BioCrack: Greater gas yield and lower energy requirements thanks to disintegration
Case Study - Hedeper biogas plant
Problem
Inadequate gas yield in the biogas plant
Solution
Vogelsang BioCrack® electrokinetic disintegration unit
The customer and the problem
Our plant was set up as a 640 kWel operation, began operation in October 2006. As there was plenty of greenspace available in the area, we plan to use a greater proportion of grass silage.
However, the suspension in the first digester, which is horizontal, was so viscous that the mixers were being pushed to the limits. At the same time, there were problems in pumping the digester content, leading to continual clogging. It was not possible to use a greater proportion of grass. With this combination, we were reaching sometimes an output of only 550 kwel.
The solution
That is when we decided to install the BioCrack system. Since February 2010, we have now prepared approx 240m³ per day by pumping from the digester to the post-treatment tank with a combination of the RotaCut and BioCrack systems. Now the plant reached again its full output of 640 kWel. The input quantity is reduced and the proportion of grass increased: the plant now uses only 32 tonnes of cosubstrates. At the same time, the viscosity of the digester content has decreased, making the mixer power consumption in the digester almost 15% lower. There are no more problems with pumping. All in all, we were able to increase the gas yield by 3% reduce the feeding by over 20% and decrease power consumption. The profitability of the plant is greatly improved.