After only 1.5 years of planning, the Huntstown biogas plant, the second Irish biowaste plant (the first was McDonnell), went into operation punctually in the third quarter of 2019. It was planned and built in cooperation with the general contractor Jones Celtic BioEnergy. Commissioning began with inoculation with an inoculum. It is planned to start in calendar week 42. Then the first bio waste will be fed into the fermenters.
The 90,000 t/a of organic waste (biowaste and waste from the food industry) will be anaerobically fermented and pre-treated with thermal pressure hydrolysis (TDH).
The TDH is particularly suitable for the pre-treatment of organic biomass before fermentation. The increase in temperature reduces the surface tension, and water (subcritical), supported by the organic acids, can serve as a solvent for the organic substances. This reduces the retention time in the fermenter and increases the efficiency of the biogas plant.
The operating staff was trained by Krieg & Fischer.