A landmark moment for Alchemy Utilities. After many months of rigorous trials and mechanical testing on the pilot plant in Finland, the Alchemy TD system design has been refined and the first system put through manufacture. This first Alchemy digester has now been shipped and installed at the demonstration site in Co. Moagnhan, Ireland as part of the Agrocycle Horizon 2020 project*.
The world leading Alchemy TD system was selected as part of the AgroCycle project to prove the valorisation of chicken litter in a dry digestion technology. Alchemy are delighted to be able to support University College Dublin (UCD) in the project that will set their technology apart from all the currently available anaerobic digestion systems. Furthermore, it will demonstrate the potential of the system in the wider agricultural waste, industrial process waste and sewerage treatment sectors.
The AgroCycle project forms stage one of the demonstration by Alchemy Utilities of the valorisation of poultry litter. The initial stage will be the digestion of up to 25% chicken litter mixed with cattle manure.
In order to increase the chicken litter concentration beyond this point Alchemy will install their innovative Nitrogen Stripping Pre-Treatment system. The pilot pre-treatment system’s process has been verified by Harper Adams University and confirmed that this complete dry digestion system can digest chicken manure at higher inclusion rates compared to wet digestion and improve energy efficiency on-farm. The results from the pilot plant verification testing confirms inclusion of up to 100% chicken litter could be achieved by the Alchemy TD technology.
Stage two of the demonstration facility will require close liaison with poultry industry partners and include the full build out of the nitrogen stripping pre-treatment system and two additional reactors to demonstrate the complete system in a commercial setting.
In the long term, this new dry, thermophilic continuously fed close-coupled anaerobic digestion system will optimise the use of poultry litter alongside other farm wastes, to generate renewable biogas and a sustainable source of fertiliser.
*This research is part of the AgroCycle consortium, a Horizon 2020 funded project (no. 690142). Led by the School of Biosystems and Food Engineering at University College Dublin, it comprises a consortium of 25 partners from eight EU countries, two partners from mainland China and one from Hong Kong.
Recent Comments