The disposal and treatment of this waste has become a major global concern. One of the constituents of waste matters such as sewerage sludge, effluent and landfill is methane gas. Methane gas is generated by the fermentation of organic matter and has a global warming potential 21 times greater than that of carbon dioxide. Recently many waste processing companies have taken the initiative of capturing the methane before it reaches the atmosphere and converting it into energy. This not only reduces green house gas emissions but also substitutes conventional fossil fuel sources.
Biogas, which consists 60 - 70 per cent methane and 30 - 40 per cent carbon dioxide is generated from the organic content present in biological waste such as sewerage and can be captured and then used as a fuel for stationary reciprocating engines. Clarke Energy is the distributor for GE Jenbacher gas engines in Australia and New Zealand and has been contracted to supply a number of these engines for wastewater treatment facilities including Werribee in Victoria, Mandurah in Western Australia, not to mention a total of six locations for Sydney Water. The company has also supplied four 1.69 megawatts (MW) engines for Watercare Sevices at the Manakau wastewater treatment plant in Auckland, New Zealand.
Clarke Energy has recently been awarded a contract to supply a 330 kilowatts electric containerised GE Jenbacher biogas engine for the Gippsland Water Factory in Victoria. The Gippsland water factory near Maryvale in Victoria is due to be completed at the end of this year and will treat 35 million litres of domestic and industrial waste water each day.
Clarke Energy Sales Engineer Martin Smith said the engine will generate electricity at 415 volts and the heat from the engine combustion will be used to boost the waste digestion process.
Article continues below…Another source of fuel created from waste, landfill gas, is generated by the breakdown of the biological matter after a landfill site has been capped with soil. In this case the methane-rich gas can be extracted from the landfill using vacuum pumps and perforated steel tubes drilled into the landfill. There are over 30 high efficiency GE Jenbacher engines operating on landfill gas around Australia and New Zealand. Clarke Energy will also supply an engine for Veolia’s Woodlawn Bioreactor project in New South Wales. A total of 20 MW is planned for the Woodlawn site as gas production increases.
Clarke Energy said that as in Europe, policy incentives in Australia will provide the fuel for more waste processing technological advances and that the company is proud to be supplying environmentally friendly waste to energy solutions.
