Turn effluent into power and hot water
Harnessing energy from your effluent could be simpler than you think with the use of spark-ignited gas cylinder generators.
Covering your effluent pond or tank and providing a second open air pond for storage creates a treatment system. The first covered pond acting as the digester, with bacteria breaking down the solid matter and the second open air pond functions as a storage/oxidation pond – the end product being treated water suitable for irrigation.
Once the bacteria start to devour the effluent – gobbling up the solids, methane starts being produced – a harmful green-house gas.
What you need is a spark ignited reciprocating engine that destroys the methane. These engines are widely considered one of the most efficient ways of eliminating the harmful gas while producing electricity and hot water – saving you money.
However a word to the wise, before you go rushing out the back to pull the old petrol engine off the dead Fergie or calling China with your credit card clutched in hand; biogas frequently consists of 50 percent methane (the stuff that burns or goes bang) and 50 percent carbon dioxide, a common fire extinguishing agent, meaning biogas can be tricky stuff to ignite within the confines of a combustion cylinder. Then of course you need to comply with the relevant New Zealand electrical and gas safety regulations, which in many ways are unique to this country. It’s much simpler, safer and cheaper in the long run to deal with local specialists.
Shaw Diesels has a range of high-quality European green power spark-ignited gas engine generator sets utilising American-built four-cylinder, six-cylinder and big block V8 engines, which perfectly compliment their existing Lister Petter and Deutz spark ignited gas engine and diesel product portfolio.
These quality units are further optimised for biogas applications; ease of on-farm installation and maintenance, New Zealand conditions and regulations by Shaw Diesels’ experienced team. New Zealand-owned-and-operated Shaw Diesels has been supplying and servicing industrial and marine engines since 1988 in a wide variety of generation, irrigation, pumping and drive applications to customers throughout New Zealand, Australia, the Pacific and the Middle East.
Two of Shaw Diesels co-generation packages (co-generation is the simultaneous production of electricity and hot water) that are ideally suited to the farming sector are the Farm SDBIO20 4-cylinder spark ignited methane gas engine co-generation package – which operates at 1500rpm to give an approximate output of 20 kilowatts of three phase power with a biogas fuel consumption of approximately 18m³/hr – and the Commercial SDBIO70 co-generation package, which is suited to large scale farm effluent and waste applications, small municipal waste water treatment and landfill operations. This American big block V8 engine powered unit operates at 1500rpm to give an approximate output of 70 kilowatts of three phase power with a biogas fuel consumption of approximately 65m³/hr.
Units are supplied complete with engine water-jacket heat recovery providing hot water at approximately 80-90° dependant on flow rate, a SCADA compatible control panel with generator protection and network synchronisation options.
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