Bioenergy
Euglena and Malaysia ’ s Petroliam Nasional Berhad . In 2022 Fintoil completed its biorefinery at the port of Hamina-Kotka in south-eastern Finland . The plant makes renewable fuels using fractional distillation , in which heat energy and negative pressure are used to distil the raw material to its constituents , separating the wanted fractions . Its main product is crude tall oil , which comes from the Finnish evergreen and is a by-product of the kraft pulping process . One of the leading biogas technology suppliers is Weltec Biopower . It has built four biogas plants in Japan , the latest being a biogas-cum-cogeneration power plant located in Saitama Prefecture , which went into operation in February 2022 . Weltec assisted McCulla Transport in expanding its plant in Lisburn , UK , and supplied stainless-steel technologies to a plant in Taiwan . Another leading supplier is Wärtsilä , which formed its Wärtsilä Biogas Solutions division in 2019 . It is supplying the world ’ s second-largest plant ( in Burghaun near Fulda , Germany ), capable of liquefying bio-methane and synthetic methane as LNG for use as transportation fuel . Recently it supplied Transwaste ( Hull , UK ) with technology for a plant that will turn municipal waste into gas . In 2023 the Baltics ’ first biogas plant fired with household and commercial biowaste will go into operation . Built by BioWOIMA Finland Oy in Tallinn , it will produce biomethane for the natural gas network and fuel for CNG-powered vehicles .
Valves
In biomass treatment processes , various types of valves can be used depending on the specific application and requirements . Valve selection depends on factors such
A biogas upgrading solution under construction in the Wärtsilä factory in Kalmar Sweden . Photo © Wärtsilä .
A biogas facility . Photo : Weltec Biopower .
Pathways to produce biogas . Image : IEA .
as the type of biomass being treated , operating conditions , pressure and temperature requirements , and the desired flow control characteristics . In anaerobic digestion , micro-organisms break down biodegradable material in environments without oxygen . The process is used for waste management and fuel production . Anaerobic digestion gate valves are used in this process . For this purpose , Orbinex has come out with their EB-series of bi-directional knife gate valve technology , which is suited for slurry feedstock and digestate applications . Another type of valve found in a biogas plant is the ‘ slam shut ’ isolation valve . Desponia , for example , has developed their butterfly valves to be used at such a plant .
Earlier this year , Ampo Service supplied fifteen highly engineered valves to La Rabida Energy Park in Andalusia . Here , advanced biofuels ( 2G ) are produced from used cooking oils . This refinery was previously designed to remove sulfur from fossil fuels , but has since then been repurposed into a new installation where sustainable diesel ( hydrobiodiesel ) is produced from vegetable oil , vegetable residues and animal fats unintended for human consumption .
References ( 1 ) https :// www . iea . org / reports / bioenergy . ( 2 ) www . fern . org / publications-insight / new-eu-biomass-rules-a-crushing-defeatfor-forests-pushed-by-eu-memberstates-2653 .
20 Valve World August 2023 www . valve-world . net