German researchers develop new facility to produce biomethane from waste

The researchers will begin operating a pilot plant adjacent to Stuttgart’s wholesale market. The facility uses various microorganisms to generate sought-after methane from the food waste in a two-stage digestion process that lasts just a few days. “The waste contains a lot of water and has very low lignocellulose content, so it’s highly suitable for rapid fermentation,” said Dr.-Ing. Ursula Schließmann, head of department at the IGB.

Others involved in this network project, which goes by the name of Etamax, include energy company EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg and automaker Daimler AG. The first is in charge of membranes to process the biogas generated in the market-place plant, while the second supplies a number of experimental vehicles designed to run on natural gas.

The five-year project is funded to the tune of six million euros by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). If all the different components mesh together as intended, it is possible that similar plants could in future spring up wherever large quantities of organic waste are to be found.

Fraunhofer is Europe’s largest application-oriented research organization, with 60 institutes spread throughout Germany, each focusing on different fields of applied science.

Source: Fraunhofer