Biogas is produced from the anaerobic digestion of mainly livestock waste (wastewater from piggeries, cowsheds), agro-industrial waste and sewage, as well as from urban organic waste. It consists of 65% methane and 35% carbon dioxide and can be used for energy purposes by feeding it into internal combustion engines, gas burners or turbines for the production of electricity and heat.
The biggest advantage of a biogas plant is the very low (to zero) cost of raw materials in contrast to the profit of the produced products.
The construction of any new biogas plant requires a number of permits. Due to its complexity, biogas technology is quite new in many countries and especially in Greece there is not enough experience in the evaluation of biogas plants.
In any case, the design process requires expertise, as a wide range of different technologies need to be used. For this reason, we support our clients with full technical documentation, which is essential for the construction of the project.
kIEFER’s biogas technology is based on a two-stage continuous process. Normally three tanks are required: a digestion tank, a secondary digestion tank and a digestate storage tank. In the case where liquid manure is used in excess of 30%, single-stage units can be constructed. The plant then consists of a digestion tank and a ‘cold’ secondary digestion tank, which also functions as a digestate storage tank.
The project design includes the detailed sizing of the biogas plant and the project development process. Final plant installation materials are selected to minimize the potential for permit modification.
In particular, the following areas are analysed:
Due to continuous communication with our suppliers, our technology is always up to date with international standards.
The atmosphere in the settling tank contains almost no oxygen. Inside the tank, there is a stable mesophilic temperature (40-42°C) and a neutral pH (6.7-7.5). The facilities are equipped according to their needs with standardized components. Key parameters for assessing the anaerobic digestion units are retention time and organic load. Considering these parameters, we ensure that the owner of the facility can operate it with economic success.
As feedstock, essentially all organic materials are suitable. These can be food industry waste, organic fertilizers, or renewable plant resources from agricultural units. Due to the priorities of the law regarding renewable energy sources, German facility owners in recent years extensively used renewable plant resources and liquid manure as feedstock for biogas production.
With the aim of achieving optimal performance, an evaluation of the project is conducted from technological, economic, and ecological perspectives.
Calculations are made based on the characteristics of the available raw materials in the installation area, as well as the availability of agricultural land for raw material production.
