The Danish experience in the Irish context

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The Danish experience in the Irish context

• Project Manager Lars Baadstorp

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Danish experience

• Status of biogas in Denmark
• Joint plants 20 50-500 t biomass/day
• Farm plants 60 5-100 t biomass/day
• Manure treated Approx. 1,5 mill t/year
• Residuals treated Approx. 0,4 mill t/year
• Production Approx. 90 mio. m3 biogas
• Approx. 200 mio. kWh elect.

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Danish experience

• .

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The leason learned in Denmark

• Keep it simple
• Optimise operation through optimised feeding of
  the plant
• The right biomass mix/co-digestion
• Prepare the biomass (chop, heat)
• Optimised thermophilic proces
• Optimise the control system
• Stable operation
• Monitering
• Efficient gas handling (drying and puification)
• Optimised utilisation of digestate as fertilser

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The energy production

• The main income factor
• An important environmental factor (CO2 neutral)
• Electricity Gas engines with high efficiency
• Own utilisation/Sales to the public grid
• Heat Cooling of engine and exhaust gas
• Partly used for the process (approx. 20-30)
• Can be utilised in stables, for sale or for
  separation

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Optimising energy income

• The price structure Green electricty
• Flat rate as in Ireland is preferable
• Optimise production High efficient engines
• Strong service/management
• Capitalising of heat Part of planning to find
  ways to utilise the heat.
• Heat of stables
• Separation, cooling and ?

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Optimised nutrient management

• Higher uptake of N lower leakeage of nutrients
• Higher amount of ammonia provides higher value
• Hogeniuos fertiliser that can be declares
• Optimising the NPK ratio thorugh simple
  separation
• Easy disperation in the soil because of low dry
  matter
• Very easy to spread because of the low dry matter
• Can be applied in grouth sesson without burning
  the crops
• Digestate is good separated liquided is
  better!!!

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Optimised nutrient management
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Optimised nutrient management
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Optimised nutrient management
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Biogas as waste handling plants

• Types of waste to be handled
• All clean types of organic waste
• Clean No heavy metals
• No foreign parts
• Fulfil hygenic standards
• Sources All kind of food processing
• Biodiesel and ethanol production
• Energy crops

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Types of waste in Danish plants

• s

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The advantage of handling waste in biogas

• The optimal recycling Energy fertiliser
• Optimal environmental solution for the industry
• Providing income to the biogas plant (gate fee
  energy)
• Raising efficiency of the plant (same plant
  lager production)
• Typical gas yield 150 500 m3 biogas /t (manure
  20-25 m3 biogas/t)

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How to secure the pay back

• High performance plant
• Simple plants but with high quality equipment
• Stable operation
• Base the plants on 100 known components
• Base budget on experience from similar plants
• Secure supply of waste in the planning period
• Energy crops provides a safety
• Start with the biogas/CHP/decanter modules can
  always be added

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Secure the optimal environmental solution

• Location is important (and will never be
  changed!)
• Handle digestate as a high quality fertiliser
• Use separation in the extent where it pays
  (environmental and economical)
• Be keen on odour, traffic and other
  disadvantages
• Operation in accordance to best practice

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Main economical factors

• Utilising the economi of scale
• There is a significant economy af scale
• Irish pig farms are normally larger than Danish
• Sales of electricity
• Irish prices lower than Danish
• Supply of organic waste
• More waste avaiable in Ireland than in Denmark
• Higher gate fee

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Main environmetal and agricultural factors

• Nutrient management
• Optimising animal manure as a fertiliser
• Solving surplus problems/nitrate directive
• Income from optimised manure utilisation
• Rising prices on fertiliser
• Odour problem from manure spreading
• Image problems for mainly pig farming
• Waste handling in industry
• Handling of mainly slurry

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Danish experience in the Irish context

• The situation is in many ways better in Ireland
  than in Denmark
• The rather low electricity price is
  counterbalanced by other factors
• The electricity price can be expected to rise
• On present conditions simple payback based on
  electricity and gate fee is 4-7 years
• ( free heat better fertiliser value)
• Biogas and separation is also in Ireland the most
  feasible way of handling nutrients from manure.
• ..and also a way to be accepted as animal
  producer