At this year‘s IFAT, the world‘s leading trade fair for environmental technologies, which will be held in Munich, Germany, from 4 to 8 May, biogas plant manufacturer WELTEC BIOPOWER will again present its anaerobic digestion plants for industrial and municipal use. In Hall A4, at Booth 508, the internationally renowned biogas specialists will provide information on all topics concerning the use of organic waste and sludge for the production of energy. The reference projects for the digestion of waste and the production of biomethane, which is equivalent to natural gas, include the WELTEC plant of the French potato chips manufacturer Altho, whose chips brand Bret‘s accounts for one third of the French market. Every year, the plant in St. Gérand, Brittany, produces about 1.75 million standard m³ of biomethane from 22,000 t of production waste in the form of potatoes and starch as well as sludge from the internal wastewater treatment plant. This amount of the climate-neutral energy source corresponds to the gas consumption of a town of 5,000 inhabitants.Altho benefits greatly from the biomethane production, which enables it to use its leftovers in a sustainable manner and cut greenhouse emissions.
The annual savings amount to approximately 3,900 t of CO2eq. This corresponds to the emissions that more than 2,000 persons would cause with a flight from Munich to New York.For the energy plant, WELTEC has implemented process technology that is both innovative and reliable: The mix of solid and liquid substances is first pre-processed and homogenised in order to ensure efficient digestion in the stainless-steel digester. The entire process is fully automated and controlled by a PLC unit. With the help of the membrane processing, the biogas is then transformed into biomethane.
“Custom-tuned biogas technology is a must,” says Jens Albartus, Director of WELTEC BIOPOWER. “Usually, anaerobic digestion plants will only encounter technical problems if the process technology does not meet the requirement profile.“ For this reason, plant operators and investors should opt for a provider who has experience with various substrates and climate conditions. In its projects, WELTEC custom-tailors its plants so as to ensure stable, economic operation. In more than 300 planned and implemented biogas projects in 25 countries, the specialists have gained a wealth of experience with diverse framework conditions.”