WASTE MANAGEMENT IN ACTION – WASTE TO ENERGY HZI’s Kompogas technology converts organic waste into electricity and heat or biomethane.
Powering Anröchte with biogas A NEW KOMPOGAS PLANT IN ANRÖCHTE, GERMANY IS GENERATING CARBON-NEUTRAL BIOGAS TO INJECT ELECTRICITY INTO THE GRID. HITACHI ZOSEN INOVA’S RAIKO KOLAR EXPLAINS.
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n the site of an old quarry in Anröchte, Germany, a state-ofthe-art composting facility and Kompogas biodigester plant now sits. In February this year, electricity from the plant started being fed into the grid, marking an important milestone for green energy transition in the North Rhine-Westphalia municipality. In 2018, facility operators ESG Soest awarded the tender to construct a plugflow digester with gas conditioning at its composting facility to international dry anaerobic digestion pioneers Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI). HZI’s Kompogas technology converts organic waste from municipal, commercial and industrial sources into electricity and heat or biomethane. Synonymous with continuous dry anaerobic digestion technology, the
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Anröchte facility is the 25th Kompogas plant delivered by HZI in Germany. According to Raiko Kolar, HZI Sales Manager, before developing the facility, ESG evaluated all types of technology on the market, including batch technology. He explains that after extensive investigations, ESG recognised plug-flow technology presented the best business case. “The tender evaluation was based on capital investment, and HZI had the best price performance ratio, as well as being able to meet all the regulations, guarantees and requirements set in the tender documents,” Kolar says. Prior to the construction of HZI’s Kompogas plant, ESG operated two small composting facilities at the site. “They wanted to develop a new modern plant in line with emissions
standards and regulations, as the composting plants were 15-20 years old and not in line with current regulations,” Kolar says. He explains that minimal losses of biogas, a greenhouse gas if released into the atmosphere, are integral to current regulations and can only be met by continuous technologies. “The district also has a plan in place to contribute to the Regional Climate Protection Plan, so it was important for them to begin producing renewable energy.” Furthermore, Kolar explains that ESG wanted to be prepared for future challenges, such as changing waste volumes and quality. The project has a range of specificities, he adds, with plants of this kind typically producing compost and liquid digestate for
