With the EU support the largest biogas plant in Europe was built in Znojmo region in the Czech Republic

19 Oct. 2006 | CzechInvest | Zevo, spol. s r.o., of South Moravia, the builder of a plant producing biogas from organic waste in Velky Karlov in the region of Znojmo, has already obtained the EU subsidy amounting to EUR 1 million. The construction of the plant was realised in two stages from November 2005 and the firm paid for it the sum of EUR 6 million, including the subsidy.

„ZEVO applied for two subsidies of thirty million crowns each from the Operational Programme Industry and Enterprise, in concrete terms from the Renewable Resources Programme. Up to now a half of these means has been promised to ZEVO. The firm employs the gas obtained by waste fermentation for the generation of power and plans even to use it also as a fuel for its machines,” says Mr. Patrik Reichl, director of the Regional Office of Czechinvest for the region of South Moravia.

For generating power biogas is combusted to fire so-called co-generation units. The power output of the whole installed system is 2.7MW. Heat generated as a by-product is used to heat the neighbouring farm premises. At present works are under way to connect also the new crocodile farm to the heat source and there is also a project for the construction of a heated glasshouse to house the area
of 2 hectares.

„The technology of biological waste fermentation has not been applied to such a large extent elsewhere in Europe up to now. Moreover, in addition to traditional sewage, solid and liquid manure or fruit and vegetable waste, we are able also to process certain animal by-products such as bones and feathers. To obtain necessary authorisation to handle and process such wastes we had to comply with the strict requirements of the EU”, concludes Mr. Bohumir Rada, director of the plant of ZEVO spol s r.o.

MORE ABOUT BILOGICAL WASTE PROCESSING BY FERMENTATION

Organic waste is subjected to anaerobic fermentation (without any access of air) by specific microorganisms which results in it final degradation into biogas. The process can be divided into four major biochemical reactions as follows: hydrolysis, acid formation, acetic product formation and, finally, methane formation. After depletion of available air oxygen, the process of fermentation passes through so-called stage of acid formation, if kept within a specific temperature range. Then the process runs in a purely anaerobic environment at the release of carbon dioxide and low amounts of hydrogen gas, a starting substrate for methane formation, the principal component of biogas

Through fermentation substrate homogeneity improves and its smell and CO2 emission are greatly reduced. The final liquid/solid product of digestion, called “digestate” may be used either as organic fertiliser or composted.