© Arjan Prinsen © Biolectric

© GreenWatt

© Bebra Biogas GmbH © Den Eelder

SMALL-SCALE      
Case studies in Western Europe
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION
 CONTENTS
An introduction to small-scale anaerobic digestion 3
Part 1 : Case studies
Micro digester on dairy farm Dendauw 5
Pocket digester at chicory company Joluwa 7
Pocket digester pilot at pig and manure processing company Ivaco 9
Pocket digester at dairy cattle farm and dairy processing company Den Eelder 11
Dry type pocket digester at the horse farm of Thierry de Pas 12
Part 2 : Market study 15
Concluding remarks19

“ The case studies in this

brochure show that small-

“
scale anaerobic digestion can
be a profitable investment.
Editing : Anke De Dobbelaere, Bram De Keulenaere, Jonathan De Mey, Viooltje Lebuf, Erik Meers, Bart Ryckaert, Céline Schollier and
Jason Van Driessche. Special thanks to reviewer Ivan Ryckaert (Policy support Education on dairy cattle, Division Sustainable Agricultural
Development, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries of the Flemish Government).
Responsible publisher : Mia Demeulemeester, Inagro vzw, Ieperseweg 87, 8800 Rumbeke-Beitem (Belgium)
Design and printing : Panach’, Motestraat 17, 8940 Wervik (Belgium)
Copyright 2015 : The information included in this publication may not be copied or reproduced without the prior permission of the
publisher. This brochure has been prepared with great care and precision. The information contained in this brochure is for general in-
formation purposes only. While we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representa-
tions or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availabil-
ity with respect to the brochure or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained in this brochure
for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk. In no event will we
be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or
damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this brochure.
D/2015/12.975/1

2 SM A L L-S C A L E A N A ER O B I C D I G E S T I O N
 An introduction to
SMALL-SCALE
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION
WHY THIS BROCHURE ? WHAT IS SMALL-SCALE ANAEROBIC DIGESTION ?
This brochure is intended to Small-scale or pocket digestion is a technology where the anaerobic digestion
meet farmers’ demand for more process is applied to proprietary biomass flows for the on-site production
information concerning the of renewable energy. This energy is made available in the form of electricity
current market situation of the and heat after combustion of the biogas in a combined heat and power (CHP)
small-scale anaerobic digestion installation and is used to a maximum on-site.
technology. The authors aim Although there is no internationally accepted legal definition for pocket di-
to quickly guide those who are gestion, there is a consensus that the term “pocket digestion” is applicable to
interested in the technology so installations with a proprietary biomass supply that produce energy in func-
that they can adopt a targeted tion of the proprietary energy demand. “Mono-digestion” is applicable for
approach in their search for in- installations that use only one type of biomass input. The smallest installations
formation. are also called micro digesters.
This brochure elaborates on The popularity of pocket digestion has increased greatly in the last few years
how the implementation of in the Flemish region of Belgium and a number of neighboring countries.
small-scale anaerobic digestion In Flanders there are about 80 active pocket installations to this date and it is
can take place at the company expected that this number will increase significantly over the next years.
level, based on five practical ex-
amples. A broad market study in
a second part of this brochure WHY SMALL-SCALE ANAEROBIC DIGESTION ?
shows that there are already In the first place, pocket digestion is a tool for agricultural companies to in-
many European providers that crease self-sufficiency in terms of energy demand and thus to be less de-
focus on small-scale digestion. pendent on fluctuating energy market prices.
Some are still in a pilot phase,
while others have already realized In addition, the farmer is able to produce renewable energy using residual
full-scale operational installa- (waste) streams inherent to the daily operation of his agricultural company,
tions. and at the same time actively help achieve the European goals for renewable
energy. By the year 2020, 20 % of the energy demand in the EU should be
covered by renewable energy sources and new routes for renewable energy
production are mapped for the years to come after 2020. Next to the sun, wind
and water, biomass is an important source for renewable energy. Through an-
aerobic digestion renewable energy is produced from biomass. In comparison
to other techniques for the production of renewable energy (such as solar pan-
els and windmills) anaerobic digestion has the advantage that the production
of energy can be controlled and can take place throughout the day, independ-
ent of the weather conditions.
By using residual biomass streams, the environmental impact of agricultural
activities can be decreased significantly :
- Manure storage is a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in live-
stock farming. Total emissions from global livestock represent 14.5 percent of
all anthropogenic GHG emissions. Manure storage and processing represent
10 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions from livestock farming1. Anaero-
bic digestion of manure on a farm level has a high potential to mitigate green-
house gas emissions from manure storage2. For this reason small-scale diges-

SM A L L-S C A L E A N A ER O B I C D I G E S T I O N 3
 tion was also included in the list of measures of the Flemish Climate Plan. Pocket digestion is currently
technically implementable in cattle farming.
- An additional reduction of the environmental impact might be the use of crop residues for pocket di-
gestion : nutrient leaching from crop residues on the land can be avoided and unpleasant odors from
vegetable residues at vegetable suppliers can be reduced.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE WITH LARGER ANAEROBIC DIGESTERS ?

The proprietary nature of the pocket digesters is what distinguishes the small-scale installations
from the large-scale anaerobic digesters. Large-scale anaerobic digesters are subject to external price
fluctuations in the biomass market. The larger installations are generally also subject to low market fees for
the amount of electricity they inject into the power grid. Most of the large installations are co-digesters,
which means that they are fed with a combination of manure, energy crops and waste from both vegeta-
ble and animal origin. According to the current (2014) Flemish (e.g. also German) legislation even the slight-
est input of manure implies that the residual digestate has to be considered completely as animal manure,
resulting in higher (treatment) costs. This is not the case in all European countries, but similar legislative
provisions also increase operational costs for the installations in other European countries.

HOW DOES ANAEROBIC DIGESTION WORK ?

Anaerobic digestion is a process where micro-organisms – in the absence of oxygen – break down com-
plex biomass components to smaller, less complex molecules. The anaerobic digestion process takes
place in a reactor, where biogas and digestate are produced. Digestate is what is left of the biomass after
anaerobic digestion and can be used as an organic fertilizer. The principal components of biogas are :
methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2). The biogas is collected separately, and then sent to the cogen-
eration installation (also called CHP – Combined Heat and Power installation). The methane that is present
in the biogas is combusted in the CHP-engine, which in turn drives the generator that produces electricity.
The heat from the engine is used to maintain a desirable temperature in the reactor. The heat that is left
can be used at the company for other purposes, for example heating in the buildings or drying of the di-
gestate. To make the process more understandable some typical terminology used in anaerobic digestion
is explained below.
Reactor temperature :
Micro-organisms have a certain optimum temperature range in which they perform best in
terms of biogas production. They can be divided into two groups : in mesophilic digestion the
micro-organisms have the highest activity at temperatures of about 35 to 37 °C, while in ther-
mophilic digestion the highest activity is observed with temperatures ranging from 50 to 65 °C.
The dry matter (DM) content :
With a dry matter content up to 15 % the digestion process is called “wet digestion”, with a dry
matter content ranging from 20 to 40 % the process is called “dry digestion”.
Types of mixing and feeding biomass to the reactor :
Most reactors either work continuously, through plug-flow or in a batch system. Wet digest-
ers mainly use stirred reactors where the biomass is fed and withdrawn in a (semi) continuous
manner (CSTR3). A plug-flow set-up often consists of long cylindrical reactors where the biomass
input takes place at one end and the digestate comes out at the other end, there is no thorough
mixing of the biomass in this type of reactor. In a batch system biomass is digested in one pack-
age in a sealed reactor.

1
Dijkman, J., Falcucci, A. & Tempio, G. 2013. Tackling climate change through livestock – A global assessment of emissions and mitigation opportunities. Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome.
2
FAO (2006). Livestock’s long shadow - environmental issues and options. Rome, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, 391 p. www.fao.org/
docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM
3
Continuous stirred-tank reactor

4 SM A L L-S C A L E A N A ER O B I C D I G E S T I O N
 PART 1 :
CASE STUDIES

MICRO DIGESTER (type : Biolectric)

On dairy farm Dendauw in West-Flanders (Belgium)
lution in pocket digestion for quite some time. Even though the cows ran outside for two
Company It started with an article that appeared in the months from morning to evening, no prob-
agricultural press, where they first read about lems occurred with the manure supply since
MANAGEMENT the concept. Later on they went along with there was a sufficient manure reserve from
Koen Dendauw & Greet Scheirlynck many other dairy farmers to visit a company the summer before.
that installed one of the first micro digesters in
Flanders. Because at that time micro digesters
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
were only possible for farms with a minimum
of 100 animals, they decided that anaerobic - Electricity : 56 000  kWh of electricity is
digestion was not possible for their business. consumed each year, this number might
A while later Biolectric brought installations to increase because milking will be done by
market for smaller companies, the idea came a robot from now on. This also means that
back and it seemed that small-scale anaerobic the milk will need to be reheated up to 35 °C
digestion of proprietary manure was profita- to make creaming possible. The company is
ble for their farm. Along with the plans for a divided in two parts that consume electric-
new stable in 2013, Koen and Greet immedi- ity with separate counters. The house and
ately seized the opportunity to integrate the the old stable form one zone which is also
micro digester in the construction of this new supplied by electricity from solar panels.
facility. Together with the manufacturer they The new stable and milk processing facility,
visited several experts in stables, pumps and including refrigerators and freezers form a
drag systems to work out this integration in second zone. This part of the business will
the best possible way. The installation was use the energy that is produced by the
built in August 2014. pocket digester.
FARM CHARACTERISTICS - Heat : The heat consumption of the compa-
- Type of company : Dairy farm with partly BIOMASS FOR ANAEROBIC DIGESTION  ny is not known. The heat from the digester
own milk processing in farm products which The digester only takes in cattle slurry. Rinsed is used to clean the milk installation
are sold on the farm. The company has 70 water from the milk installation is collected
productive dairy cows, 50 heifers, about 100 separately and is led away to the old barn.
hens.
- Buildings : The buildings where the animals
are housed consist of one old stable with
heifers and one new cowshed for dairy cows.
The new stable is equipped with a full floor
between the beds and was constructed to
optimize integration with the micro digester.
- Acreage : 1,5 ha of potatoes which are sold
on the farm, also several hectares of grass and
corn as feed for the animals and as an outlet
for manure from the company.

HISTORY
Koen and Greet took over the family company
in 1996. Originally the company was mixed :
both pigs and dairy cattle were held. In 2000,
they made the switch to a specialized dairy
farm. The company now has a farm shop
where farm-own dairy products, potatoes and
eggs are offered for sale.
Koen and Greet were keeping track of the evo-

SM A L L-S C A L E A N A ER O B I C D I G E S T I O N 5
 the manufacturer. Almost like a cow, a pocket PROFITABILITY
Technique digester behaves like a ‘living’ system, which - Investment costs
requires some monitoring to see if everything - € 95 000, including CHP (turnkey).
TECHNICAL DATA is running smoothly. If a problem occurs, e.g. - € 5 000 to € 10 000 cost for adjustments
a problem with digestate pumping, Koen will to the infrastructure : heat utilization, civ-
- Manufacturer : Biolectric
be notified through his mobile phone. Shortly il charges, costs for obtaining a license
- Installed since : The digester has been opera- after the start-up of the installation a foaming (€ 1 000 to € 1 600), ... This depends largely
tional since September 2014. The installation problem occurred in the reactor. The manu- on the existing synergies at the farm.
was put together very fast. The construction facturer quickly resolved this problem. Be- - If the company does not have an external
of the installation only took 2 days, while the cause the reactor had to be opened, oxygen manure storage this might mean a consid-
complete installation was ready for use in 3 came in. This caused the CHP to stop running erable additional investment. This has to be
weeks. Green energy was being produced for a week. Afterwards there were only a few included in the calculation of the profitabil-
only a day after fresh substrate (manure from smaller problems. “Once I had a blockage in ity. Starting from 2015, the Flemish Climate
another digester) was supplied to the reactor. the digestate pump due to an ear tag that was Fund provides investment support for in-
caught up in the manure”, says Koen. frastructure associated to pocket digestion.
- Reactor volume : 125 m³, height : 2.5 m, dia-
On the farm of Koen and Greet an external
meter : 8 m. - Digestate : The cost for the disposal of di-
storage was already available.
gestate remains approximately the same as
- Residence time biomass : 18-25 days - Operating costs
for manure. During the digestion process, the
- Maintenance contract : € 3 500 / year
- Electric power engine : 9.7 kW electric power, volume of manure is reduced by about 5 %.
- Costs for administrative follow-up : 1 000 / year
self-consumption of the installation is 0.85 kW. Like manure, the digestate is collected in an
- Labor intensity < 0,5 h / day
external storage tank. Later, the digestate is
- Proposed annual net electricity produc- - No additional cost for processing of the di-
used as a fertilizer on agricultural land. Except
tion : The proposed annual gross electricity gestate
for carbon, most of the nutrients present in
production averages 64 000 kWh (100 %). To the manure stay in the digestate, but some
know what remains as net production for - Revenues
are transformed to a more active form.
own use, self-consumption of the installation - Substitution of electricity : € 7 500-11 000 / 
should be subtracted from the gross produc- year (depending on the price paid for elec-
tion. From September till the end of March tricity). Due to the fact that the power of the
WORKING PRINCIPLE engine is below 10 kW, in Flanders a back-
the installation produced a net average of
4801 kWhel per month. Per year this would Every day at seven in the morning, 4 to ward spinning electricity counter can be
come down to 57 617 kWhel. In the early 5 m³ of digestate (fermented manure) is used. This means that the farmer receives
months of September and October produc- pumped from the reactor to the exter- the same price for electricity he produces
tion was slightly lower than the anticipated nal storage. Next, the same amount of and injects as he pays for on moments he
gross production (respectively 79 % and 84 % manure is pumped from the stable to uses more than is produced. This applies for
of the anticipated gross production) due to the digester. Because the stable is pro- as long as his total production is less than
the start-up (approximately 2 weeks). In the vided with a manure slide, manure en- his total consumption.
first week of October there was also a prob- ters the digester very freshly. Because of - Substitution heat : depending on own heat
lem with foam formation. The problem was this, the biogas potential is higher and source (electric, gas or oil) and the heat pro-
resolved quite fast, but a reboot was neces- less manure is required to produce the file.
sary. From November till March the installa- same quantity of energy. In the reactor - Green electricity certificates : approximately
tion produced between 109 % and 123 % of micro-organisms produce the biogas. 67 certificates x € 93 = € 6 231 / year
the anticipated gross production. The biogas is collected underneath the - Heat certificates : around 160 certificates x
membrane on top of the reactor tank € 31 = € 5 000 / year
- Heat utilization : The residual heat from the and is then used in the CHP. The biogas
engine is stored in a hot water buffer tank of is burned in the engine of the CHP. This - Payback time : 5 to 7 years (*). If no adjust-
500 liters / day. This heat is used to rinse the engine drives a generator that produc- ments to infrastructure are required : 5 years
milking installation and milk storage tank. es electricity. The heat that is released (*).
is partly used to maintain the temper-
- Experiences and monitoring work by the
ature of the reactor, the residual heat is REQUIRED PERMITS AND ASSOCIATED
operator : On average Koen spends about
used for the production of warm water OBLIGATIONS :
20 minutes per day to maintain the pocket
by means of a heating buffer tank. Both an environmental and building permit are
digester. In the morning he visits the cabin
with the CHP (combined heat & power unit) required. The license for the micro digester was
to vent the pump at the time the digestate is applied for together with the authorization re-
pumped to the external storage (about 170 m quest for the stable.
away from the digester). In the course of the Important !
day he takes a look on his computer to see Use manure that is as fresh as possible. While STRUCTURAL REQUIREMENTS FOR TECH-
how well the installation is performing. Every calculating the profitability also take into NOLOGY INTEGRATION ON THE FARM 
400 hours Koen replaces the oil and filter in account costs for : excavation works, heat - Excavation for the digestate drain towards the
the engine. Both oil and filters are provided by valorization and external manure storage. external storage.
- The digestate is best discharged to an exter-
nal storage.

(*) - The substitution of heat was not taken into account for the calculation of these payback periods. The amount of heat that is not used to maintain a
desirable temperature in the digester depends on the outside temperature and will vary during the year. The heat that can be utilized on the farm
is therefore an added benefit that has not yet been taken into account. The manufacturer estimates that each year an average of 230 MWh of heat
is produced.
- Small plants (< 10 kW in terms of installed capacity) with a backward spinning electricity counter may be charged an annual fee from 1st of July
2015. This rate is on average € 81/kW/year. Due to the increase of the classical electricity distribution rates the advantage of buying less electricity
increases. As a result, it can be expected that the influence on the return on investment for installations with a rotating back counter will be rather
limited.

6 SM A L L-S C A L E A N A ER O B I C D I G E S T I O N
POCKET DIGESTER (type : GreenWatt)
Chicory company Joluwa, Nijvel (Waals-Brabant)
processed annually. The in-house chicory pro- - Reactor Volume  :
Company duction is only part of the total production. The - Pre-digestion tank volume : 400 m³
other roots are grown by farmers nearby. - HYFAD volume (see working principle) : 2 x
MANAGEMENT  20 m³
Forcing chicory roots is a continuous process, - Post-digestion tank volume : 400 m³
Joost De Paepe only interrupted by a few weeks of vacation
throughout the year. The company owns four - Biomass retention time :
FARM CHARACTERISTICS harvest lines. About 25 people work at the com- - Pre-digestion unit : 10 days
- Company type : chicory farm where annually pany, they manage the different processes of - HYFAD unit : 18 hours
ca. 120 ha of chicory roots are processed the chicory production : insertion of the roots - Post-digestion unit : 20 days
in breeding tanks, sorting and packaging. Since
- Accommodation : the company accommo- the start-up of the company, efficient manage- - Electrical power engine : about 100 kWel,
dation forms a contiguous whole and com- ment of water and energy was of particular in- 150 kWth
prises the living unit, the personnel unit (san- terest for Joost De Paepe. - Annual net electricity production :
itary complex, refectory), harvesting chamber
Recently the company expanded with the in- The digester produces 500 MWhel / year :
(with packaging line), force cells and cooling
stallation of a new unit for biological chicory - 145 MWhel (29 %) is consumed by the di-
units.
production. gester
- 355 MWhel (71 %) is mainly consumed in the
HISTORY  chicory production process. The remaining
The chicory company of Joost de Paepe lies BIOMASS FOR ANAEROBIC DIGESTION
electricity is injected into the grid.
north of the municipality of Nijvel in the prov- The chicory company produces 5 days a week
ince of Waals-Brabant. The company operates and 48 weeks a year. About 14 to 17 tons of chic- - Heat consumption :
in its current setting since 1999. Since the start- ory are produced per day, resulting in 3 750 tons The digester produces 760 MWhth / year :
up, the company chose to invest in a large scale of chicory per year. An equal amount of waste - 205 MWhth (27 %) is used to maintain the di-
production unit. 120 ha of chicory roots are is produced and fed to the digester. This adds gester’s temperature
up to 75 tons of forced chicory roots, leaves and - 281 MWhth (37 %) is used in the chicory pro-
fibrous roots per week. Additionally about 10 % duction process
(440 tons) of silage maize is fed to the digester. - 82 MWhth (24 %) is sold to the nearby print-
ing house (group Rossel). The heat is trans-
ENERGY USE ported through a heating pipe
Typically, a chicory company consumes about - About 84 MWhth (11 %) of the heat is not
10 000 kWhel per hectare of forced roots (for used
harvesting and storage). 50 % of the electricity - Maintenance :
demand goes to the cooling units where the A few times per day roots are transported
roots are stored (starting in autumn) before they to the digester, the technical maintenance is
are forced. The forcing unit accounts for 40 % of done by the constructor GreenWatt.
the total electricity demand of the company.
Next to the residual heat of the digester, Jolu- - Digestate :
wa also recycles the residual heat of the cooling The digestate is separated into a solid fraction
units (through floor heating). and a liquid fraction. The solid fraction is used
as a soil improver on the farmer’s fields, while
the liquid fraction is also spread on the field
Technique as a fertilizer.
In the past, the company tried to reuse the
nutrient-rich liquid fraction as a fertilizer in the
TECHNISCHE GEGEVENS
breeding tanks, but the risk for contamination
- Constructor : GreenWatt with Phytophthora (a genus of plant-damag-
- Year of installation : 2010 ing water molds) was assumed to be too high.

SM A L L-S C A L E A N A ER O B I C D I G E S T I O N 7
 WORKING PRINCIPLE
Every day approximately 10 tons of chicory roots are added to the digester. These roots are cut before putting them in the biphasic digestion
process. The two stages of the methanization process take place in two separate reactors. This allows to process pure plant material with a
maximum biogas yield.
The first stage, called the acidogenic phase, takes place in a separate tank at a pH of approximately 6, and acid is formed.
The HYFAD® (High Yield Flushing Anaerobic Digester) is a high efficiency pressure vessel for methanization developed by GreenWatt. In this reac-
tor, the temperature is kept constant and the pH is 7. The bacteria convert the fatty acids into biogas. High concentrations of micro-organisms on
a solid support material form a biofilm, which allows for the pressure vessel to reach a high methane production efficiency. The unit also includes
a device for unclogging and renewal of the biofilm.
In a post-digestion tank, the last part of methane is captured from the digestate.

Acidogenic phase HYFAD       Post-digestion

Biogas

Input Digestate
© GreenWatt

Important ! In order to avoid blockages and PROFITABILITY REQUIRED PERMITS AND RELATED
damage to the digester, the chicory roots are - Investment cost : € 900 000, incl. CHP (turn- OBLIGATIONS :
washed first. During this event other heavy key) and : Building permit and environmental permit.
materials like stones are removed by sedimen- - An installation for washing the roots before
tation. they go into the digester STRUCTURAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ON-
- A pipe for hot water between the digester SITE INTEGRATION OF THE TECHNOLOGY 
and the adjacent printing facility Since forced chicory roots are available for al-
Attention : the investment cost is highly de- most the entire year there are no root produc-
pendent on the project which is tailored to tion peaks and the company did not have to
the client’s needs. invest in a larger storage capacity. A favorable
heat profile in the surrounding area is needed
- Operational costs : to achieve optimal use of the heat. To be able
- Service and follow-up by GreenWatt  : to utilize the heat, a hot water pipe has to be
€ 30 000 a year installed resulting in an extra investment cost.
- Labor intensity is less than 1 hour a day,
which is mainly feeding the digester a few
times a day
- No additional cost for processing the diges-
tate
- Revenues :
- Substitution electricity : € 45 500 / year
- Substitution heat : € 20 000 / year
- Certificates (GSC and heat) : € 64 000 / year
- Selling heat to the adjacent printing facility :
€ 5 200 / year
- Payback time : 9 to 10 years, but highly de-
pendent on the project
The completion time for a similar installation is
about 9 to 12 months. In this case, an adminis-
trative procedure was already completed (study,
permits, etc) and is not included in these 9 to 12
months. The time needed for the administrative
procedure is strongly dependent on local regu-
lations and can take up to a year.

8 SM A L L-S C A L E A N A ER O B I C D I G E S T I O N
POCKET DIGESTER PILOT
On the pig and manure treatment company Ivaco cvba

HISTORY pacity to 12 500 tons / year. A limited fraction of

Company The company was founded in 2000 with the this 12 500 tons would consist of organic vege-
launch of the first manure treatment plant in table waste. After this expansion, the installation
MANAGEMENT Eernegem. The processing of raw manure is the can no longer be considered a small-scale instal-
Carine Tolpe-Decloedt company’s main activity and is either done with lation.
proprietary manure from the private stables
FARM CHARACTERISTICS (Devano Bvba) or with manure from external pig ENERGY USE 
- Type of company : The company (located in farmers. The compost is an important (by)product Before the construction of the digestion instal-
Gistel) is a combination of a pig farm and a and is sold to the market. lation, most of the electricity on the site of Zeve-
manure treatment installation. kote was generated by solar panels. The starting
Since the beginning, Ivaco had a clear pioneering point of the pocket digester was not to cover
- Commercial buildings : The farm has a ca- role within the sector : in 2006, the first reed bed the company’s own electricity costs and there-
pacity of 11 000 production pigs. Each year, was installed (site Eernegem) allowing to convert fore the installation might not be considered
about 29 000 pigs are fattened. The capacity the processed manure into dischargeable water. “pocket digestion”. For example, all calculation
of the manure treatment installation is about The same activities (manure treatment and reed models for this project take into account 100 %
60 000 tons per year. bed) were also carried out on the site in Zevekote. grid injection (with accompanying lower injec-
A pocket digester was installed in Zevekote in tion rate) for the produced electricity. In prac-
In the manure treatment process, the raw ma-
2013. tice, this will not be the case since the CHP also
nure is separated into a solid fraction and a liq-
uid fraction. The solid fraction is converted into In parallel with the construction of a small-scale provides power at night when the solar panels
high-quality compost by maturation in the com- digester, a major capacity expansion of pig sta- do not produce electricity.
posting plant. The liquid fraction is purified in bles was realized on the site of Zevekote. For now, As for the heat utilization, there is a clear “win”
the biological tank and stored in a buffer basin. there are no plans for further expansions or ad- thanks to the digestion plant. The Zevekote site
The effluent from the biological tank is purified justments. However, the company continues to has several heat demands  :
by a system of cascading wetlands (reed beds). fulfil its pioneering role in several innovative pro- - The piglets stable (equivalent to 20 000 liters
Through this process the characteristics of the jects. of heating oil / year)
effluent comply with the standards for discharge - The house
into surface water. The incoming manure is com- BIOMASS FOR ANAEROBIC DIGESTION - The composting plant : formerly a CHP on
pletely converted into compost and dischargea- The pocket digester is mainly fed with pig ma- rapeseed oil (125 kW) was used on the Zeve-
ble water. nure. Initially, a license was granted for 5 000 tons kote site to accelerate the drying process in
of fresh biomass / year, which consisted of a com- the composting plant. Because of the high
bination of pig manure (raw and solid fraction) cost for oil, the plant was removed. The re-
and energy corn. To increase the profitability the sidual heat from the CHP is a useful energy
company applied for a permit to increase the ca- source for the drying process.

SM A L L-S C A L E A N A ER O B I C D I G E S T I O N 9
 Technique WORKING PRINCIPLE
Best practice was used at Ivaco to integrate the small-scale digester into the farm. On the
TECHNICAL DATA supply side, there is a synergy with the existing pig farm, the manure from the piggeries is
- Constructor : extracted from the manure pit very freshly and utilized in the digester. The manure either
- Digestion tank : Biodynamics goes directly to the digester, or is separated first into a liquid and solid fraction. Only the
- CHP : Continental Energy Systems solid fraction is used in the digestion plant. In addition, energy crops are supplied (maize or
- Piping, electricity, etc. : smaller subcontrac- corn cob mix) in order to have an optimal C/N-ratio.
tors
On the output side, there are also synergetic opportunities with the existing agricultural
- Year of installation : activities. The digestate can be separated and processed in the composting unit (solid frac-
- Start construction : September 2012 tion) and the biologic plant (liquid fraction). The green power is used on the farm and the
- Digester (CHP engine) : May 2013 residual heat of the CHP plant can be used to heat the piglet house and improve the com-
- Volume of reactor : 1 000 m³ posting process.
- Biomass retention time :
- Original (5 000 tons / year) : 73 days
- After renewal of the environmental permit
(12 500 tons / year) : min. 30 days PROFITABILITY
- Investment costs Vlaanderen
- Electrical power CHP : 190 kWel is energie
- € 250 000 digester
- Initial estimated annual net electricity - € 200 000 CHP
production : - € 100 000 other expenses (for study, admin- Realized with the support of the Flemish Government
- Initial theoretical : 1 170 000 kWhel / year istration, pretreatment, civil works ...) and the Flemish Energy Agency (VEA).
- Realized : 774 000 kWhel / year Participating partners: DLV, Ghent University, Innolab
- Operating costs : and DLV InnoVision.
- Heat Use : - Engine : € 18 000 / year
- In the digester, composting hall, living - Installation : € 10 000 / year (estimate)
quarters and piglets stall - Administrative support : € 12 000 / year
- No heat measurements (calculated theore- (including manure treatment).
tically) - Labor intensity : 2 hours / day
- Initial theoretical : 1 530 000 kWhth / year - No relevant additional costs to process the
- Realized : 1 304 000 kWhth / year digestate because of the limited supply of
additional nutrients (e.g. energy corn) to
- Experience : the digester
- Intensive follow-up needed, especially at - Injection tariff (medium voltage, Infrax
the start of a project West) : approximately € 1.60 / MWhel inject-
- High quality flows (= high biogas potential) ed and annual fee of € 825 (for both solar
needed in order to be profitable panels and pocket digester)
- Digestate : the digestate is processed in the - Revenues :
proprietary manure treatment - All electricity is injected into the grid : cur-
rently € 35 600 / year (the goal is a theoreti-
Important ! cally optimum of € 53 820 / year)
- Need for high quality input streams - Substitution heat : € 26 000 / year
- The installation needs the same follow-up - Green power certificates : approximately
and monitoring equipment as a large-scale € 110 000 / year
installation - Green heat certificates : approximately
€ 50 000 / year (decrease after 4 years)
- € 150 000 investment aid (demonstration
project VEA)
- Payback time : the demonstration project is
only in its early stage, therefore it is not pos-
sible to make a statement on the profitability
yet.

10 SM A L L-S C A L E A N A ER O B I C D I G E S T I O N
 POCKET DIGESTER
(type : Microferm, HoSt)
on a dairy cattle farm and dairy processing company Den Eelder (Netherlands)
Company Technique PROFITABILITY
- Investment cost :
- € 300 000 for the plant (incl. pre- and
TECHNICAL DATA post-treatment, and storage of digestate)
- Manufacturer : HoSt B.V. - € 150 000 for the CHP
- Installed : 2013 - Operational costs :
- Maintenance CHP and biogas installation :
- Reactor volume : vertical tank of 130 m³
€ 15 000 - 20 000 / year
- Residence time biomass : 8-12 days - Work load : less than 0.5 h / day
- No relevant extra costs to process the diges-
- Electrical power CHP : 65 kW, the installation tate
uses part of the thermal energy to heat the
reactor (40 °C) and also uses up to 2.2 kW of - Revenues :
the electrical power. This low energy use for - Electricity production for proprietary use :
© Den Eelder

the installation makes it quite unique. € 40 000 / year (dependent on the tariff)

- Heat production for own usage : no reve-
- Yearly net electricity production : nues as all heat is being used to maintain
480 000 kWh the reactor temperature
MANAGEMENT : - Heat use : the produced heat is used to heat - SDE + subventions (Dutch system) :
The van der Schans family the slurry in the reactor. After upscaling and € 110 / MWhel : € 52 800 / year
installation of a second reactor, it will also be - Producing green gas would be more profit-
FARM CHARACTERISTICS : possible to use the heat from the current CHP able
to heat this second reactor. The biogas pro- - CHP certificates : no subventions for heat
- Type of company : dairy farm en dairy cows
duced from this second reactor will probably production for mono-digestion, because all
- Company buildings : stable and dairy pro- not be used in a CHP, but in a boiler, to be heat is used to maintain reactor temperature
cessing facility used in the dairy processing facility. - Payback time : 6-8 years
- Acreage : 150 ha grassland and 70 ha maize - Maintenance : 30 minutes per day. Mainte-
nance takes very little time. The slurry is au-
HISTORY tomatically pumped to the reactors and the
At the end of 2013 / beginning of 2014 the com- whole system is run by an advanced control
pany started running an anaerobic digestion system.
plant for 7 500 m³ of cow slurry. Soon the diges-
- Digestate : the digestate is partially spread
tion plant will be scaled up to 15 000 m³ of cow
out on cropland and grassland of the compa-
slurry. The manure that is currently not digest-
ny. Part of it is sent to a compostingplant so
ed is separated and the solid fraction is used
that it is pasteurized and released for export
as bedding material. After the upscaling of the
after pasteurization. Currently the compost-
plant, the aim is to separate all digestate and to
ing process still has to be validated according
pasteurize and export the part of the solid frac-
to the rules set out in the Animal By-products
tion that cannot be used as bedding material.
Regulation (EC N° 1069 / 2009).
BIOMASS FOR ANAEROBIC DIGESTION Important !
Currently 7 500 m³ of fresh cow slurry is digest- To maximize biogas production, fresh cow slur-
ed, together with a very small amount of rinsing ry is needed.
water from the milking parlor.

ENERGY USE
Den Eelder covers 40-50 % of the electricity use
with its own energy production. The heat is be-
ing used to maintain the reactor temperature.

WORKING PRINCIPLE
The residence time of the slurry in the reactor is 8-12 days. Fresh slurry is being pumped
continuously from the stable to the reactor (in total about 20 m³ of slurry each day). The Mi-
croferm is a heated, isolated vertical reactor with a 130 m³ capacity and a central agitator. In
merely 6 days about 80 % of the biogas potential is produced. The digestate flows to a small,
© Den Eelder

unheated post-digestion reactor, where the last part of the biogas potential is being utilized.
The biogas is stored underneath a double membrane above the post-digestion reactor after
which it is sent to the CHP installation.

SM A L L-S C A L E A N A ER O B I C D I G E S T I O N 11
 © Erigène
DRY TYPE POCKET DIGESTER (type : Eribox, Erigène)
On the horse farm of Thierry de Pas in Bois-Guilbert (France)
Company lation (not linked with the biogas installation
but used for “standard” agricultural activities
more than a 100 horses. In the future the com-
pany will keep investing in the expansion of rec-
and fodder storage). reational activities on the family domain.
MANAGEMENT
- Acreage : 128 ha cropland for cultivation of
Thierry de Pas BIOMASS FOR ANAEROBIC DIGESTION
different crops in rotation (wheat, maize, rape-
seed, etc.) next to 98 ha grassland. The digester’s biomass input on a yearly basis
FARM CHARACTERISTICS consists of 650 tons of litter and 850 tons of
- Type of company : The farm is specialized communal bio-organic waste and other bio-
HISTORY
in breeding Icelandic horses. The farm in mass.
It was Thierry’s father, Louis de Pas, who built
Bois-Guilbert holds about 150 adult animals
up the farm from 1952 onwards on the family For the largest part of the year, the ponies are
and about 50 foals. Generally the ponies are
domain in Bois-Guilbert. In 1960 the first ponies kept inside the stables. In spring, there is a graz-
sold to private owners, where the farm con-
(Shetlands) came to the farm. Five years later ing period for the whole herd. Solid manure is
tinues to take care of the animals as a service
in 1965 the pony club was founded which is available in large quantities from the stables.
to their client. Next to the farming activities,
now run by Thierry de Pas. In that same period, Thierry started a collaboration with the com-
the company also offers accommodation in
Louis was also closely involved in the foundation pany Erigène to produce biogas from this solid
different “gîtes” (about 80 beds in total), typ-
of the French national pony association. Since manure.
ical vacation homes for the region.
2000 Thierry specialized in breeding Icelandic
horses, a significant milestone was reached Besides manure there is also input of bio-organ-
- Company buildings : Main building with
in 2008 when the herd of horses expanded to ic waste from roadside management, bio-or-
stables, multiple guest houses, drying instal-
ganic waste from communal kitchens is also
added to the digester. The farmer is expand-
ing his input streams and therefore contacted
a number of potential partners including the
grain processing industry.
Energy use : Heat and electricity are used to
the fullest for the farm’s own energy demand.
With his biogas installation Thierry wants to be
largely independent of third party energy sourc-
es. The many “gîtes” and the drying installation
make sure that the residual heat from the diges-
tion process can be used efficiently. The farm
has a small heating network which transports
warm water to the different buildings.

12 SM A L L-S C A L E A N A ER O B I C D I G E S T I O N
 PROFITABILITY
WORKING PRINCIPLE
Technique - Investment cost
- € 383 000 for Eribox system (10 containers)
The system is a mesophilic dry diges-
TECHNICAL DATA - € 123 000 for CHP installation (2 x 25 kW)
tion and uses multiple modular diges-
- Manufacturer  : The French company Erigène and gas storage
tion containers (Eribox). The standard
- € 110 000 for the installation of the heating
size of these containers is 30 m³. The - Installed since : August 2012. The site is in op- network
containers are adapted so that they eration since June 2013, but due to expected - € 68 000 additional costs (concrete surface,
are sealed gas-tight. The necessary gas start-up problems the installation could only instrumentation, technical assistance)
exhaust, heat exchange and leak water operate at full power in February 2014.
connections are provided. - Operational costs :
- Reactor volume : 30 m³ per box, at the mo- At this stage of the pilot phase, it is unclear
The percolate (the fluid that comes ment the installation consists of 6 containers, what the operational costs will be.
from the biomass during anaerobic end of 2014 12 boxes should be in operation.
digestion) is recirculated at 250 l/h to - Revenues :
maintain a favorable microbial commu- - Residence time biomass : 25-30 days - Substitution of electricity and subventions
nity in each of the containers. for the production of green power : € 45
- Electrical power CHP : 50 kWel
500 / year
The containers are filled and emptied
- Yearly net electricity production : - Substitution of heat : depending on own
one after the other using a pre-load
253 000 kWel heating system and heat demand profile
system and a transporting system to
Gas : max. about € 19 000 / year
unload the containers. The process is - Heat use : 425 000 kWth (47 % for gîtes, 38 % Heating oil : max. about € 30 000 / year
repeated every 25-30 days for each of dryer, 15 % house). The farm owns a drying
the containers. The biogas is captured installation (installed power : 9 kW) for hay, - Return on investment : The pilot project is
and stored in a “gas balloon”. wheat and other agricultural products, where only in an early phase of operation, so it is not
the residual heat is partially valorized. possible to estimate the profitability.
- Maintenance : the start-up of the exploita-
tion of this pilot plant was not easy but in the
end successful through a process of trial and REQUIRED PERMITS AND ASSOCIATED
error. To reach a stable state of the microbial OBLIGATION
community was especially hard. To be able to install the system, the farmer had
to file a request for a building permit and an en-
- Digestate : is spread out on proprietary grass- vironmental permit. There is a strong collabo-
land an cropland. ration with and control by ADEME (Agence de
Important ! l’environnement et de la maîtrise de l’énergie).
The dry batch system is robust and is able to
process a lot of different types of dry biomass. STRUCTURAL REQUIREMENTS
For a good digestion process it is essential that a The installation was placed on a large concrete
sufficient amount of percolate can be pumped. surface.
Bron : Erigène

SM A L L-S C A L E A N A ER O B I C D I G E S T I O N 13
 Manure mono
Power <50

Power ≥50

digestion
kWel

kWel

Manufacturer Number of known reference

(+ name of installation if applicable) Biomass projects
AUSTRIA
1 Bio4Gas GmbH x x x Manure Bert: >10; Bart: >10
BELGIUM
2 Agrofutur SA x x x Manure, bio-organic waste, sludges 3
3 Anatis x x x Cattle slurry, litter 1
4 Biolectric x x Cattle slurry about 80
5 EnergX x Manure no small scale references on
website
6 Enersolutions
7 GreenWatt x crop residues 6, of which 3 small scale installa-
tions
FRANCE
8 AEB Méthafrance x Manure, bio-organic waste, energy crops 12
9 ARIA Energies (silogaz type ) x x Manure, bio-organic waste, energy crops; silogaz: 19
type silogaz: dryer biomass
10 Arkolia (Arkobloc) x Manure, bio-organic waste, crop residues, a
variety of input; 25% DM
11 Biocité x x litter, green waste Pilot

12 Bioeco x x Manure, bio-organic waste, green waste Dozens

13 BIOGAZ Hochreiter x x Manure, bio-organic waste, energy crops 1600
14 Enerjit no small scale references on
website
15 Erigène (Eribox) x x litter, green waste, dryer biomass Pilot
16 Evalor x Manure, bio-organic waste, energy crops 11 in operation and 5 in build-up
17 KUB Process x x 15 - 25 % DM
18 Naskeo Méthajade x litter (cattle), poultry manure, intercropping 1 in operation (55 kW); 2 in build-
up (160 kW and 170 kW)
19 Odipure (Méthafast) x x x Cattle manure & pig manure (& silage)
20 S²-watt x x Manure, bio-organic waste, dry biomass 2
21 Valogreen (Valokit) x liquid manure, solid manure, dry biomass Pilot
22 Weltec Agripower France x x liquid manure <10% DM, energy crops >7

14 SM A L L-S C A L E A N A ER O B I C D I G E S T I O N
 PART 2 :
MARKET STUDY

To inform future investors about what is available on the market of small-scale anaerobic digestion Biogas-E and
Inagro focused on collecting information from technology suppliers in Northwestern Europe. They were able to
compile a list of 61 companies that are active in the sector of small scalle anaerobic digestion. Some of them are
testing the installations on a pilot scale, in other cases you have providers that want to fully deploy on the market.
The differences between providers are situated in different domains and are mostly determined by a local context :
the size of the agricultural company, the availability of input biomass (different types and volumes), the manufac-
turer’s experience with large scale projects and the policy concerning subventions and permits. Although some
of the providers try to translate their existing large scale experience with the bigger ‘standard’ CSTR-reactors to a
smaller scale installation, others also add ideas to differentiate their installations and give them their own ‘identity’.
A minority of the manufacturers also focuses on mono-digestion of manure. Remarkable is the fact that a number
of providers in the list offer pocket installations on dryer biomass (for example : litter). The next table provides a
simplified overview of all providers as a result of our research, the list is up to date up to 31/12/2014. A list that is
regularly updated is available online : http://www.enerpedia.be/nl/pocketvergisting#t4287
We gladly provide feedback to your questions, remarks or suggestions. If you are a provider or manufacturer of
small-scale installations and wish to be added to the list, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Contact information
is available at the back of this brochure.

Installation Type Website

cylinder in cylinder, pressure mixing www.bio4gas.eu/index.php

Anaerobic filter, short residence time www.agrofutur.eu/agrofutur_biomethanisation.php

Fixed bed reactor www.anatis.be
CSTR www.biolectric.be
Fixed bed reactor www.energx.be

Fixed bed with bag-type secondary digester www.enersolutions.be

Multiple phase, HYFAD (patented technology) www.greenwatt.be

CSTR + mixer + secondary digester www.aeb-energie.fr

Bag type, silogaz: plugflow www.aria-enr.fr

Two-phase container system www.arkoliaenergies.fr/index.php

Dry digestion silo No website. More info: http://blog.isara.fr/biocite-cree-une-unite-de-methanisa-

tion-cles-en-main or www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynSNibF79Z0 “
Batch-type dry digester for litter, CSTR-type for wet streams www.bio-e-co.fr/index.php
CSTR + mixer or paddle + secondary digester www.biogaz-hochreiter.fr
Fixed bed, bag or container www.enerjit.fr

Containers, dry batch system, percolation system http://erigene.com

CSTR www.evalor.fr/index.php/methanisation
Modular "cube" (galvanized metal) www.kub-process.fr
Garage type, batch system, percolation system www.methajade.fr

CSTR www.odipure.com/solutions-techniques/metha-nisation/methafast/
Dry digestion http://s2-watt.com
CSTR (gegalvaniseerd) www.valogreen.fr
CSTR www.weltec-agripower.com

SM A L L-S C A L E A N A ER O B I C D I G E S T I O N 15
 Power <50 kWel

Power ≥50 kWel

Manure mono
digestion
Manufacturer Number of known reference
(+ name of installation if applicable) Biomass projects
GERMANY
23 Agrikomp Gmbh (Güllekompakt - Das x x x Güllekompakt: 100% liquid manure; Das Numerous
Güllewerk - individual concepts on Güllewerk: 80% (liquid) manure & 20%
demand) bio-organic waste, energy crops; options
24 Bebra Biogas x x liquid manure, grass
25 Bioconstruct (BioCompact) x Cattle manure, pig manure, bio-organic 8000
waste
26 Biogas Weser EMS x Manure, energy crops 360
27 Biogas-Ost (Clever-Ferm-System) x x Manure, bio-organic waste, energy crops, Dozens
various inputs
28 Chiemgauer Biogasanlagen x x 80% Manure & 20% grass, various inputs 9
29 Consentis/Conviotec (CON2) x x Cattle slurry, various inputs 24

30 Eggersmann (Smartferm) x bio-organic waste (only from vegetable

origin), grass
31 Energieraum (EVA 75) x 2
32 Enspar x x Manure, bio-organic waste, energy crops 401
33 Envitec Biogas (Envifarm Compact) x Manure, bio-organic waste, energy crops no small scale references on
website
34 Farmatic x Manure, bio-organic waste, energy crops Mainly large installations
35 KBGA Gmbh (Enbea Bots) x x various inputs Pilot
36 MT-Energie x x Manure, bio-organic waste >600
37 Novatech x x x Manure, bio-organic waste, energy crops >250
38 NQ Anlagentechnik x x x Liquid manure, energy crops 153
39 Ökobit (System Flex of System Korn) x Manure, bio-organic waste, energy crops Mainly large installations
40 PlanET Biogastechnik Gmbh, Biogaz x x Manure, bio-organic waste, energy crops >330
PlanET
41 Portaferm x x liquid manure <10% DM Pilot
42 Sauter Biogas (SB Mini) x x solid manure, liquid manure, energy crops, 5
various inputs
43 Schmack Viessmann (Eucolino) x liquid manure, energy crops 1

44 UDR Röring (MonoTube) x x Cattle slurry, energy crops

45 UTS biogastechnik (Kairos, Helios) x liquid manure, energy crops, various inputs 3
46 Weltec biopower x Manure, energy crops, various inputs no small scale references on
website
THE NETHERLANDS
47 Agrimodem x x Cattle manure Pilot
48 Bioclear bv, Paques bv, Oosterhof-Hol- x x Cattle manure Pilot
man Milieutechniek
49 Ecbio-organic wasteg - Nijhuis Water x Manure, grass 1
Technology
50 Fermtechsystems x x Cattle slurry Pilot
51 HoSt (Microferm) x x liquid manure, various inputs 4
52 Manure Power BV in co-operation with x Pilot
M.I.P. Tanks&Silo's
53 Serigas x x Manure (experience with garden waste, Pilot
Water hyacint)
SWITZERLAND
54 Axpo Kompogas x green waste, bio-organic waste 79
55 Renergon x bio-organic waste, poultry- or horse manure,
bio-organic waste, etc.
56 Swiss EcoSystems Gmbh (EcoGas) x Manure, bio-organic waste >2
UNITED KINGDOM
57 Evergreen gas x Manure, bio-organic waste, energy crops 2
58 Fre-energy (Fre-Energy digester) x x Manure, bio-organic waste, energy crops
59 Marches Biogas (CSTR; Agridigestore; x x x CSTR: Manure, bio-organic waste, energy minimum 2 CSTR, 1 Agridigestore
"Plug and Play") crops; Agridigestore: manure, energy crops; and 1 plug flow
Plug and play: manure
60 SEaB Energy (MuckBuster, Flexibuster) x Muckbuster: agricultural waste; Flexibuster: 5
bio-organic waste
UNITED STATES
61 Avatar Energy x x x Cattle slurry, bio-organic waste, energy crops

16 SM A L L-S C A L E A N A ER O B I C D I G E S T I O N
Installation Type Website

Güllekompact: concrete digester; Das Güllewerk: horizontal plug flow www.biogastechnik.de

(steel) with paddle agitator

Vertical plug flow or compact silo digester www.bebra-biogas.com/en/products/compact-digesters.html

CSTR, mesophilic (thermophilic reactor also possible) www.bioconstruct.de

CSTR www.biogas-weser-ems.de
CSTR mixed, multi-stage system www.biogas-ost.de

Coverable basins, batch system www.chiemgauer-biogasanlagen.de/startseite

Mono digestion of manure (75 kW), modular multi chamber reactor www.consentis.de
without mechanical parts, container construction
Garage type, batch digester www.smartferm.com

CSTR www.energieraum-e3.de
CSTR + mixer www.enspar.de
www.envitec-biogas.com

CSTR www.farmatic.com
Two-phase, combined wet and dry system www.enbea.de; www.kbga.de
CSTR www.mt-energie.com/de/produkte/mt-farm.html
CSTR www.novatechgmbh.com/67.0.html
CSTR www.nq-anlagentechnik.de
CSTR www.oekobit-biogas.com
CSTR http://en.planet-biogas.com/services/new-construction/

Horizontal cylinder, plug flow www.portaferm-biogas.de

Lagoon system or concrete tanks, long retention time http://sauter-biogas.de

horizontal plug flow reactor or round tank www.viessmann.be/nl/industrie_bedrijven_overheid/Producten/Biogasinstal-

laties/Natte_fermentatie/EUCOlino_compacte_biogasinstallaties.html
UDR=upflow-downflow-reflow. Digestion system with 2 to 3 coated www.udr-systems.com
steel tanks. MonoTube has 1 or 2 (> 50 kW). U & D are fixed bed reac-
tors. Thermophilic > 50 ° C.
CSTR (Kairos)+ secondary digester www.uts-biogas.com
CSTR www.weltec-biopower.com

Multiple phase non-commercial

Struvite digestion in tower silos, digestion of the liquid fraction non-commercial

Manure bag non-commercial. More info on www.microvergisters.nl

Two-phase www.fermtechsystems.com/Lopende%20projecten.html
prefabricated tower silo, digestate storage bag or silo www.host.nl; www.microferm.nl
Digestion of liquid fraction www.mip-nv.com

Multiple phase digestion, specific micro-organismsn, multi-stage www.serigasinternational.com

pre-treatment

Continuous dry fermentation, plug flow digestion www.axpo.com/axpo/kompogas/de/home.html

Dry digestion, modular to 8 containers www.renergon.ch/; www.christiaens.com

CSTR http://swissecosystems.ch

Mesophilic, frequent mixing www.evergreengas.co.uk/home

CSTR www.fre-energy.co.uk
Agridigestore: conversion of digestate storage; Plug and Play: horizon- www.marchesbiogas.com/home
tal tank, spray mixing

Modular, containers www.seabenergy.com

Horizontal modular plug flow (fiberglass) www.AvatarEnergy.com

SM A L L-S C A L E A N A ER O B I C D I G E S T I O N 17
 “ Pocket digestion is a technique

“
to increase self-sufficiency
in terms of energy demand.

MORE Projects
There are also other initiatives and efforts concerning small-scale anaerobic digestion small-
scale anaerobic digestion on a local and regional scale as well as on an international scale. Listed
INFO below, amongst others, are some projects that are being executed (or have been finished) on
a European level :
- Biogas³ - www.biogas3.eu
- BioEnergy Farm II - http://ec.europa.eu/energy/intelligent/projects/en/projects/bioenergy-farm-ii
- BiogasETC - http://biogas-etc.eu
- BiogasXpose - www.biogasxpose.eu
- BIORES - http://ec.europa.eu/energy/intelligent/projects/en/projects/biores
- www.microvergisters.nl

18 SM A L L-S C A L E A N A ER O B I C D I G E S T I O N
 CONCLUDING REMARKS

In the years to come it is expected that the market for small-scale installations in the agricultural sec-
tor will continue to grow. There are different reasons to support this statement, the most important are :
the increasing demand for measures to reduce the environmental impact (for example greenhouse
gas emissions) of residual waste streams and increasing interest to invest in renewable energy
production.
Based on the availability of residual waste and the current energy demand many agricultural companies
show a certain potential for implementation of small-scale anaerobic digestion. The examples in this bro-
chure show that small-scale anaerobic digestion can be profitable. However, the implementation needs to
be company specific and a well-advised preliminary calculation is necessary.
Future investors have a broad range of providers in the whole northwestern region of Europe. Because it is
expected that the demand for small-scale installations will increase strongly in the near future, and taken
into account that a number of manufacturers are still experimenting in a pilot phase, we also expect that
the group of providers will expand accordingly.
It is important that the agricultural companies that are interested in investing in this technology make sure
that they are well informed before they start their project. Site visits to existing installations can be very useful.
A good follow-up by both manufacturers and owners is of great importance to the success of the imple-
mentation of a small-scale anaerobic digester.
The authors of this brochure want to focus on research, advice and communication concerning small-scale
anaerobic digestion to inform the sector to a maximum of the opportunities associated to pocket digestion.

This brochure was created under the Interreg IVb project ARBOR. ARBOR’s mission is to promote an innova-
tive and sustainable approach to the production of energy from biomass in North West Europe (NWE). The
regions in which the ARBOR partners operate are: Flanders, Germany, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, Ire-
land and the Netherlands. ARBOR receives support from the European Regional Development Fund through
the INTERREG IVb, the Flemish Energy Agency (VEA), the Agency for Entrepreneurship and the provinces of
West Flanders, East Flanders and Flemish Brabant. More information on ARBOR is available on the website:
www.arbornwe.eu.

Vlaanderen
is energie

SM A L L-S C A L E A N A ER O B I C D I G E S T I O N 19
This brochure is the result of a collaboration between different organisations :

Inagro vzw is the research and advice center for ag- Biogas-E vzw is the platform for the implementation
riculture and horticulture in West-Flanders. Inagro of anaerobic digestion in Flanders and acts as infor-
focuses on a practical approach to the different sub- mation point where anyone can ask for independent
sectors within agriculture and horticulture. The divi- information and advice in first line. Biogas E vzw is a
sion Energy, Biomass and Innovation is charged with non-profit organization and acts as an independent
research, the formulation of advice and communica- expert institution concerning all aspects of anaerobic
tion to the sector concerning energy efficiency and digestion (technological, economical, legislative, so-
energy production. The division is clearly linked with cial, ecological). The association strives for full valori-
energy production, including biomass. Special atten- zation of the biogas potential in Flanders and aims to
tion is paid to small scale anaerobic digestion as one objectively support a maximum of initiatives related to
of the topics that is part of the division’s scope. Inagro anaerobic digestion.
also has a leading role within the Flemish agricultural
energy platform and agricultural energy encyclopedia
Enerpedia, where Inagro works closely with other
Flemish agricultural practice
and knowledge centers.
Contact : Contact :
Anke De Dobbelaere www.inagro.be Jonathan De Mey
Ieperseweg 87 Graaf Karel de Goedelaan 34
8800 Rumbeke-Beitem 8500 Kortrijk
[email protected] [email protected]
+32 51 27.33.81 www.enerpedia.be +32 56 24.12.63 www.biogas-e.be

The Flemish Coordination Centre for Manure Pro- DLV InnoVision supports innovating entrepreneurs
cessing (VCM) is an organization that supports the in their business development. The support takes var-
government as well as private companies in realizing iable forms and comprises support when drafting a
sufficient manure processing within the Flemish re- business plan, maximization of project funding and
gion. VCM operates as an expert organization and has subventions, or complete project coordination. As an
an advisory role. The agricultural aspect as well as the indepent consultancy company DLV InnoVision regu-
ecological, spatial, economic, and energetic aspect are larly carries out feasibility studies for small-scale anaer-
important to be able to accomplish sufficiently sustain- obic digestion and digestion of less common biomass
able solutions for the Flemish manure excess. streams.

Contact : Contact :
Viooltje Lebuf Jason Van Driessche
Abdijbekestraat 9 Biezeweg 15a
8200 Brugge 9230 Wetteren
[email protected] [email protected]
+32 50 40.72.01  www.vcm-mestverwerking.be +32 9 242.06.00 www.dlvinnovision.be

Ghent University, abbreviated to UGent, is one of the Contact:

major universities in the Dutch-speaking region of Eu- Bram De Keulenaere
rope and one of the leading Universities in scientific re- Faculty of Bioscience Engineering -
search worldwide. The Faculty of Bioscience Engineer- Department of Applied Analytical
ing educates generations of scientists in leading edge and Physical Chemistry.
research and high impact work with governments and Coupure Links 653
communities, industry and NGOs, to support innova- 9000 Gent
tion and sustainability in life sciences while managing [email protected]
and protecting natural and man-made ecosystems. +32 9 261.93.96