EnviTec Biogas convinces with gas preparation technology in the biomethane market

Positive operating report of EnviThan plants in Köckte and Sachsendorf

Lohne, 17th March 2015 - thoroughly convincing, Jürgen Tenbrink, the Chief Technology Officer of Lower Saxony-based EnviTec Biogas AG reports on both EnviThan gas preparation plants in Köckte and Sachsendorf that were commissioned in September 2013. "With more than 500 days on the grid, we are drawing a positive balance", said the qualified engineer. "30 Gigawatt hours were planned per year in both plants and these feed volumes were slightly exceeded in both plants", Tenbrink continues.

With a uniformly constant calorific power of 10.7 kWh per standard cubic metres, the utilisation in the first three calendar weeks of this year in Sachsendorf, Saxony-Anhalt was over 100 per cent. In addition to Sachsendorf, Köckte is the second location where biomethane is successfully generated on an industrial scale using EnviThan technology. The gas upgrading plant with a capacity of 350 standard cubic metres (Nm³/h) has been feeding biomethane into the 1-bar line of the Avacon network since September 2013. EnviTec Energy is the client that uses the biomethane in decentralised co-generation plants for electricity and heat generation.

When upgraded biomethane is directly injected, the green energy source can be transported for later decentralised use at any location. For feeding biogas into an existing natural gas network, it must first be cleaned and conditioned. In Sachsendorf and Köckte, this is achieved by means of the innovative biogas upgrading technology EnviThan. For the environmentally friendly and extremely cost-efficient process, EnviTec Biogas equips its upgrading plants with membrane modules from Evonik Industries. The hollow fibre membranes upgrade the crude gas which has been produced in the biogas plant in advance, to up to more than 97 volume percent

In addition to Sachsendorf and Köckte, EnviTec Biogas has also built a gas upgrading plant in Forst with a capacity of 700 Nm³/h. At present, another EnviThan plant with a capacity of 385 Nm³/h is being built in the Altmarkkreis Salzwedel in Saxony-Anhalt. EnviTec's expertise in the field of EnviThan gas upgrading technology is also in strong demand abroad. Shortly before the end of year, the first biogas plant with a gas upgrading capacity of 350 Nm³/h was successfully put into operation in the English town of Ipsden near Oxfordshire. Thanks to its efficiency and the high methane content, the membrane process scores in the Asian market: in mid-December, a 1,000 Nm³/h biomethane plant was shipped for the Chinese market. This plant is already set to go into operation within the second quarter of this year. Additional EnviThan plants are in planning.

About EnviTec Biogas AG
EnviTec Biogas AG covers the entire value chain for the production of biogas, including the planning and turnkey construction of biogas plants and biogas upgrading plants as well as their commissioning. The company takes charge of biological and technical services on demand and also offers full plant and operational management. In addition, EnviTec also operates its own biogas plants. In 2011, EnviTec Biogas along with EnviTec Energy GmbH & Co. KG and its 100% subsidiary EnviTec Stromkontor GmbH & Co. KG expanded its business operations into the direct marketing of upgraded biomethane as well as the marketing of green electricity and balancing energy. EnviTec Biogas AG currently has a presence in 20 countries. In 2013, EnviTec generated revenues of € 148.8 million and an EBIT of € 2.4 million. The EnviTec Group currently has about 350 employees. EnviTec Biogas has been listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange since July 2007.

Press contact:
Katrin Selzer
EnviTec Biogas AG
Tel.: +49 25 74 88 88 - 810
E-mail: k.selzer@envitec-biogas.de


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