Your Pump Solutionfor the Biogas Industry.

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Biogas plants play an increasingly important role in environ-

mental protection around the world. Unlike burning fossil

energy sources such as coal, natural gas or petroleum, bio-

gas is CO2-neutral because the carbon dioxide released in

the process is part of a natural cycle. In addition, the use of

renewable biomasses, such as energy crops, helps to save

these limited resources.

The basis for achieving the largest possible gas yield – and

therefore economic success – is efficient plant management.

Among other factors, this depends on the choice of the

equipment used: It should be reliable and easily maintained –

coupled with low energy consumption.

As a leading international provider of products and services

for pumping and treating liquids, seepex offers a wide range

of solutions to match the specific requirements of your bio-

gas plant.

The modular seepex system allows us to offer the optimal

technical and economic solution for transporting fermentation

products and conveying almost all process-related products. Each

pump is individually selected to the specific requirements

of your sector, your company, your installation location and

of course your application.

More than 600 employees around the world make sure of

this. They develop, manufacture and market your conveying

solution – whether progressive cavity pumps, macerators or

controlling systems.

No wonder the biogas industry without our pumps is

inconceivable.

For a clean environment.

We are a member of the German Biogas Association (Fachverband Biogas e.V.) and of the ADBA, Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association, Great Britain.

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Biogas industry

Pumping of:

• Corn and corn silage

• Digestate

• Faecal sludge

• Food waste

• Liquid substrate, such as

liquid manure

• Recirculate

• Solid manure

• Waste fodder

seepex BN range pumps for conveying fermented products that can also contain solids like shards of glass or small pieces of plastic.

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Biogas plant application – overview.

Pumps of range BN convey liquid manure, cooking oil and flotation sludge.

Pumps of range BN are used for important conveying jobs, such as pumping fermentation products from the silo.

BTH/BTHE

Control system BGDC

BN

BN

BN

Macerator

Silo/collecting vessel

Coferments

Liquid substrate

Biogas

Recirculate

Fermenter(mixing tank)

Schematic diagram of a biogas process

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Miscellaneous vegetable waste before conversion to biogas. Pumps of range BN combined with seepex macerators inline, convey and homogenize various fermentation products.

BN

BN

Block heat and power plant

Digestate reservoir

Heat

Electricity

Digestate residue

preparation, fertilizer

Biogas

Fermenter (secondary fermentation)

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The seepex bio substrate mixing system for fermentation product conveying.

Thoroughly mixing the solid and liquid fermentation products

before feeding them into the fermenter has two fundamental

advantages:

• larger gas yield thanks to greater bioactivity

• reduced energy consumption thanks to less stirring in

the fermenter

Our bio substrate mixing system is the ideal solution, consisting

of a sturdy feed hopper pump from product group T, a

standard BN range pump and the “Biogas Control System“ –

BGDC for short.

The feed hopper is generously proportioned. The rotating

screw mixer and conveyor ensures efficient mixing of solid

fermentation products like:

• corn and corn silage

• waste fodder

• solid dung

• food waste

It also ensures good mixing of the liquid substrates added by

means of the standard pump, such as:

• liquid manure

• recirculate

• faecal sludge

The prepared fermentation mass is then pumped by the feed

hopper pump to the mixing tank or directly into the fermenter.

We offer various designs of feed hopper pumps matched to

the properties of the fermentation products being conveyed.

In particular, the BTH range pump is already used success-

fully in many biogas plants. This special and unique seepex

development has a separately driven and reversible ribbon

screw that is decoupled from the pump train itself, achieving

the best mixing and pumping results.

The “Biogas Control System“ unit combines all the important

controller properties:

• The duration of mixing and the needs-based feeding of

the solid and liquid content can be adjusted individually.

• Optimized process settings can be saved and accessed at

any time.

• Easy to integrate into a higher-level plant control system

using flexible bus systems.

Bio substrate mixing system, consisting of seepex BTH and BN pump ranges with Smart Conveying Technology, SCT.

Benefits

• Increased gas yield

• Reduced energy consumption

• Efficient plant operation thanks to optimized process

control

• Comprehensive range of feed hopper pumps –

specifically matched to your fermentation products

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seepex BTH range pumps ensure thorough mixing of the fermentation products with subsequent pumping.

Bio substrate mixing system – pumps of range BTH and BNBTH 70-12 • Conveying product: silage, fermentation product consisting of solid dung, waste fodder • Conveying capacity: 20 m3/h (88 GPM) Pressure: 4 bar (58 PSI) • Temperature: 20 °C (68 °F)BN 35-6L • Conveying product: Liquid manure • Conveying capacity: 16 m3/h (70 GPM) • Pressure: 1 bar (14.5 PSI) • Temperature: 20 °C (68 °F)

Systematic flow chart of the fermentation product transportation process step

Control system BGDC

BN

Silo/collecting vessel

Coferments

Liquid substrate

Fermenter(mixing tank)

Biogas

Recirculate

Fermenter (secondary fermentation)

BTH/BTHE

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Innovative – Smart Conveying Technology, SCT.

The seepex innovation “Smart Conveying Technology“ – SCT

for short – is an essential component of the seepex bio sub-

strate mixing system. It has been tried and tested thousands

of times in solutions for a wide range of conveying tasks.

The advantages of this intelligent, patented technology over

standard progressive cavity pumps or rotary lobe pumps

become apparent in biogas plants, in particular. Examples

include the area of fermentation product and re-circulate

conveying.

Necessary maintenance work on the rotor and stator can be

carried out with minimal effort and in the shortest of time,

thanks to ingenious design principles – meaning that down-

time is kept to a minimum. The pump remains in its place

during servicing and the connected pipelines do not have to

be removed.

The integrated retensioning device means that the stator‘s

service life can be increased by up to 30 % and the rotor‘s

life by up to 50 %.

All these advantages lead to reduced life cycle costs and

greater productivity and economic efficiency for your biogas

plant.

“Smart Conveying Technology“ makes replacing the rotor and stator up to 85 % faster.

Benefits

• Longer durability for rotor and stator thanks to integrated

retensioning device

• Extremely easy maintenance due to fast assembly/

dismantling of rotor and stator

• High productivity due to short maintenance downtimes

• Small space requirement as no space needs to be

included for removing the stator

• Easy handling during maintenance due to low-weight

components

Pump of range BT 130-6LSConveying product: Food waste Conveying capacity: 40 m3/h (176 GPM) • Pressure: 3 bar (43 PSI) Temperature: 5 – 40 °C (41 – 104 °F)

Pumps of range BN 17-6LS and BN 70-6LBN 17-6LS • Conveying product: Faecal sludge • Conveying capacity: 8.5 m3/h (37 GPM) • Pressure: 2 bar (29 PSI) • Temperature: 5 – 40 °C (41 – 104 °F)BN 70-6L • Conveying product: Faecal sludge • Conveying capacity: 60 m3/h (264 GPM) • Pressure: 2 bar (29 PSI) • Temperature: 5 – 40 °C (41 – 104 °F)

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Pump of range BTM 17-12Conveying product: Food waste Conveying capacity: 3.6 m3/h (16 GPM) • Pressure: 2 bar (29 PSI) Temperature: 5 – 40 °C (41 – 104 °F)

Pumping solutions for food waste.

Due to its relatively large energy content, waste from the

food industry is increasingly being fermented in biogas

plants. This includes:

• food scraps, production residues, rejected batches,

excess production

• expired goods such as cooking fats and oils

• dairy waste, baked goods

• abattoir waste or food by-products

• fryer residues

• fruit and vegetable waste

• grains

However, the use of this waste should not have a negative

effect on either the biogas process or the agricultural use of

fermentation residue. In this context, it is important to mac-

erate or homogenize the waste. It is also advisable to trans-

port the waste in a closed system to avoid unpleasant odors.

Thanks to their specific characteristics, our products are

ideally placed to fulfil these requirements. The BTM range

pump with an integrated cutting unit that we developed and

patented is the only one of its kind on the market. It chops

and pumps in a single step. Even large-sized conveying

products such as whole pieces of fruit or perished poultry

can be processed. No additional grinder is needed, leading

to a significant reduction in investment costs.

In addition to this, we offer macerators that chop waste into

particularly small pieces, thereby homogenizing it.

Pump of range BN 17-6L and macerator 25IConveying product: Miscellaneous food wasteConveying capacity: 8 m3/h (35 GPM) • Pressure: 1.5 bar (21 PSI) Temperature: 20 °C (68 °F)

Benefits

• Saving on investment costs

• Positive effect on the biogas process thanks to material

maceration and homogenization

• Pumping in a closed system to avoid unpleasant odours

• BTM range pump – chops and pumps in a single step

seepex BTM range pumps convey and chop in a single step.

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Your pump solutions at a glance.

seepex pumps gently transport low to highly viscous products

with or without solids, as well as low or high-temperature

products with low pulsations or low shear action. They also

feature excellent metering precision.

Pumps from the BN range are used in almost all industrial

sectors. They convey low to high viscosity materials with or

without solids with a ds content of up to 15 %. They are

also used for conveying liquid manure and recirculate.

> Conveying capacity: 30 l/h – 500 m3/h

(0.13 – 2,200 GPM), Pressure: up to 48 bar (720 PSI)

BTH range pumps feature a separately driven, concentrically

rotating ribbon screw with a maximized diameter and long

pitch. Through separate control of the conveying screw

speed, the BTH pump can be used for almost any conveying

media. The variable speed auger permits optimum filling with

the solid fermentation products. Even media that tend to

form bridges can be handled with ease due to the large

screw diameter of the BTH pump.

Combined with BN range pumps and the control system

BGDC, the BTH is a basic component of the bio substrate

mixing system.

> Conveying capacity: 0.5 m3/h – 130 m3/h

(2.2 – 572 GPM), Pressure: up to 36 bar (540 PSI)

A special characteristic of the BTM range is the patented

macerator integrated into the compression zone. The knives

on the rotating conveying screw chop the fed products in

combination with the cutting tools fastened in the compres-

sion housing. Integrated into a closed system the pump

permits macerating of fruit, vegetables or abattoir waste,

for example, with subsequent pumping.

> Conveying capacity: 0.25 m³/h – 130 m³/h

(0.22 – 2,200 GPM), Pressure: up to 36 bar (540 PSI)

Range BN with Smart Conveying Technology

Range BTH/BTHE

Range BTM

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Control system BGDC

Range I

Factors such as dosing liquids and solids and mixing these

materials are important process parameters that need to

be adjusted individually. Optimized process settings need

to be saved and accessed at any time. All these important

characteristics are included in the seepex BGDC control

system. It is an basic component of our bio substrate mixing

system.

Macerators from seepex reduce the size of solids and fibers

in the pumped medium. In biogas plants, this leads to further

maceration or homogenization of the fermentation products.

seepex macerators are available as inline designs with inte-

grated solid separators and universal versions for direct

installation in a pipeline or with a supply container with a

direct connection to a seepex pump.

> Flow rate: up to 150 m3/h (660 GPM)

See our “Product groups and ranges“ brochure for further

solutions for a wide range of applications.

And what can we get flowing for you? Your nearest contact:

Or visit www.seepex.com BIO

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