Renewables from Wastes AD Benefits

Typical Anaerobic Digestion (AD) Plant

By 2015, biomass is to become the Czech Republic‘s primary source of renewable energy.

Waste to Energy is a major component in any renewable energy field, but efficient bio-mass plants need to be well specified and use 'clean' technologies - incineration in NOT the preferred solution. Anaerobic digestion and efficient gasification (without oxygen) are designed to produce bio-gas (a rich mixture of methane, hydrogen and C02). From the resultant gas several options are possible for energy production or transport fuels. The remaining solids can also be used as fertilizers or soil conditioning.

Accordingly, there is a high demand for biogas plants among investors and operators, especially from manufacturers who have international experience and an extensive service network. This summer, one such manufacturer established its fifth plant in the Czech Republic. The construction of the agricultural biogas (AD) plant in Příložany in the southern part of the country was completed in four months.

After casting the concrete floor slabs in March, the construction of the 2,500 cubic metres stainless steel fermenter, the combined heat and power generation plant (CHP), and the 35 cubic metres vertical dosing feeder started in the same month. The setup of the biogas plant equipment was finished in May. The gas started flowing through the pipes in early May, and the final approval of the test operation was granted in June.

AD can supply Heat, Power and CNG road fuel

The biogas plant has a biogas emergency flare and operates without a hygienisation unit and separation unit. In the CHP, a CHP-Unit with 366 kW output produces the electricity that is fed into the grid. The plant‘s energy efficiency is high, because the generated heat is used in the facilities and stables. The plant is fed with substrates and manure of the operator and farms in the vicinity: pig manure, grass silage, maize silage, crop silage, and grain waste.

The EU and the Czech government provide special incentives for biogas plant projects in the Czech Republic. One of the main reasons is that the carbon dioxide emissions per capita are rather high compared to other countries. Czech farmers receive financial support for the establishment of biogas plants from an EU environmental fund and an EU rural development fund.

Since 2005, the feed-in law for decentralised eco-power has resulted in an increase in the energy production from regenerative sources. In 2010, a share of about 10 percent of the energy was already produced from alternative sources, compared to only 4 percent in 2008.