Companies plan a Plymouth biogas plant

UK-based AeroThermal Group and 4Recycling, a UK-based recycling company, are hoping to construct a biogas plant in Plymouth, England, UK, and have now submitted the plans to Devon County Council.

The plant, if granted the go-ahead, will divert 75,000 tonnes a year of municipal solid waste away from landfill and convert to into renewable electricity. The facility will be able to handle household leftovers and commercial waste from restaurants, in addition to other organic waste sources.

'This system makes more of the material available, things like cardboard and paper can actually be digested having being autoclaved, whereas with other systems without autoclaving, the digestion process would not be able to deal with that material at all,' says Tony Kimber, technical director at AeroThermal.

The biogas produced at the plant will power two generators, which feed directly into the power grid. According to Kimber, the company may also look at feeding the biogas into the main gas grid, encouraged by the Renewable Heat Incentive.

'Within the current economic climate and public expenditure cuts, many councils are now looking at the nonsense of having multiple collection of refuse – we don't need that, we can accept the material mixed from one collection. Councils could half their collection cost,' explains Kimble.