BIOAGRO – Ranked number 13 of 700 within EU-LIFE
(2005/2006) - Waste products become Skånefrö’s green energy source
Waste and by-products transform into energy and reduce Skånefrö’s discharge of carbon dioxide with 540 tonnes a year. In the very south of Sweden, in Tommarp, an EU-project is being in process, where Skånefrö together with their partner HOTAB exchanges all oil- and electricity heating for a renewable alternative that in addition gives an energy surplus. This is made in a cooperation with ÄFAB and Chalmers, through the start up company Ecoera – Biofuel Engineering. The BIOAGRO project coordinates research, development, testing and demonstration in a unique interplay where low qualitative products from the agricultural land become useful energy.
“Already today there is a very large unexploited resource of raw materials from the agriculture sector, that hasn’t been fully exploited as an asset for renewable energy.” These words were presented by Sven-Olof Bernhoff, MD of Skånefrö and project leader of the BIOAGRO-project, at a press conference that marked the start of the building, the 2nd of April 2007.
Gert Tarstad HOTAB, on the left, demonstrates a part of the boiler prototype for Magda Wilewska, Ecoera and Sven-Olof Bernhoff Skånefrö AB.
The BIOAGRO project is a pilot project that intends to show that you, in a small-scale, can refine waste products from the agricultural sektor into high-tested biofuel. It doesn’t exist any commercial production of Agralpellets, within the country today. With the difficulties of heating grains and the distinctions in quality between different consignments of grains, it makes it profitable to first nodulize the grains before burning it up. Then, at the same time, you can intermix cheaper by-products and optimize the fuel’s combustion capacities. Interesting, not least against the background, is that an increased production of ethanol and bio diesel will generate large amounts of waste products within short.
The BIOAGRO project is, Skånefrö’s part, about refining waste products and other low quality by-products from the agricultural sector to a fuel pellet. For the country as a whole it is about making use of redundant agricultural land into energy production. The BIOAGRO-project in short is that Skånefrö, as a seed company, will be able to use the waste products that their operation gives rise to. First and foremost for their own heating, and then the excess for selling in the shape of pellets.
This process is actualized at Skånefrö, through a fullscale facility, where the whole of the chain from raw material by agralpellets to energy from heat, is being made visible. In order to nodulize waste products, agralpellets, that easily can be stored, are being made and at the same time they are being easier to handle combustion way. HOTAB is a manufacturer that has specialized in constructing boilerrooms that can handle very difficult fuels. They have developed a totally new boiler construction that will be demonstrated in the BIOAGRO project. The project consequently opens up for other companies to establish within the agricultural sector. To build a pellet construction in a smaller scale can very well be motivated financially if a number of farmers join in around the construction and the operation, and utilize their own produced crop for the nodulizing.
In this way a local production of agralpellets could rapidly be spread to all of the agricultural organisations.
The picture shows, in the mittle, David Andersson and Charlotta Ekman (MD) from Ecoera in a conversation with the journalists. The man to the right is Sven-Olof Bernhoff, MD for Skånefrö.
Plans become reality
The preparative work of the BIOAGRO application that granted support from EU:s LIFE programme, in the form of 22% of the project costs, has foregone years of thoughts and speculations around the possiblities to become independent of fossil heating. To construct a concept that works requires knowledge from many different ways and the involved persons around the project are many. In addition to Skånefrö and HOTAB in the project, there is close cooperation with bioenergy consultant ÄFAB and Chalmers, through the environmental engineering company Ecoera. Hereby the newly founded knowledge company Ecoera gets a unique opportunity to transfer research Ecoera. Hereby the newly founded knowledge company Ecoera gets a unique opportunity to transfer research findings to commercial products within the manufacturing industry. There are also connections to SP, Scandinavian Seed, manufacturers of pellet machines and companies within the construction business. Fully financed the BIOAGRO project will turn over 50 millions SEK. Furthermore it will create several new job opportunities. Even USA has shown interest through their ambassador Michael Wood, at a personal meeting in Stockholm the 9th of March 2007.
The reactions are positive from the industry as well as from our authorities. But despite the fact that the BIOAGRO project is the only LIFE-project that was granted to Sweden and that the project is being ranked as the 13th best in the whole of Europe, we have not yet received any financial support from the Swedish direction this far, but we hope that it will loosen up within short.
The BIOAGRO project intends to demonstrate an innovative technique that enables that seed waste can be converted into energy in a well operating circle where all parts in a facility, such as dose scales, mixer, pellet machine and boiler, work optimally together and that the waste products fully can be restored as nutrients to the fields. By adding additive even the emission of sulfuric, hydrochloric acid and other organic acids can be decreased. Through the project the own use of oil and electricity for heating shall be replaced by produced heat that mainly comes from the own operation.
The project makes the possiblities visible by using the waste products for energy production.
This is very important in the making of biofuel where the profitability often is directly connected to the possibilities to find scopes of use for the waste products. The BIOAGRO project can hereby contribute to increase the production of RME and waste into energy production.
The picture shows, from left to right, Sven-Olof Bernhoff Skånefrö AB, David Andersson Ecoera AB and Gert Tarstad HOTAB
