Renewing Aquafin's biogas plant

In Deurne, near Antwerp, Aquafin manages a unique plant, which is manned 24/7. Other than the biogas installation, a waste water treatment plant and a sludge dryer can be found on the extensive site, creating a unique set-up in Flanders.

Situation

The sludge from the waste water treatment plant (STP) is used in the biogas installation to generate biogas. The gas on his turn is used to heat the 'plates' of the dryer, which processes the sludge to pellets.

Task

The torch, which is is placed next to the burner, is used to burn the excess gas. The biogas is also burned when it doesn't meet the required quality. Both the burner and the torch were outdated, and had problems keeping up with the production.

Action

To get a broad as possible picture of the biogas plant, Yitch did a pilot study during a shutdown. When the new burner and torch were installed, new PLC's and software needed to be written, as wel as several emergency systems. The works included managing the safety of the gas tank, integrating the alarms and controlling the new burner and torch. The new SCADA system constantly monitors certain points, enabling operators to intervene a lot faster when problems occur. All measurements are logged and stored.

Result

Thanks to the adjustments done to the biogas plant in Deurne, the whole plant can operate at full production, with improved safety. This way, renewable energy can (once again) be used to process the sludge and power the entire production.