Britain develops resource for renewable gas from beer and waste

 

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Carol Forsloff - While  oil spills into the Gulf of Mexico there are efforts to bring renewable energy forms to produce energy for homes and autos in a way that utilizes waste material and beer and doesn't involve deepwater drilling.

Adnams Bio Energy Limited and British Gas recently announced its completion of a new plant to use brewery and local food waste to produce renewable gas.  This can be injected into the national gas grid for home energy and can be also used to power automobiles and other vehicles.

The process is to begin this summer as the new facility is scheduled to start injecting renewable gas into the gas grid later this summer. It will generate up to 4.8 million kilowatt-hours per year - enough to heat 235 family homes for a year or run an average family car for 4 million miles. In the future the facility will produce enough renewable gas to power the Adnams brewery and run its fleet of lorries, while still leaving up to 60 per cent of the output for injection into the National Grid.

By using brewery and local food waste to generate biomethane, the plant will make a contribution to decarbonising the gas grid by delivering renewable heat to households through the existing gas network and central heating boilers. It will also prevent the release of highly-polluting methane to the atmosphere, through diverting the waste from landfill.

Biomethane is produced from organic material such as food waste. It is very similar to natural gas and, once upgraded to grid specification, can be injected into the gas network for end use by customers. According to a study by National Grid, it could account for at least 15 per cent of domestic gas consumption by 2020.

The Adnams Bio Energy plant consists of 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 fertilizer.

In addition, following an agreement with Centrica - the parent company of British Gas, Adnams Bio Energy has deployed British solar thermal panels and will shortly install cutting edge photo voltaic cells, which will in effect create a mini energy park.

All of this is to cut Britain's dependence on oil.

Chief Executive of Adnams, Andy Wood said: "We are delighted that Adnams Bio Energy is located on the site of our eco-distribution centre. For a number of years now, Adnams has been investing in ways to reduce our impact on the environment. The reality of being able to convert our own brewing waste and local food waste to power our brewery and vehicles, as well as the wider community is very exciting.

"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. This facility will have a major impact on the reduction of carbon emissions in the region and the production of renewable energy. 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"

This is a first-of-its kind project in the UK to use brewery and local food waste to produce renewable gas for injection into the national gas grid.

Gearóid Lane, Managing Director of Communities and New Energy at British Gas, said: "This project demonstrates how local communities can help us move to a low carbon energy future. Using waste that would otherwise end up in landfill to produce renewable gas is mutually beneficial for the environment and homes and businesses".