James Russell chose Vogelsang

He uses a solid matter feeder and macerator on his biogas plant

Our 1 MW BioCore biogas plant is located in County Roscommon, Ireland and consists of a 2,500m³ digester, 2,500m³ post digester and two final storages with 7,000m³ over all. The plant generates heat and energy from wastewater sludge (90%) and grease from grease traps (10%) and uses a pasteurizing process to ensure the end product is clean and meets Class A biosolids.

With sewage sludge and local waste streams coming into the plant, there is variable consistency of feedstock being fed into the digesters. Therefore, we needed a digester feeder that could handle a wide range of input materials and the ability to process difficult substrates and fibrous material safely and efficiently. Additionally, the biosolids had to achieve Class A designation for pasteurization, thus, a rigorous pre-treatment of the sludge and reduction of particle size within the medium was needed.

After careful consideration with our plant construction company, we decided to use a combination of the robust Vogelsang PreMix solid matter feeder and RotaCut macerator. The PreMix reliably handles the variable consistency of feedstock and also efficiently treats the sludge removing any foreign bodies like stones. The 4-in-1 system shreds un-treated solids and mixes together the variety of biomass to turn it into a homogenous suspension. The RotaCut macerator was implemented as a stand-alone unit for the pasteurization and optimally reduces the particle size to meet compliance requirements. Overall, the operations are running smooth and the plant is successfully producing energy from sewage sludge.