Environment

Our solution

BIOGEN's Integrated Anaerobic Digestion (IAD) process provides numerous significant environmental benefits especially when compared to other methods of food waste treatment.

A better waste recycling solution

  • Recycling a wider range of waste types - Our plants can process a wide variety of organic food chain waste (FCW) including liquids and animal by-products - this is extremely important as such wastes are becoming increasingly more difficult to dispose of due to the limited number of sites licensed to accept them

  • Diverting from landfill - We enable the diversion of waste from landfill and increase the recovery capability of food wastes in the local area (which also stimulates a recycling culture and source separation of organics in municipal solid wastes sites) - thus helping the UK and Local Authorities to meet their targets in line with the Landfill Directive.

  • At the top of the waste hierarchy - Our AD process is recognised for being the most environmentally beneficial form of recycling being at the top of recycling in the waste hierarchy and in line with the environmental best practice of the Proximity Principle for treating waste locally.

Generating renewable energy

  • Clean, efficient energy production - Our 42,000 tonne Twinwoods plant can produce up to 1Mw of totally clean energy per year; and all the heat and power used in the process is self generated

  • Supporting Local and National Government strategies - Our process assists the UK Government in meeting its Renewables Obligation by contributing towards the production of renewable energy

  • A local combined heat and power (CHP) plant delivering a clean supply of heat and power that can be used more efficiently by local industrial and domestic users.

Reducing green house gas emissions

  • Methane is 22% more dangerous to the environment than carbon dioxide and occurs naturally, for example in slurry and the rotting organic waste in landfill. Our sealed process captures the methane produced and converts it to renewable energy and heat - removing a massive amount of methane from the environment

  • Carbon dioxide - Our process is better than carbon neutral; and it reduces both the reliance on fossil fuel based energy production and the use of inorganic, fossil fuel based fertilisers.

Improving soil management and reducing the risk of pollution

  • Reduced BOD - the digestate from the BIOGEN process is a sanitised bio-fertiliser that has a reduced biological oxygen deficiency (BOD) and contains dry matter that reduces the risk of pollution through leaching

  • Better nitrogen take up - the sanitised bio-fertiliser also has better crop compatibility and helps avoid the nitrogen oxide emissions normally associated with the application of fertilisers, while increasing the availability of nitrogen and other essential elements for plants

  • Sanitised fertilisation - the process ensures pathogens are destroyed thus eliminating the risks when the bio-fertiliser is spread on the land (this is achieved through pasteurisation of the material, i.e. heating to 70C for one hour)

  • Odour reduction - the odour from slurry is reduced by up to 80% (reducing the concentration of volatile fatty acids)

  • Reduced use of weed killers - the pasteurisation process destroys virtually all weed seeds in the digestate, reducing the need for herbicides and other weed control measures.