Plant profile: Gauchy
Location: Gauchy, Aisne department, Hauts-de-France region, France
In-service date: May 2021
Input materials: 51,000 t residues p/a
Special features:
- 440 Nm³ EnviThan with grid injection compressor (16 bar local grid)
- Innovative residual material processing system with flexible input handling
- Residual material supplied to dedicated 1,000 m² technical building
- Methane purified and fed into the local Gaz-B grid operated by GRDF
- Located in the middle of an industrial park
The biogas and gas upgrading plant in Gauchy at a glance
The biogas and biogas upgrading plant in Gauchy, France, started operations in May 2021. EnviTec Biogas completed the 440 Nm³/h industrial plant with an affiliated gas upgrading plant on a 4.7 ha site as contractor and member of the MEV (Methaisne Energies Vertes) project company. Equipped with two digesters, one gas-tight and two conventional gas storage facilities, this biogas plant utilises an innovative residual material processing model. The plant is equipped with a flexible input handling system, including hygienisation, for the various agricultural and industrial waste streams. Input material processing follows a closed loop, with all of the digestate produced by the plant being reused in the local agricultural sector. Ultimately, this digestate will be spread over 6,000 hectares of croplands. This means that up to 51,000 tonnes of waste can be converted into green energy every year.
Residual materials are delivered to a 15-metre-high technical building with a footprint of roughly 1,000 square metres, which is equipped with an extraction system to avoid odours escaping into the industrial park. Here, waste is first shredded and hygienised where necessary before further processing. This made-to-measure plant feeds gas upgraded to 91 v/v% methane – known as ‘b-quality’ gas – into the grid operated by local utility GRDF. However, a future conversion to ‘H-gas’ quality is also planned.
