MicroMétha^® for medium-sized farms

Nowadays, the vast majority of agricultural waste digestors are large devices associated with an equally high cost, often forcing farmers to join forces to build a methanizer. Electricity production generally varies from 200 kW to more than 500 kW, which corresponds to investments of several million euros.

Micro-methanisation concerns units producing less than 80 kW of electricity with an investment cost of less than 500,000 euros. A solution enabling small structures (from 50 to 200 dairy cows for example) to methanize their waste independently and at a lower cost.

The MicroMétha^®methanization unit consists in degrading organic matter into methane under thermophilic and anaerobic conditions. The fermentation temperature (50-55°C) allows faster degradation than in mesophilic conditions (35°C). The residence time of the waste is shortened by at least half to release their methanogenic potential (20 days in thermophilic versus 40 days in mesophilic). The result is a twice as compact power generation unit. A patented heat exchanger heats the incoming sludge with the outgoing sludge that considerably reduces the thermal energy input.

MicroMétha^® process diagram for middle sized farms