Adnams, British Gas advance pioneering AD project
16 Jul 2010
London – Adnams Bio Energy Ltd and British Gas have completed the construction phase of what is said to be the first anaerobic digestion (AD) plant in the UK to use brewery and local food waste to produce renewable gas for injection into the national gas grid as well as providing gas for use as a vehicle fuel.
In partnership with National Grid, the facility will start injecting renewable gas into the gas grid later this summer: generaing up to 4.8 million kilowatt-hours per year. The facility is expected to produce enough renewable gas to power the Adnams brewery and run its fleet of lorries, while still leaving up to 60% of the output for injection into the National Grid.
Commissioning is now in progress at the plant, which is employing technology from Cambridge-based Bio Group, a company specialising in the design and construction of renewable energy plants.
The Adnams Bio Energy plant comprises three digesters – sealed vessels in which naturally-occurring bacteria act without oxygen to break down up to 12,500 tonnes of organic waste each year. The result is the production of biomethane as well as a liquid organic fertiliser.
The biomethane produced will be upgraded to grid specification, before injected into the gas network. According to National Grid, biomethane could account for at least 15% of domestic gas consumption by 2020.
The project has received financial backing from RBS in Cambridge and grants from the European Regional Development Fund (EDRF), East of England Development Agency (EEDA) and the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
The new facility will have a major impact on the reduction of carbon emissions in the region and the production of renewable energy, according to Andy Wood, chief executive of Adnams.
“The industrial ecology cycle is completed when the fertiliser produced from the anaerobic digestion process can be used on farmland to grow barley for Adnams beer,” said Wood. “The food waste would otherwise be destined for landfill, but processing it through the digester will save an estimated 50,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalents from landfill.”
Key facts
The project will be the first in the UK to use brewery and local food waste to produce renewable gas for injection into the national gas grid.
The average home uses 56 kWh/day gas, which requires the waste from brewing approximately 600 pintsbeer to produce.
The average home uses 20,500 kWh gas/year. The facility will provide enough gas for 235 homes per year.
28m pints of beer a day are consumed across the UK. If all of the associated waste was used to produce biomethane, it would produce enough renewable gas to heat 47,000 homes.
The development costs are £2.75m
Adnams Bio Energy (ABE) is wholly owned by the Bio Group, Adnams has licensed its brand name and is providing feedstock.
