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All Of Kent’s Food Waste To Be Turned Into Biogas!

 

Kent County Council has announced that all of the region’s food waste will be recycled - which is approximately 45,000 tonnes of waste, all of which will be turned into biogas through the Blaise Farm Quarry anaerobic digester.


According to Bioenergy News, ten of the 12 districts in the county already collect their food waste separately and all councils will be required to do this by 2023, as set out in the forthcoming environment bill.


Cabinet member for the environment Susan Carey explained that the new plant at Blaise Farm will help the council reduce costs and carbon emissions through the recycling of all household food waste.


She went on to say that it’s predicted that approximately five million cubic metres of gas will be created, as well as 5.2 million kWh of electricity, which could be used to power around 3,600 properties.


“As well as recycling today’s level of food waste, the new anaerobic digester has the capacity to transform waste into energy from all the expected growth in households in Kent in the foreseeable future.


“Biogas produced here in Kent really does help us meet our target for net-zero carbon emissions for Kent. We’re also supporting local employment and economic growth in the county, so please keep separating your food waste from general waste,” she went on to say.


How does anaerobic digestion work?

Anaerobic digestion is the process of breaking down organic matter (such as food waste, but also animal manure, wastewater biosolids and so on) using bacteria, in the absence of oxygen.


The resulting biogas is made up of methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, water vapour and trace amounts of other gases. The energy contained within it can be used in much the same way as natural gas, providing heat, generating electricity and powering cooling systems.


It can also be purified so it can be used to generate renewable natural gas, which can be sold back to the National Grid, used as vehicle fuel or to generate other energy products and bioproducts.


What are the benefits of anaerobic digestion?

Millions of tonnes of food waste is produced each year in the UK and the majority ends up in landfill, where it rots - which gives off methane, a very powerful greenhouse gas.


One of the biggest benefits of anaerobic digestion is the impact on the environment, since burning fossil fuels releases a significant amount of emissions. Producing renewable energy will drive down dependence on fossil fuels, as well as reducing carbon emissions.

 

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