PUMPS, VALVES & ACTUATORS FEATURE SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST A PUMP


Landia chopper pumps are playing an integral role in the Bioplex anaerobic digestion unit, which is used to create energy from waste in various environments, from dairy farms to prisons


C


hris Reynell, inventor of the multi- stage hybrid Bioplex process, created


his first digester at Windover Farm in Hampshire, a 420-herd dairy farm – with organic status for the past decade. Windover has benefitted considerably from Reynell’s research and development, which evolved into the creation of Bioplex in 1999. The long- term Bioplex aim was to achieve highly efficient, reliable processing and enhanced energy recovery from manures, grass and other energy crops, as well as food, trade, garden and local authority wastes – so that everything was put to sound sustainable use. Looking beyond conventional AD plant,


Reynell was keen to invest in equipment that would do the job – and stand the test of time. An integral part of the process is what he describes as ‘more than a pump’, which has gone on to serve Bioplex projects all over the UK. There’s no trouble in identifying his 25th consecutive pump from one manufacturer, because to mark the occasion, the supplier, Landia, painted it silver! The ‘silver machine’ will play a key part in helping generate 30kW of green energy for Windover Farm’s upgraded dairy, which will eventually see its electricity bills become a thing of the past, and an excess of energy instead.


“Landia’s pump is so much more than a


pump,” said Reynell. “I see the four units we have at our farm as the gatekeepers, like the teeth of a cow. I know that when everything gets through the pumps, then the rest of the process works fine.” Some of Bioplex’s first projects were for


prisons where the process came in to its own. Food waste and garden cuttings are loaded into a reception tank (which can be used for pasteurising), chopped, blended and pumped into a first stage digester where it undergoes hydrolysis and fermentation. When necessary (if the feedstock is dry), active bacteria and extra water are added – and the contents then heated for hydrolysis and optional pasteurisation. “The Landia Chopper Pump made


degradation very fast indeed,” said Reynell. “The food waste was unrecognisable. We also saw a noticeable improvement in the levels of our gas yield. Landia don’t market themselves as process engineers but they have loads of practical experience so know what they are doing. For me, their chopper pump is a processing device in its own right. Chemically and biologically, it breaks everything down - and doesn’t get blocked.” In controlling pathogens, weed seeds and


ACTUATORS FEATURE PROFINET INTERFACE


AUMA has supplied electric actuators with integral Profinet communications for a modernisation project at a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) operated by Novafos, a water company serving nine municipalities in eastern Denmark, close to Copenhagen. Novafos operates 17 drinking water plants and 18 sewage treatment plants, and treats around 20 million m3


of water annually. An estimated total of more than 400


AUMA actuators provide reliable valve automation across the Novafos plants. To operate valves and penstocks on the plant AUMA supplied five SA .2 actuators with intelligent AC


controls and Profinet interface, connected to local Profinet controllers in a star topology. “We decided to invest in Profinet communications because Profinet is an open Industrial Ethernet


standard with standardised structures,” said Søren Præstiin, plant manager. “We also appreciate that Profinet is easily configured to provide secure remote access and web services, for both the plant as a whole and individual field devices. We only considered devices with integral Profinet interfaces. AUMA compares favourably with other manufacturers,” Præstiin explained. AUMA’s electric actuators with integral Profinet interface


Jens Ulrik Jensen (left), AUMA sales, and Søren Præstiin (right), plant manager at Måløv WWTP


meet the requirements of Profinet specification 2.3. An integrated web server allows connection tests, status requests and fault diagnostics to be run quickly and easily. All operating commands and feedback signals are available via Profinet to AUMA AC actuator controls thanks to the standardised device description (GSDML). A Field Device Integration (FDI) package is also available.


AUMA Actuators / PROCESS&CONTROL www.auma.com


Chris Reynell with his reception tank, that can also be used as a pasteuriser


parasites during two to four days of first- stage digestion, the contents of the Bioplex process are pumped to the second stage digester, producing biogas, fertiliser and fibre. Supplied as a complete system or used as an add-on to enhance conventional anaerobic digesters, process times are reduced, resulting in a smaller AD plant and footprint. Importantly, the modular plant’s digested and composted solid material is put to use as organic fertiliser-rich fibre for soil conditioning and as a growing medium. “We’ve been able to join all the dots on


sustainability”, continued Reynell, “with a process that kills weed-seed and pathogens. And because the digestate from our AD process is so much quicker and easier to spread, it also reduces our diesel costs and produces better soil for the long term good of our farm. There’s also no wastage with low nutrient fibre from the process, which can be used as a solid fuel (similar to peat) in boilers and wood-burning stoves.” “Feedstock can be very unpredictable,”


said Reynell. “For some AD plants this has caused an immediate and then long-term problem with pumps and mixers that can’t cope with some of the typical challenges of farm and food waste. Our constant factor... has been the outstanding performance and durability of Landia’s pumps and mixers – plus the fact that whenever we’ve needed any help or advice, the company has been all ears. The very first Bioplex unit with a Landia pump, which was installed in 2006 for hydrolysing and pasteurising fish waste in Scotland, is still working perfectly.”


Landia www.landia.co.uk


PROCESS & CONTROL | NOVEMBER 2018 13


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