FWE Energy Solutions specialises in project development in the field of renewable energies. Since its inception in 2016, the company has aimed to bring holistic as well as sustainable solutions in this sphere. FWE is also a member of the European and German Biogas Association. It has expanded its footprint internationally within Europe, USA and Latin America. Ideas and property rights of the BIOGASTIGER® System were acquired in 2008. In 2015, the development, construction and operation of BIOGASTIGER® demo-plant work took off, the project being funded by the Bavarian state. FWE began working with the KFC Ecuador as a lighthouse project in South America in 2016.

Effective waste management, mitigation and overall reduction of waste generation is a pressing concern for relevant authorities in all countries. Careful pre-incident planning can lead to reduction in the amount of waste generated. Organic waste or bio waste includes food and agricultural waste, and animal or human manure. Organic waste disposal is a huge problem due to modern society’s soaring consumption pattern. One of the ways the problem of generation of biowaste or organic waste could be put to use is by converting biowaste or organic waste to biogas. Biogas made from organic materials is a renewable, sustainable, affordable and inclusive energy alternative becoming increasingly available to households, farms, municipalities and nations. In fact, biogas systems may potentially cater to a variety of energy needs worldwide, while reducing waste streams and providing biofertiliser as a by-product.

The production of biogas is one of the most promising forms of energetic use of biomass. Anaerobic digesters, or biodigesters, produce biogas much like the human digestive system. When biodigesters are fed organic material — food waste, agricultural residues, and animal or human manure — it is decomposed by microorganisms in the absence of oxygen and turned into biogas, which can then be used for heating, cooking, transportation and other needs. Biogas plants can make a significant contribution to a sustainable energy system, while largely reducing the emissions of anthropogenic greenhouse gases in agriculture.

However, one of the major roadblocks in conversion is the financial expense associated with sourcing the machine and setting up the same. The other major roadblock in converting biomass to biogas is the quality and safety of the biogas plants.

BIOGASTIGER plant and miniature lab

The BIOGASTIGER® system turns organic waste into clean and smart energy and tackles these hurdles as well. The plant works on a new concept in order to produce biogas. This is a modular compact biogas plant in a transportable container construction. All components are standardised and industrially premanufactured in series, tested for quality before delivery and on site installed and commissioned with short assembly times. The BIOGASTIGER® concept leads to the best cost-to-efficiency ratio, to the highest flexibility and stable energy supply on request.

With the help of BIOGASTIGER®, FWE GmbH can target customers from agriculture, food industry and energy suppliers. This helps FWE GmbH mitigate the global problem of unused organic waste streams which produce safe, clean and carbon-neutral energy. At the heart of the BIOGASTIGER® system is a plug-flow fermenter constructed with the container design principle in mind. A paddle agitator ensures a constant, gentle, uniform mixing of the substrates in harmony with biological processes. This enables material with a high dry matter content to be exploited, without introducing additional liquid.

BIOGASTIGER® is an installation of horizontal methanation, prefabricated industrial, modular and extensible biogas production unit. It has a high capacity of fermentation and the modules are laid out on a bed plate after it arrives on site and is connected with tubes above ground level, thereby eliminating the purpose of expensive foundation and excavation work. It provides the solution of a smart plug and play filtration unit of biogas production without any additional investment.

Among its array of offerings in addition to the biogas module, FWE GmbH also provides miniaturised BIOGASTIGER® Lab. The system allows functions like substrate analysis, testing of these substrates, biogas production and analysis of biogas and other gases. 

Latin America Project

The EU-funded BIOGASTIGER® project developed a new concept for the use of biomass, based on a modular compact biomass plant that fits into a transportable container and can be relocated without great expense and effort. The project in Ecuador took off in association with the KFC Group.

The poultry farm which provides chicken to KFC in Equador is called AVISID S.A. Chicken manure and rice husk make up for the bed material of the bed material for the BIOGASTIGER module. The AVISID-Guayaquil-BIOGASTIGER plant module includes a plug-flow system, a round digester and a biogas boiler of 510 kWth capacity. The substrates are water hyacinth, wastewater from the slaughterhouse and cocoa slime. Incidentally, AVISID S.A. is also involved in the cocoa business and the bio waste generated from that business also was included among the substrates for the BIOGASTIGER unit to produce renewable energy from.  The plant will produce 100 Nm3 of biogas per hour from 20 tonnes per day of mixed substrates such as rice husk with chicken manure, cocoa slime, slaughterhouse wastewater, and water hyacinth.

This industrial-scale biogas plant built in Ecuador was first of its kind in the region, as well as an example of technology transfer to a rural area. The superior quality of digester design and security standards of the BIOGASTIGER module makes it a technological benchmark for revalorisation and the use of organic solid waste from agri-industries for the generation of renewable energy.

Environmental benefits from this project

The biogas generated will replace 40% of diesel consumption in boilers of the milling factory. From these amounts of substrates and organic matter, the technology will provide 558 kWth for thermal use in replacement of industrial diesel. The area of land required is half a hectare where the containers are placed, plus the plug-flow system and the biodigester, each having a capacity of 262 m3 and 1200 m3 respectively.

Email: mexico@lowcarbonbusinessaction.eu

Website: mexico.lowcarbonbusinessaction.eu