A fermentation plant on a greenhouse horticulture site in Bergerden will be fermenting biomass in a controlled manner as from 2017, in which biogas will be released. A follow-up procedure will upgrade the biogas into green gas, with CO2 and minerals such as nitrogen and phosphates as its by-products. The horticulturists plan to purchase the CO2.
The raw materials to be processed by the fermentation plant will consist primarily of grass and animal fertiliser obtained from intensive livestock farming. This will also enable the plant to contribute to reducing the Netherlands’ surplus of manure. Besides grass obtained from road maintenance and the region’s natural surroundings, the plant will also process green waste from horticulture and arable farming. The initiative takers expect to produce up to 7.2 million m3 green gas per year as from the beginning of 2017. This is comparable to the amount of gas consumed by a city of 10,000 inhabitants.
Circular economy
The green gas thus generated will be transported to the Liander natural gas network in Huissen. The green certificate that this will yield will become available for regional bus transport, for example. The liquid CO2 will be sold to the greenhouse horticulturists in Bergerden, who will be using it for their crops, through a regular supplier. The regained phosphate will be exported abroad. As a result, multiple circuit chains will be closed: reuse of regional biomass, reuse of CO2 and reuse of fertilisers.
Initiative takers
The biomass fermentation plant will be built by Groen Gas Gelderland (GGG) in collaboration with Biogas Plus. GGG is an initiative launched by Bio Energie Bergerden. Eneco provided assistance in the development phase and will buy the green gas. GGG has concluded a contract for optimising the economic value of the by-products, which contain mineral fertilisers such as phosphates. The biogas fermentation plant was funded both by GDF Suez and with venture capital provided by PPM Oost through the Innovation and Energy Fund for the Province of Gelderland (IEG). The preparations alone took thirteen years to complete.
Sources: http://degroenehub.nl/www.bergerden.nu/www.gelderlander.nl. Infographic: Eneco.
