Features Biogas Energy Energy Production Equipment Manure Application
Weltic Biopower to heat Swiss Army barracks

Jul. 17, 2012 – In May, Weltec Biopower GmbH started building a biogas plant with an electrical output of 370 kW in Bure in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. The plant‘s entire heat surplus will be used to heat the local training barracks.

The plant site in the Swiss Canton of Jura boasts fertile soil and a lot of agriculture. Therefore, the “Bio.Etique. Energie SA“ plant will mainly process farm manure from the surrounding agricultural establishments and agro-industrial waste from the region, including liquid manure, dung, green waste, and grain waste.

Owing to the composition of the organic resources, the Weltec plant will make use of wet fermentation. This technology, which is common in agricultural biogas plants, is especially suitable for the utilisation of heterogeneous wastes and does not require any additives.

The substrates are loaded into a fermenter of 3,994 cubic metres with the help of a 45 cubic metres solid matter dosing feeder. A gas-tight storage unit with a capacity of 4,078 cubic metres is large enough for storing the digestate.

From November 2012, the Weltec plant will feed in a net electricity production of 3 GWh/year into the power grid, an amount is sufficient to continually supply 900 homes with power. The plant‘s excess heat of 2.6 GWh/year will be used to heat the barracks in Bure, which hosts up to 1,400 trainees.

Apart from the smart extraction of the available heat, Claude Etique was impressed by the overall process concept of the WELTEC premium plants: „Compared to other concepts available on the market, Weltec Biopower is the right choice. The same also applies to the entire project organisation with French-speaking Weltec staff.“

In the future, clearly defined project processes could be decisive for the placement of biogas plant construction orders, as Switzerland, like Germany, decided in 2011 to gradually abandon nuclear energy. However, this will require substantial investments, especially for the development of the power production from renewable energy sources. The goal is to increase the power generation from renewable energies by one third by 2050.

Due to the ongoing availability of the raw material and its positive eco-balance, biogas is considered to have a great potential as an energy source. According to a forecast, the Swiss could cover about 4.5 percent of their power requirements and 5 percent of their heat requirements from this energy source. Moreover, about half a million vehicles in Switzerland could run on biogas for an annual mileage of 15,000 kilometer.

Resources for biogas are bountiful: About 20 million t of liquid manure, dung, organic waste, and crop residue, which are suitable for generating biogas, accumulate in the Swiss agriculture alone. The farm manure used in Bure only 1.5 percent of which are currently used in Switzerland for energy generation purposes has the greatest raw material potential.

In 2011, Weltec Biopower GmbH, one of the first manufacturers of biogas plants, celebrated its 10th anniversary. Weltec is one of the pioneers of the constructors of biogas plants. Based on the modern approach of experienced engineers, the company from Vechta (Lower Saxony) with its expertise of a staff of close to 80, offers complete biogas plants from one source and has developed to a leading constructor of biogas plants in the world.

As the hydrogen sulphide and ammonia compounds contained in biogas corrode unprotected parts, WELTEC builds the digesters from stainless steel. This ensures a long useful life of the plant. The manufacturing depth also guarantees a consistently high standard regardless of the location and ensures an export rate that is far above the industry average.

The plants have a modular structure. Weltec Biopower uses only proven system components and develops most of the technologies along the entire value chain internally: digester technology, mixing technology, control technology, hygienisation systems, and digestate processing solutions originate from the company.

By means of its comprehensive services, Weltec ensures the technical and economic stability of the biogas plants. The CHP service guarantees stable output, the biological supervision ensures continuous monitoring of the relevant parameters, and systematic repowering makes sure that the biogas plant is always up to date. Operators can choose from a range of service packages of different types and scope.

One of the main strengths of the medium-sized enterprise is the ability to deliver individual and flexible solutions – from compact plants to large computer-controlled plants in the megawatt range, waste recycling plants, and biogas parks with gas processing technology.