has transformed the way people power homes and businesses in the UK and across the world.

The technology used has improved and as a result the capacity from renewables has dramatically increased.

In the UK, renewables use is rising steadily, accounting for 25% of all electricity generated domestically in 2015. In the first half of 2016,

20% of the UK’s renewable power was supplied by Drax through sustainable biomass.

Contrast those figures against coal, which in the UK declined from supplying 30.8% of UK power needs in Q1 2015 to just 15.8% in Q1 2016, and the country’s increasing use of renewables is even more evident.

The increasing use of biomass and its role in the rise of renewable energy is impressive, but actually the UK uses far less biomass than many other European countries. In Finland, for example, a quarter of all the energy generated for heating is from wood and wood-based products.

Biomass plays an important part in reducing carbon emissions and providing a cost effective, reliable source of energy which helps to keep the lights on in the UK. Drax says that with the right conditions, it could do even more, converting further units at Drax to use sustainable biomass instead of coal and supply six million UK homes with renewable electricity.

Biomass is an important cargo for Peel Ports, benefiting the companies, the economy and the environment. l

For more information:

This article was written by Gary Hodgson, chief operating officer of Peel Ports Group.

Visit: www.peelports.com

The 4,000MW Drax plant supplies 7% of the UK’s electricity needs

January/February 2017 • 39

Bioenergy biogas markets Analysis of the IEE II contribution to biogas and biomethane uptake in Europe

The role of Intelligent Energy-Europe II

T

he EU Intelligent Energy — Europe II (IEE II) programme supported the market uptake of bioenergy in Europe with €48.3 million of funds from 2007 to 2013. A new report, prepared by Ricardo Energy & Environment for the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) of the European Commission, reveals that by June 2016 the programme triggered over 1.65 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) of bioenergy and saved 5.7Mt of carbon dioxide emissions, predominantly from heat production, and stimulated over €0.9 billion of investment in bioenergy.

These are conservative figures, and if potential data is taken into account then the achieved impact of the IEE II programme could be much higher.

Bioenergy is playing an important role in achieving Europe’s 2020 renewable energy targets. Biogas and biomethane in particular have a great potential for wide-scale deployment, as a broad range of feedstocks can be used for their production and they are very versatile bioenergy carriers.

They can be used for the generation of renewable heat and electricity, as transport fuel, and in addition, biomethane can be transported using gas grids.

However, despite the potential for wide-scale deployment, a number of interlinked non-technological

40 • January/February 2017

market barriers present challenges to the uptake of biogas, biomethane, and bioenergy as a whole in Europe. These include: • A lack of knowledge, skills, and confidence in biomass feedstocks and available technologies • Insufficient mobilisation of biomass supply chains • Policy frameworks at local, regional, and national levels that are unfavourable towards the uptake of biogas and biomethane Since 2003, the Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) programme has funded specific actions to address these barriers with the aim of improving energy sustainability, support policy development, and implementation across the EU; preparing the ground for investments; and improving the capacity and skills of European market actors.

Supporting biogas and biomethane uptake in Europe Over the course of the second phase of the programme (IEE II, running from 2007 to 2013), more than 2.8 million stakeholders were informed on bioenergy, over 200,000 attended IEE II events, and 14,600 were engaged in development meetings and site visits. The programme contributed to the development of 443 business plans and 1,536 feasibility studies, resulting in the concrete implementation of 236 biomass supply chains.

IEE II bioenergy projects

have been linked directly with the development of more than 400 plants across the EU, representing more than 165MW of installed capacity. The leverage effect of the IEE II programme has been €18.9 million in investment and 0.035Mtoe of bioenergy generated per €1 million of EU funding in bioenergy-related projects.

In total, €16 million of funding was provided in the frame of the IEE II programme to break down barriers to develop biogas and biomethane projects. This resulted in the production of 20ktoe of biogas and 20ktoe of biomethane by 2016, thanks to the support of IEE II projects. All in all, 46 biogas/biomethane plants and 91 biogas plants have been directly attributed to IEE II projects. In addition, 68 biomethane filling stations were installed and almost 3,300 alternative fuel vehicles were purchased as a result of the activities implemented in IEE II projects.

These impacts have been achieved through different activities aimed at addressing specific barriers, in particular to fill gaps in the confidence and capacity of main stakeholders, and to strengthen the market through key actions across the biogas supply chain.

Focusing on different target groups The IEE II BiogasIN project aimed to develop a sustainable biogas market

in Central and Eastern Europe by improving the permit procedures and facilitating access to funding.

Activities focused on building capacity in the public sector and training biogas market actors, in particular financing institutions.

Other projects provided training directly to small-scale biogas producers to enable them to tap into biogas opportunities. For example, the Geronimo II-Biogas project supported small-scale dairy and pig farmers in assessing the feasibility of developing anaerobic digestion (AD) plants. As a result, ten biogas plant investment projects were triggered.

The FABbiogas project addressed the food and beverage sector, where there is the potential to generate a substantial volume of biogas. The project promoted the use of food and beverage industry residues for biogas production. It ran a range of workshops and engagement events to provide technical resources to trigger the implementation of biogas units or supply contracts between the food and beverage industry and biogas plants for the use of food waste as a renewable energy source.

As a result, 15 feasibility studies were completed, preparing the ground for future development of the use of food and beverage residues for sustainable bioenergy production. This is expected to trigger €15 million worth of investments.

Bioenergy Insight

biogas markets Bioenergy biomethane networks, 11 biomethane production plants, five biomethane grid injection points, 54 new biomethane filling stations, and the purchase of more than 3,200 biomethane vehicles.

Promoting micro-scale biogas installations The BioEnergy Farm project aimed to increase bioenergy production in farms. The project developed an online quick-scan tool that provided information on the profitability of bioenergy at farm-level. Experts then assisted farmers with some 450 in-depth scans. As a result, 80 business plans were developed leading to the implementation of 43 bioenergy projects (with an installed capacity of more than 50MW).

More than 700 business plans have been developed during the project. This is expected to result in about 40 small-scale biogas plants with a total installed capacity of 15 MW. These plants will be installed within 1 or 2 years after the end of the project (20 plants by the end of the project, December 2016).

Facilitating international trade of biomethane

Diagram showing how IEE II projects have addressed barriers to increase the uptake of bioenergy

Some projects focused on specific issues or sectors, such as the lack of information and standards for the production of biogas on organic farms (addressed in the Sustaingas project) or the promotion of biogas production from landscape management residues (addressed by

Bioenergy Insight

the GR3 project).

A number of IEE II projects focused on strengthening the market for biomethane as a transport fuel. For example, the Biomaster project promoted biomethane as a transport fuel in four EU countries. This resulted in the creation of four regional

By removing non-technological barriers and paving the way towards a European biomethane market, the GreenGasGrids project aimed to increase the production and use of biomethane (from animal waste, other waste materials, and sustainable biomass) for grid injection and as transport fuel.

The project achieved an agreement on a harmonised methodology to allow the cross-border market of biomethane, and to establish “guarantees of origin” and agreement to exchange information on biomethane transactions in Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Switzerland, and the UK.

In addition, ten national biomethane roadmaps and one pan-EU roadmap were produced. The European Biomethane Roadmap drew attention to the potential of biomethane at EU level with a vision to reach 18-20 billion m3 of biomethane production by 2030. This figure is estimated to represent about 3% of the European natural gas consumption and a minimum of 10% of the total gaseous vehicle fuel consumption by 2030.

The EU roadmap received positive feedback from several policy makers and relevant European natural gas industry associations.

Long lasting impact IEE II bioenergy projects have played an important role in the development of bioenergy in Europe and continue to influence the sector at present and into the foreseeable future. Biogas use in heat and electricity production is increasing.

However, greater and sustained effort is required for this technology to achieve its potential, and for biomethane to strengthen its position as an alternative transport fuel and for grid injection. l

For more information:

This article was written by Silvia Vivarelli, Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, European Commission; Emilio Font de Mora, Innovation and Networks Executive Agency, European Commission; and Pat Howes at Ricardo Energy & Environment. Visit: https://ec.europa.eu/easme/ en/IEE-publications

January/February 2017 • 41

Bioenergy finance/investment

After the rollercoaster that was 2016, what can energy-from-waste operators expect in 2017?

What a ride

R

ight now, the question on everyone’s lips is what on earth 2017 might have in store for us. Following the somewhat surprising results to the Brexit referendum in the UK last year, the presidential election in the US, and even the unexpected deaths of some of the greats of the entertainment world like David Bowie and Alan Rickman, some might argue that what we are really looking for in 2017 is stability, not just in the political and entertainment spheres, but in the waste industry, too. So, what can we expect?

Contrary to popular belief or general prediction, confidence remains high after the initial fallout from Brexit.

The price of power has increased due to the pricing of gas in US dollars, and increased export rates to Europe have meant that gate fees have gone up at a similar rate. We asked the question earlier this year as to whether subsidyfree bioenergy projects were a real possibility on the horizon, and these factors have actually assisted in making that happen for some project types.

Close followers of the sector will have seen in recent months the announcements of deals such as SSE’s Ferrybridge Multifuel 2, Wheelabrator’s Kemsley Mill, and Viridor’s Avonmouth projects, with a total processing capacity of 1.5 million tonnes. These have all completed since the Brexit vote, with two of those completely free from any power price subsidy. These are all large-scale conventional energy-fromwaste (EfW) plants and benefit from the economies possible at such scale.

None of these projects are easy, but the power and gate fee market

42 • January/February 2017

shifts since Brexit improved the odds of what six months ago was inconceivable. At this stage, the improved possibility applies only to large-scale projects and the requirement for innovative financing, particularly at smaller scales, is still very real.

Keeping the CapEx and OpEx to a minimum will get projects so far, but developers are stretching the envelope through solutions such as sourcing a site location with the possibility of delivering power to a neighbour via a private wire, which enables shared savings versus the wholesale price of power and removes the need to pay grid charges.

Connectivity to a district heating network could also play a major part in improving the viability of a subsidy-free plant.

Hopeful outlook To further improve competitiveness, where private wire offtake is not possible, some projects are selling power indirectly to a corporate offtaker through a “sleeved” power purchase agreement (PPA). This innovation helps large corporates reduce their cost of power through a contract to buy power from a specific generator, with a licensed supplier providing the “sleeving” arrangements and handling grid balancing.

Markets such as the US are well ahead of the UK in this regard with the likes of Apple, Google, and Facebook signing significant PPA volumes for wind and solar plants in particular. Whilst not offering benefits on the scale of private wire, they ensure a brand-conscious company can buy certified renewable electricity and offer a project the possibility of fixing

power prices for the long term, taking an important risk factor off the table.

Turning to the waste supply chain, gate fees are the fundamental revenue driver of an EfW plant, and with success in mind, it is vital to look at anything more that can be done to build extra value in that chain. For example, better separation of recyclates and inerts can offer benefits to waste operator and EfW offtakers alike. With regional scale plants (100,000-250,000 tpy), the need for innovation is even more significant, as they do not benefit from the same CapEx and OpEx economies as larger plants. This scale of plant sits in the sweet spot for several increasingly proven advanced conversion technologies (ACT), which are eligible to compete in the Contract for Difference (CfD) auctions.

We have recently had the announcement of the CfD auction to be held in April 2017.

These ACT EfW projects will be competing head to head with financing for offshore wind projects. Over the last six months these offshore wind plants have brought their costs down to unprecedented levels in Dutch and Danish auctions through driving supply chain efficiencies and the learning curve effect of major deployment. This leaves EfW projects in the difficult position of making their plants competitive at that level, but high quality projects will rise to the challenge.

After a rollercoaster of a year, we are optimistic about the year ahead for EfW, and will take some fighting steps forward as we continue our journey to build the UK’s waste treatment infrastructure. l For more information:

This article was written by James Samworth, partner at Foresight Group. Visit: www.foresightgroup.eu

Bioenergy Insight

Argus Biomass 2017

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Register with code BIOINS10 for your exclusive 10% discount January/February 2017 • 43 www.argusmedia.com/euro-biomass | bioconf@argusmedia.com | +44 (0) 20 7780 4341

Bioenergy Insight

Bioenergy retrofit Why fuel handling is critical to a range of biomass power generation projects

Designing out failure

C

onfidence in biomass power generation, whether converting coal-fired power stations or building the latest gasification technology, remains positive with a growing number of plants either fully operational or under construction. But there are a number of challenges to overcome especially where groundbreaking technology is concerned. Gasification is a case in point and we have seen a couple of high profile projects abandoned recently.

One area that is sometimes overshadowed by other technical considerations is the fuel handling solution — designed to receive, store, convey, dose, and feed biomass to the selected combustion process. A typical system will involve reception and storage for incoming fuel with discharge and reclaim screws and conveyors, plus screening to remove contaminants and out-ofspec material. Pneumatic injection, together with weighing and dosing systems, may also be required.

Relatively straightforward,

Matt Drew, managing director at Saxlund International

44 • January/February 2017

3D drawing of proposed Saxlund biomass fuel storage and feed solution at Templeborough

one would think, but biomass and other waste-derived fuels with high biomass content, refuse derived fuel (RDF) or solid recovered fuel (SRF) for example, are tricky to handle, non-free-flowing with a tendency to bridge and compact. The material can also sweat and degrade — the calorific value having a direct bearing on plant efficiency, energy output, and therefore long-term financial performance for the project.

Blockages result in system shut-downs, both timeconsuming and costly with processes idle while the issue is resolved. Furthermore, poor material handling means that some plants may never reach their full potential. Particle size, mass flow properties, density variations, moisture content, and compressibility are all important considerations.

The composition of the fuel and its source, which may change over time, also needs to be factored into

the system design to ensure a robust, enduring solution.

Extending operating life Saxlund is currently delivering the fuel handling systems for 13 bioenergy/waste-to-energy power stations in the UK, with more in the pipeline. A critical element is the push floor or sliding frame technology incorporated in the design of the fuel reception and storage silo. Continuously developed

by Saxlund since the 1960s, this is based on “first in, first out” design principles to ensure fuel stocks have minimal chance to compact or degrade. The technology is designed to break up the material, preventing any build up or bridging, thus ensuring a consistent, homogenous delivery to the discharge point.

One long-standing example is Slough Heat & Power, owned and operated by SSE Enterprise, one of the UK’s largest dedicated biomass fired combined heat

and power (CHP) plants, generating in the region of 100GWh electricity per annum. To broaden the fuel envelope at the site and increase fuel flexibility, a new fuel-to-boiler supply system was needed to feed waste wood chips at a rate of 25t/h to an existing boiler.

The Saxlund element incorporates a new 720m3 fuel reception area with live storage for approximately six hours of operation using the company’s well-tested push floor discharge solution.

This provides the front end to a biomass handling solution feeding the fuel hopper of the boiler, with overall project management lead by O.Kay Engineering.

The system can handle both wood chip and ready to use (RTU) fuels and incorporates screening of the fuel stock and removal of metals to ensure correct particle size and quality. Material is continually weighed and the system can also be fed

Bioenergy Insight

retrofit Bioenergy from a back-up system via an existing Saxlund push floor and discharge solution.

The installation presented some challenges in that three of the existing four feed lines had to be removed in stages while the plant was still running. The removal of the final line and main installation could then be carried out with the resulting installation providing Slough Heat & Power with a simpler, more efficient and reliable fuel system.

Fuel flexibility and the ability to work with changing fuel specifications is an important issue, especially when considering that biomass combustion plants will typically have a 25-year operating lifetime. Saxlund has now installed retrofit solutions on three occasions at Slough Heat & Power as the plant has evolved, and this latest upgrade delivers

Bioenergy Insight

Saxlund push floor technology at Slough Heat and Power

further flexibility over fuel used, with high availability and longevity at the site.

Conclusion Another example is the Templeborough biomass power plant in Sheffield currently in development by Babcock

& Wilcox Vølund. Here, Saxlund is collaborating on the design and delivery of a dual automatic fuel handling system with reception and transport lines to the boiler.

The entire fuel feed system, including wood storage and conveyor system is designed for multi-fuel waste wood,

to ensure overall efficiency, minimum maintenance, and high availability.

With any project, early design engagement for the fuel handling system is a key requirement if predicted performance outcomes for the plant are to be achieved.

This, and an integrated project delivery approach, will help to limit the disconnect between predicted and actual performance experienced by some projects, and should also help to avoid other common issues such as unmanaged risks.

Choosing an experienced bulk handling partner and a collaborative approach will always pay dividends. l

For more information:

This article was written by Matt Drew, managing director at Saxlund International. Visit: www.saxlund.co.uk

January/February 2017 â&#x20AC;˘ 45

Bioenergy odour control Getting planning permission for an anaerobic digestion plant is tricky, especially when the issue of odour becomes a concern to local residents

Combatting the invisible enemy

G

reen energy, if the papers are to be believed, generally enjoys significant public support, except of course no one actually wants it in their own backyard.

Increased traffic, noise and visual impact are amongst the reasons for the nimbyism, but a quick Google search will identify odour as a major concern. A good example of this can be found on the Twemlow and Goostrey website.

This website was set up to fight the planning application for an anaerobic digestion (AD) plant that was very close to local residents in Twemlow, based in the English county of Cheshire, and the site details most of the existing high profile AD plants that have caused odour complaints. The website and campaign were well organised and ultimately successful in having the application for an environmental permit refused.

The Environment Agency’s (EA) decision was taken on the grounds that they were not satisfied the odour management plan submitted by the applicant would be able to control odour emissions. The website makes it clear that they are not against AD sites generally but that locations close to residents are not appropriate and therein of course lies the rub.

A remote location with distant odour receptors would certainly mitigate the potential for odour nuisance. However, most remote sites do not have the transport infrastructure to deal with the increased traffic

46 • January/February 2017

flows which then of course gives rise to complaints. The actress Julie Walters initially welcomed the construction of an AD plant on a farm in her village, but is now a high profile campaigner against the site with one of her main concerns being traffic flow through the village and surrounding country lanes.

The question therefore is: have little negative how can the AD sector exploit environmental impact. the goodwill that does exist Incoming substrate from the for renewable energy, whilst farm itself minimises traffic at the same time addressing movements and the residual and placating the valid sludge from the AD process environmental concerns of the can be spread on the land as very people that support the fertiliser — a virtuous circle idea and philosophy of using with minimal potential for waste to generate power? traffic nuisance or detrimental Firstly, it is important to visual impact. However, the Expanding population undertake an odour modelling potential for odour release is plan at the feasibility phase still present and care should be The UK is a small relatively of a project. Atmospheric taken to develop and establish crowded island, albeit with dispersion modelling combines a robust odour management large swathes of agriculture estimates of odour emission plan that takes into account the between its increasingly from a site with topographical potential for causing an odour expanding cities and a and historical meteorological nuisance to local receptors. burgeoning population of data to predict odour nuisance 64.6 million (ONS 2014). The at surrounding points of The winner takes it all Office of National Statistics interest. Dispersion modelling (ONS) published data in serves the following purposes: On-site industrial AD really 2014 showing that the UK • The comparison of odour should be a win-win situation population had grown by impact from a number of for all. Waste that was more the 10 million people different treatment plant previously transported off-site since 1964 and half of thisand historical meteorological data to predict odour nuisance at surrounding points of interest. Dispersion process and layout options is digested on-site, thereby modelling serves the following purposes: growth occurred since 2001.

• The demonstration of dramatically reducing, if not In February 2016, the • The comparison compliance regulatory eliminating waste transfer of odour with impact from a number of different treatment plant process and layout migration observatory at theoptions: and/or requirements and as an movements. Again a properly University of Oxford forecasted input into discussions with formulated and executed • The demonstration of compliance with regulatory requirements and as an input into discussions with that the population would planning authorities odour management plan is planning authorities grow by a further 10 million On-farm AD should theoretically essential to ensure prevention over the next 25 years. The projection was of course made pre-Brexit and the impact of that decision on net migration is not yet known. However, it is reasonable to assume that the UK’s population is likely to continue to expand and consume ever more resources.

So a rapidly expanding population on an already crowded island that is not getting any bigger will only serve to increase the potential for a problematic co-existence between the waste-to-energy Example plots from a landfill in Oman sector and its neighbours.

Example plots from a landfill in Oman

Bioenergy Insight

predominantly hydrogen sulphide based and all dealt with by activated carbon scrub rates were relatively small.

odour control Bioenergy

of an odour nuisance.

Off-site AD perhaps provides the most challenges. Firstly, the substrate needs to be delivered to the facility and therefore good transport links and infrastructure are essential but unlikely to be found in remote locations. Consequently, urban industrial locations away from residential neighbourhoods are prime sites for this type of facility as the increase in traffic movements is unlikely to have a noticeable impact and the potential odour receptors will be less sensitive. However, a strong odour management plan will still be essential to prevent the site causing an odour nuisance at the boundary.

Having identified the potential sources of odour, the type and the concentration levels, the abatement technology or in this case technologies and supplier were selected to meet the odour reduction targets required to prevent an odour nuisance. CSO Technik was the chosen supplier primarily because of its specialist experience in dealing with the high volume applications using its proprietary Terminodour technology.

The Refood plant can process up to 120,000 tonnes

per annum of waste food and Widnes sludge screening building Terminodour air handling unit generates 5MWh of renewable Widnes sludge screening building Terminodour air handling unit compounds (eg. Mercaptanes, These were predominantly energy. The biogas produced by thiols etc.), ammonia and lots the AD facility is first treated hydrogen sulphide-based and more. At three air changes all dealt with by activated with a CSO Technik biological per hour the extracted airflow Ticking all the boxes carbon scrubbers as the flow scrubbing system capable of The Refood Widnes plant has shown that it is possible to achieve successful odour ab would have been 78,000m3/ rates were relatively small. operating at 0.2% of oxygen to offsite AD plant provided that the odour sources are properly identified and the appr hr with an odour concentration A good recent example of an The Refood Widnes plant remove hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and then with activated carbon of between 6,000-20,000 Ou/ offsite AD plant is the Refood has shown that it is possible technology employed as part of an overriding and robust odour management plan. T ent plan will still be essential to prevent the site causing an odour nuisance at the to remove residual VOC’s m3. Until recently the most facility at Widnes, owned by to achieve successful odour plant at Dagenham will encompass the same approach and again CSO Technik will be common way of abating this before passing into a Greenlane the Saria Group. The plant abatement on an offsite

odour abatement technology. type of odour would be to Biogas upgrading system from is located on an industrial AD plant, provided that the the boxes use a biofilter with a shell, where it is then injected into park on the north bank of the odour sources are properly Turning waste into energy is a laudable endeavour, it helps to conserve and protect o bark or fibrous media bed. the grid. Although the odour River Mersey along with other identified and the appropriate cent example of an offsite AD plant is the Refood facility at Widnes owned by the Saria However, biofilters generally load here for our children and the generations that will follow. Waste to energy as a concept e can be very high at industries and several haulage/ technology employed as part e plant is located on an industrial park on the north bank of the Mersey river along with require 1m3 for every 100m3/ circa 1,200 parts per million warehousing and distribution of an overriding and robust support of the wider public and we must as an industry be careful to ensure that we stries and several haulage/warehousing and distribution businesses. The road hr of air treated and with (ppm) H2S, the three stage businesses. The road odour management plan. that support by causing our neighbours an unnecessary odour nuisance. A good odou ure is excellent with direct access onto the A562. system is very efficient and a 2m bed depth limit the infrastructure is excellent with The new Refood plant at reduces that down to parts per biofilter would have required direct access onto the A562 Dagenham will encompass the plan coupled with the appropriate abatement technology can ensure that the invisib on therefore ticks two of the main boxes for a non-contentious scheme. However, odours 2 excluding billion (ppb) levels ahead of its an area of 390m (road in South Lancashire). same approach and again CSO defeated long before it can cause a problem. e potentially caused problems if not properly managed even though the potential ductwork and fans. Apart from emission via a discharge stack.

The location therefore ticks Technik will be delivering the are less sensitive. Having identified the potential sources of odour, the type and the the space issue, biofilters The food waste reception two of the main boxes for odour abatement technology.

For more information: tion levels, the abatement technology or in this case technologies and supplier were have a high water demand and depackaging hall is the a non-contentious scheme.

Turning waste into energy and power consumption. CSO largest building on the site with o meet the odour reduction targets required to prevent an odour nuisance. CSO Technik However, odours could have is a laudable endeavour, it Technik’s Terminodour system a volume of 26,000m3. The potentially caused problems helps to conserve and protect hosen supplier primarily because of their specialist experience in dealing with the high odours are typically a cocktail uses an ionisation process if not properly managed, our environment for our plications using their proprietary Terminodour technology. of VOC’s (eg. organic acids, to oxidise odours in situ and even though the potential children and the generations ketones, alkenes etc.), sulphur has a significantly smaller receptors are less sensitive. that will follow. Waste to footprint than a traditional energy as a concept enjoys the biofilter, as well as the added support of the wider public benefit of not using any water and we must as an industry or chemicals. Consequently, be careful to ensure that we it is an ideal solution for high do not waste that support volume low odour applications by causing our neighbours an such as food waste reception unnecessary odour nuisance. A buildings and municipal solids good odour management plan waste transfer stations. coupled with the appropriate The sludge screening abatement technology can building at Widnes deals with ensure that the invisible pasteurised sludge which gives enemy is defeated long before off ammonia and was therefore it can cause a problem. l also treated by a Terminodour system. The vast majority of the other odour sources For more information: were from the waste liquid This article was written by Colin Froud, reception tanks and the gas managing director at CSO Technik.

Widnes Terminodour air handling unit bag storage over the digesters.

Visit: http://www.csotechnik.com

Widnes Terminodour air handling unit

Bioenergy Insight

d plant can process up to 120,000 tonnes per annum of waste food and generates 5MWh

January/February 2017 • 47

Bioenergy air emissions Activated carbon filtration systems can help prevent odour issues at waste processing plants

Smell no more

C

onverting organic waste to energy is part of our greener future. However, the production process in waste-to-energy (WtE) plants is not an easy one. It is a long chain of different, often complicated steps, but it always starts with the collection and storage of waste, often domestic waste. In the next phase, the waste is separated into different fractions in order to maximise the conversion to energy. Typically, the main aim is to make sure around 99% of the material is used as a fuel or energy source. This means that less than 1% is ultimately considered as waste, which is often sent to landfills.

In the halls of the WtE plants where storage and separation of the organic waste takes place, odour generation is often an important issue. The odorous air can be a nuisance both to site operators as well as to neighbouring residential areas. This can result in a negative public perception of the WtE plant, complaints, or even legal claims from neighbours or local authorities.

In addition, concentration levels of particular organic or inorganic pollutants can rise to levels above acceptable limits for site operators.

In order to control the spread of odorous air beyond site borders and to control the ambient air quality inside the storage and separation halls, a well-engineered air ventilation system needs to be installed. This ventilation system should assure sufficient refreshment rate of the air inside the halls, prevent polluted air from escaping the buildings through diffuse emissions, and centrally collect the extracted ventilation air.

The extracted ventilation

48 • January/February 2017

Above: Desotec’s mobile Aircon filters are used all over Europe for the treatment of air and gas Left: Aircon V-XL system.

Desotec’s Aircon V-XL system can treat up to approximately 55,000Nm³/h of air with one single compact unit

air cannot be emitted directly to the atmosphere. In order to control the WtE plant’s odorous and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and limit and/or prevent exceeding of local atmospheric VOC emissions limits, the air requires treatment. One technology that has been used in the past is thermal oxidation. This technology mixes natural gas with the polluted air and burns it in a combustion chamber.

As the air ventilation flow rates in WtE plants are typically high (>50,000Nm³/h) and the total organics concentration (in mgC/Nm³) very low, thermal oxidation consumes high amounts of natural gas (non-autothermal regime), which results in high energy bills. Furthermore, the high natural gas consumption

does not fit in the green philosophy of a WtE plant. In addition, thermal oxidators for high flow rates often mean significant investment costs.

System with a solution In the past 25 years, Desotec Activated Carbon has built up a large amount of experience and references in the treatment of air and liquids with its mobile activated carbon filter systems in a diverse range of industrial applications.

Desotec’s mobile Aircon filters are used all over Europe for the treatment of air and gases and cover the whole range of flow rates and contaminant concentrations. This means: • Air/gas flow rates up to several hundreds of thousands of Nm3/h

• Organic as well as inorganic (acids, metals) contaminants • Contaminant concentrations that vary from a few μg to a few g/m3 or from a few hundreds of OUE to several millions of OUE (odour units) • Immediate availability of full-scale solutions • Flexible and modular solutions • Low investment cost • Low energy consumption • Possibility of turnkey supply (ductwork, electronics and automation) with competent subcontractors In the past, the use of activated carbon adsorption as an air treatment technology for high flow rates was limited mainly because it was impractical to execute the exchange of saturated activated carbon filter media on site. In recent years, Desotec has invested significantly in the research and development of mobile activated carbon filter systems for the treatment of air characterised by high flow rates and moderate to low contaminant concentrations, typically encountered when ventilation air from huge industrial buildings require air treatment.

Desotec’s Aircon V-XL system, for example, can treat up to approximately 55,000Nm³/h of air with one single compact unit. As this is a modular system of which several units can be operated in parallel, flow rates well above 150,000Nm³/h are achievable. The mobile Aircon V-XL system requires no on-site handling of used/ waste activated carbon. All in all, the activated carbon filter exchange is a clean and quick operation. l For more information:

This article was written by Jeroen Callewaert, chief commercial officer, and Pieter Vanderhaeghen, regional sales manager at Desotec Activated Carbon.

Visit: www.desotec.com

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