Since 2010, two combined heat and power plants (CHP) of ELCO Biogas GmbH & Co KG have been operated on the premises of the Oyten plant. These are fed from a biogas plant located about 500 meters away. The CHP units have been in full operation since 2012. For this commitment CHT Germany GmbH (then CHT R. Beitlich GmbH) was awarded the Responsible Care Prize of the North German Chemical Industry Association (VCI Nord) in 2012. CHT convinced the association with its approach to adapting the energy profile to the waste heat provided by the combined heat and power plants.
In the biogas plant, biogas is produced from biomass in a continuous process. Every day, approx. 50 tons of corn and approx. 30 tons of liquid manure are fed into the plant. In a 20-minute cycle, the mixture is pumped into a fermenter. This holds 2700m³ and is heated to 41° Celsius with the help of a wood chip heater. There, the biomass is decomposed by bacteria in the absence of light and air, and methane gas is produced. The gas is passed to the CHP unit where it drives gas engines to produce electricity. During this process, heat is generated at various points. This process is only interrupted for maintenance and servicing.
The biogas plant produces 600 - 700m³ of biogas per hour with a methane content of 50 - 52%. Each CHP unit produces about 365 kW of electricity and 400 kW of heat.
An additional CHP unit supplies the electricity for the CHP units.
The electricity generated by the CHP units at the Oyten plant is fed into the EWE power grid.
CHT in Oyten uses the heat generated by the CHP units to heat all buildings at the site, a heat chamber, production processes and raw material storage tanks. Natural gas is thus only temporarily used to heat the administration building. Only when the CHP units are idle or the heat from the CHP units is not sufficient to cover the entire demand, e.g. during peak periods. The CHT site consumes up to 100% of the maximum possible heat from the two CHP units. This corresponds to approx. 800 kW per hour, plus heat transfer losses. There is generally a higher demand for heat energy in winter, while the heat demand is lower in summer or at weekends.
The energy consumption for waste heat from the year 2021 of 3,074,163 kWh corresponds to an avoidance of about 800 tons of CO2 emissions from fossil fuels per year.
In addition, the plant's intelligent control system allows the setting of priorities and temperatures. Once these have been set, the setting automatically ensures optimized consumption and highly efficient utilization of the heat (without manual intervention).
In the biogas plant, biogas is produced from biomass in a continuous process. Every day, approx. 50 tons of corn and approx. 30 tons of liquid manure are fed into the plant. In a 20-minute cycle, the mixture is pumped into a fermenter. This holds 2700m³ and is heated to 41° Celsius with the help of a wood chip heater. There, the biomass is decomposed by bacteria in the absence of light and air, and methane gas is produced. The gas is passed to the CHP unit where it drives gas engines to produce electricity. During this process, heat is generated at various points. This process is only interrupted for maintenance and servicing.
The biogas plant produces 600 - 700m³ of biogas per hour with a methane content of 50 - 52%. Each CHP unit produces about 365 kW of electricity and 400 kW of heat.
An additional CHP unit supplies the electricity for the CHP units.
The electricity generated by the CHP units at the Oyten plant is fed into the EWE power grid.
CHT in Oyten uses the heat generated by the CHP units to heat all buildings at the site, a heat chamber, production processes and raw material storage tanks. Natural gas is thus only temporarily used to heat the administration building. Only when the CHP units are idle or the heat from the CHP units is not sufficient to cover the entire demand, e.g. during peak periods. The CHT site consumes up to 100% of the maximum possible heat from the two CHP units. This corresponds to approx. 800 kW per hour, plus heat transfer losses. There is generally a higher demand for heat energy in winter, while the heat demand is lower in summer or at weekends.
The energy consumption for waste heat from the year 2021 of 3,074,163 kWh corresponds to an avoidance of about 800 tons of CO2 emissions from fossil fuels per year.
In addition, the plant's intelligent control system allows the setting of priorities and temperatures. Once these have been set, the setting automatically ensures optimized consumption and highly efficient utilization of the heat (without manual intervention).
