WELTEC BIOPOWER erects second biogas plant in South Korea

South Korea Opts for Green Energy

In October 2015, the construction work for an anaerobic digestion plant from German manufacturer WELTEC BIOPOWER started in South Korea. The plant site is located about 80 km north of the capital Seoul, in Gyeonggi-do province. 

The 450-kW biogas plant is to go live in the early summer of 2016. The highly developed technology with smart control will ensure a high level of efficiency of the second South Korean WELTEC plant.

 
In South Korea, major investments are made in the energy sector, and the development of renewable energy sources has been a top priority for several years. For good reason: The republic with its population of 51 million is one of the world's 10 largest power consumers. However, the country does not have any significant fossil resources and is forced to import 97 percent of its conventional energy sources.

One of the reasons why WELTEC BIOPOWER attracted the attention of the transformer manufacturer, who assumes the role of investor and operator of the new biogas plant, was that the German plant manufacturer had already built a biogas plant in the south of the country back in 2012. However, the customer's final decision in favour of WELTEC was based on the fact that the technical plant concept for the new project is custom-tailored to the region's special needs and South Korea's ecological goals."The sustainable waste disposal concept and the efficient processing of the input substances into high-nutrient fertiliser were decisive factors", explains Harro Brons, the project manager of WELTEC BIOPOWER.

Starting from the early summer of 2016, the operator will supply the stainless-steel digester with its capacity of almost 4,000 m3 with 100 tons of organic waste a day, whereof 70 % are pig manure. This feedstock will be converted into biogas and high-quality fertiliser by anaerobic digestion. Subsequently, the fertiliser will be stored in two stainless-steel digestate storage units of 5,590 m3 each until it is used. The generated biogas will be used to operate a combined heat and power plant with an electrical output of 450 kilowatt. The power will be fed directly into the power grid. The heat will be used for heating the company buildings and for internal processes.

Doubtlessly, the key to the high performance of this biogas plant is the deployed technology. In South Korea, the optimum function of the components will be controlled by the PLC-based LoMOS control, which is custom-developed by WELTEC. The precise plant control enables a high degree of automation and optimum remote maintenance. To make the user interface as user-friendly as possible, a special detail has been taken into consideration: "For this project, we programmed the control in Korean", says Harro Brons. Thus, the basis has been established for the smooth operation and the first steps to achieve South Korea's energy goals.

WELTEC BIOPOWER represented with bBiogas Pplants on five continents

Down Under discovers advantages of Waste-to-Energy
On October 19th, 2015, the ground was broken for one of Australia's most innovative biogas projects. In the next 14 months, German biogas plant manufacturer WELTEC BIOPOWER and its project partner Aquatec Maxcon will establish a biogas plant in a Melbourne suburb. The 1 MW plant for the anaerobic digestion of organic waste will be one of the first of its kind Down Under.

The customer Yarra Valley Water is one of Australia's largest enterprises providing water supply and sewerage services. Through the biogas production, Yarra Valley Water will become energy self-sufficient at the plant location in Aurora: “The purpose built Waste to Energy facility will provide an environmentally sustainable solution for commercial organic wastes, generating enough renewable energy to run the existing sewage and recycled water treatment plants, as well as other Yarra Valley Water facilities”, says Pat McCafferty, Managing Director of Yarra Valley Water. The two 530 kilowatt MAN engines are even producing as much electricity that an unused surplus can be fed into the public grid.

In view of the positive effects of this anaerobic digestion project, other investors Down Under are likely to follow suit. Currently, the population and politicians are debating what the correct energy mix of tomorrow should look like. The debate also includes the subject of nature conservation. The population is sensitive to this subject due to Australia's environmental impact as the world's third-largest uranium exporter and one of the world's highest per-capita carbon emissions resulting from the primarily coal-based power production.
In fact, the transition towards renewable energies has already started: By 2020, the production from renewable energies is to reach 33 TWh. The few biogas plants that are currently online in Australia still mainly utilise sewage sludge and wastewater from various industries. The growth of the biogas segment could be boosted especially by making more consistent use of biowaste, such as will be used at the WELTEC plant in Aurora. Meanwhile, organic leftovers are regarded as raw materials and valuable energy sources.

The two stainless-steel digesters in Aurora, each of which has a capacity of 3,573m³, will be fed with 100 tons of organic waste a day. More than half of this amount will come from cafeterias and restaurants. The rest will comprise fats and oils, brewery and dairy leftovers, fruit and vegetable waste and sludge that will be pumped from the adjacent wastewater treatment plant. After the digestion process, the substrate will first be sanitised and then buffered in a stainless-steel tank of 4,531m³.

A custom-tailored input process will be set up to ensure uninterrupted supply of the biogas plant. At the delivery area, the feed stocks will first be loaded into two 35m³ solids hopper feeder. Part of the substrates, such as melon peels, will first be shredded and then further chopped up with other raw materials and mixed with recirculation fluid in the MULTIMix system. After this preliminary treatment, the mixture will be pumped into the largest of the five stainless-steel pre-storage tanks with a total volume of almost 700m³.

Except for the loading of the input systems, the process is fully automated. The size of the pre-storage tanks was designed in such a way that no loading and thus no manpower will be required at the weekend and at night. WELTEC's custom-developed LoMOS PLC will make sure that the substrate is automatically pumped from the pre-storage tanks to the digesters, thereby ensuring continuous digestion at the weekend.

"Our knowledge and experience in rolling out the technology of such a project was a key factor in our selection as the first German biogas plant manufacturer to build a plant in Australia. We are proud of being represented on five continents with about 300 biogas plants", summarises Jens Albartus, Director of WELTEC BIOPOWER, the company's achievements. The thorough planning that preceded the project is reflected in the two-year preparation phase prior to the commencement of the construction activities. Jens Albartus is sure that it was worth the effort: "The efficient operation will help to establish a good reputation of AD waste plants on the fifth continent."