Denmark: largest experimental biogas plant
October 30 heralded the inauguration of the world’s largest experimental biogas plant situated at Research Centre Foulum in Denmark.
The plant will significantly improve the utilisation of biogas and the effects on the climate and the environment of agricultural production.
The advantages of using biogas in animal production are manyfold. Biogas does not result in a reduction of food production, as is the case with other types of renewable energy.
Less slurry
In addition, when treating animal manure in the biogras plant, odour problems due to less slurry are reduced and the leaching of nutrients to the aquatic environment is also lowered.
Financed by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, the new plant will enable the testing of methods to improve biogas production under practical conditions. The Research Centre Foulum has a wide range of raw materials with its herds of pigs, dairy cattle, poultry and mink. It also manages a supply of energy crops, straw and other types of biomass.
Methane gas
A production plant is also provided at the new experimental plant to treat around 29,000 tonnes of slurry and 2,000 tonnes of biomass from the barns and fields at Foulum, which will in turn, be used to create 850,000 cubic metres of methane gas to use for heat and electricity at the local thermal power station.
Minister of Agriculture, Eva Kjer Hansen, is confident that the new biogas plant will bring Denmark to the “global forefront of the area of energy consumption, nutrients from animal manure and other kinds of biomass.”
Related websites:
• Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Denmark
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