13 March 2008

Surprise UK Biofuel Subsidy Change is Great Bonus for Biodiesel from Biogas

There is an item about this in the Daily Telegraph:-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Which describes this biofuel subsidy removal as a negative, which it will be for the big petroleum companies, but for biogas producers it provides an additional incentive to further invest in the equipment to take their biogas and process it into biofuel (eg biodiesel).

All UK biogas producers should now consider biogas to biofuel investment. The reasons for this are explained in the following paragraphs which are provided using information provided by John Baldwin, MD of CNG Services Ltd at http://www.cngservices.co.uk .

In essence, in Tuesday's Budget the Government has increased the RTFO buy-out price to 35 p/litre (from 15 p/litre) so customers pay for the shift to biofuels and not the Govt (in form of duty reduction). Yes, it is a stealth tax, but one that helps biomethane as biomethane still will have the same low fuel duty as it had previously.

If you run a vehicle on biomethane you will pay 13.7 p/kg duty, but you will now (as a result of this budget change) get back 35 p/kg. Before this budget you would have got back 15 p/kg. This means that you will now get paid 20 p/kg by the UK petroleum industry + Government.

How do you make biofuel from biogas? For a small 400,000 kg clean up facility the cost will be about 80,000 pounds, but will result in additional income (and no diesel to be paid for!).

Those with biogas should consider starting to clean some of it up fom now on, and running vehicles on it.

That way the biogas producer will get paid to save the planet.

Now that can’t be bad!

The vehicles are also already available to run on it, made by VW and MB. These are not conversions and still run on petrol.

We can’t see any downsides, and also some biogas operations will be able to run these vehicles on gas that would otherwise be flared!

As ever, your views and comments are very welcome and can be made on the blog, or at www.forum.anaerobic-digestion.com .

10 March 2008

Sintex's Biogas Digester Ingests Crap, Emits Energy


Plastics maker Sintex seeks to solve India's energy and sanitation problems in one stroke - with an at-home biogas digester. By Jeremy Kahn

The Sintex digester can turn manure into fuel for cooking and electricity.

(Fortune Magazine) -- Sintex Industries, a plastics and textiles manufacturer in Gujarat, India, is betting it can find profit in human waste. Its new biogas digester turns human excrement, cow dung, or kitchen garbage into fuel that can be used for cooking or generating electricity, simultaneously addressing two of India's major needs: energy and sanitation.

Sintex bio digester
Copyright Sintex

Sintex's digester uses bacteria to break down waste into sludge, much like a septic tank. In the process, the bacteria emit gases, mostly methane. But instead of being vented into the air, they are piped into a storage canister.

A one-cubic-meter digester, primed with cow dung to provide bacteria, can convert the waste generated by a four-person family into enough gas to cook all its meals and provide sludge for fertilizer. A model this size costs about $425 but will pay for itself in energy savings in less than two years.

That's still a high price for most Indians, even though the government recently agreed to subsidize about a third of the cost for these family-sized units. "We want to create a new industry for portable sanitation in India that's not available now," says S.B. Dangayach, Sintex's managing director.

Sintex Industries' aptly-dubbed biogas digester is most certainly not the first of its kind, but it is somewhat commendable that its maker is making no bones about this thing's purpose.

Destined to "solve India's energy and sanitation problems in one stroke," this concoction can convert "human [waste], cow dung, or kitchen garbage into fuel that can be used for cooking or generating electricity."

Reportedly, a one-cubic-meter digester would sell for around $425, but could pay for itself in energy savings in under 24 months. Excrement to energy -- now there's a concept.

More...

Goodtech MRAB Completes Biogas Projects in Finland and Sweden

In recent press releases Goodtech MRAB has reported the following recent biogas projects since the Autumn of last year, showing the sophistication currently being applied to Anaerobic digestion in Finland:-

Rebuilding of digestion chamber in Västervik

In November 2007 Goodtech MRAB obtained a turn-key contract for rebuilding of the digestion chamber at Lucerna waste water treatment plant in Västervik, Sweden.

The project will provide for more effective biogas production with Goodtechs heat exchange technology. The customer is the city of Västervik. The contract value is 7 MSEK and the plant will be completed in 2008.

Pre-treatment Plant Inauguration

A new pre-treatment plant for organic waste in Torsvik, Jönköping, Sweden was inaugurated the 25 sept 2007.

The plant has a high capacity and is reliable in operation and can receive both firm and floating organic waste.

The special feature of this plant is that the organic waste is fine grinded down to particle size 0,1-0,3 mm. It gives a larger contact surface and therefore a higher gas exchange at the digestion process.

Goodtech MRAB has delivered, installed and started up the mechanical equipment for receiving, disjointing, out-sorting unwanted material, hygienization and intermediate storing of the organic waste.

The plant gives a biomass that is transported to Simsholmens waste water treatment plant for digestion and biogas production.

The Customer is the City of Jönköping, and the plant is licenced for 30,000 tonne/year.

Example of possible raw material:

- foodstuffs from household, large kitchen and restaurants
- organic waste from provision merchant´s
- slaughterhouse waste
- packed waste from provision industry
- fat separator sludge
- milk, whey and cheese
- fish screenings
- potato leftover

More at www.goodtech.fi

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