Flintshire County Council has granted planning permission for a carbon dioxide capture and liquefaction facility attached to the Deeside Anaerobic Digestion Clean Energy Plant, one of Europe's largest waste-to-energy projects.
The facility will process biomethane produced during waste digestion, separating and purifying carbon dioxide before compressing it to liquid form for storage and offsite transport.
The main anaerobic digestion plant, under construction on Deeside Industrial Estate, is designed to convert landfill waste into biomass energy for local manufacturing sites including Toyota, supporting industrial transition away from fossil fuels.
When fully operational, the facility will be 10 times larger than any existing anaerobic digestion plant in the UK.
The AD plant will generate approximately 41,182 cubic metres of biogas and 16,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, using a unique hydromechanical anaerobic digestion and separation process developed by German firm BioConstruct GmbH.
The technology recovers between 70 and 90 per cent of residual waste materials and produces high-methane-content biogas for multiple green energy applications.
Biomethane from the facility will power local industrial sites, whilst separated carbon dioxide will be liquefied and transported offsite by Air Liquide.
Initially, one 24-tonne container of liquid carbon dioxide will leave the site daily, scaling to a maximum of three containers per day. The liquid CO2 will be used as a refrigeration agent or in arc welding processes.
The project aims to reduce residual waste sent to landfill to 10 per cent whilst increasing recycling to approximately 85 per cent. The waste-to-energy investment totals £282 million.
In approving the application, council planning officers noted the potential environmental benefit and confirmed consultation with Natural Resources Wales raised no objections to the proposal regarding impact on the River Dee Special Area of Conservation.
Deeside anaerobic digestion plant approved to become UK’s largest waste-to-energy facility
