BiogasTec Albertstroom Belgium

Complex ventilation project biogas plant

Built in 2019, the BiogasTec biogas power station in the Belgian town of Grobbendonk is truly one of a kind. Per annum, it converts 150,000 tonnes of organic biological waste into green energy – a capacity that can supply approximately 27,000 households with electricity each year. The CHPs (combined heat and power, or cogeneration) operate on the gas produced by a fermentation process from waste stored in silos. The heat generated is then used at the same location as process energy. Merford supplied sound-insulating materials in the form of fans, silencers, and casing for a large part of this process.

  • BiogasTec
  • Energy

Cogeneration

The now common cogeneration technology has found a unique application at the power station in Grobbendonk, located directly along Albert Canal in the Belgian province of Antwerp. In order to generate electricity, the station’s four combustion engines are powered by gases obtained from organic waste. The residual heat released from the combustion engines and other systems is collected in heat exchangers in a large ventilation building. A wall of fifteen fans directs the air into the 100-metre-long basement, from which the air is channelled toward thirty drying beds. This is where the final phase begins: drying wood shavings.

Silencers, fans, and walls

Having been involved early on in the project during the design phase for the system, Merford played a role in creating the CHP system, the ventilation building, and the drying beds. The supply air for the internal combustion engines is filtered through bag filters, which are backed by baffle silencers in order to minimise noise emissions from the engines. Merford supplied and installed the casing for the ventilation building, as well as the fans in the building and the basement. In addition to Merford’s contribution to the main system, it supplied the central ventilation and sound-insulating solutions at various other locations.