MechChem Africa September 2018

biomethane plants at ETW. “While in other systems an increased risk of efficiency losses and plant downtimes can be expected due to the presence of contaminants in the biogas, we can handle these conditions because of the our ETW SmarCycle PSA technology,” Jende adds. Low lifecycle costs A high-quality industry standard pairedwith the special process advantages of the ETW SmartCycle PSA process, such as the lowest energy consumption of all treatment pro- cesses, results in the lowest lifecycle costs of all biogas-upgrading processes available on the market. “With more than 150 000 operating hours, our PPE processing sys- tems have a total availability of over 99%,“ Jende notes. Plant operator, Bernard Winterhalter, is alsooptimistic about the future.With the sup- port of Rytec, hehas beenworking intensively on various processing methods since 2016. “At that time it quickly became clear tous that we needed a dry process – simply because of the reducedoperating costs compared towet alternatives. Therefore, only the membrane and PSA technologies were available as op- tions,” explainsWinterhalter. However, itwas just as important to the operator tominimise risks caused by possible impurities in such a way that he could ultimately choose his sub- strates freely. “ThePSAprocess convincedus, not only because it systematically regener- ates, but also because the molecular sieve, due to its very high mass, is significantly less susceptible to impurities.” Second plant under construction And so it is no surprise that ETW Energie­ technik and GASEO are currently building a second plant for the French market at Arcis-sur-Aube in the northeastern French department of Aube. Here, the treatment • 90% of the board directors are black South Africans, with 30% being black females. • A flagship capacity-building programme for black unemployed youth living with disabilities has been implemented, with an intake of 66 learners to date. • 90% of procurement is with black suppliers. • Approximately 50% of procured crude oil and petroleum products are through black-empowered trading compa- nies, of which roughly 35% are black women-owned. • An enterprise and supplier development programme has provided over R100- million in interest-free loans, credit

About ETW ETW Energietechnik GmbH has been developing and producing energy plants in Moers, Germany, since 1997. The company‘s core business comprises the construction and maintenance of com- bined heat and power (CHP) plants in the output range of 400 to 4 600 kWe as well as highly efficient biogas upgrading plants that producepurebiomethaneout of raw biogas using a high-end pressure swing absorption (PSA) technology. The company is a one-stop provider: fromthe transfer of biogas to the feed-in of power into the grid and the provi- sion of heat, ETW also takes care of the construction, commissioning, and maintenance of CHP and biogas upgrad- ing plants. The clientele of ETWEnergietechnik GmbH includes large energy suppliers, agricultural plants, municipalities, and industrial businesses of various types and sizes, all of which attach impor- tance to eco-friendly, economic energy generation. One of the strategic highlights is the implementation of economic, sustain- able plant concepts that are planned individually and adapted to the respec- tive requirements. A qualified service team ensures operational reliability and maximum availability of the plants. The medium sized, family owned enterprise employs a staff of 80 and is managed by its founder, Helmut Weiss, and his two sons Marco and Carsten. q capacitywill be 870 standardm³ of biogas per hour from a waste fermentation plant. The biomethane plant will be installed before the end of this year. q lines and deferred marketing loans to designated B-BBEE beneficiaries within the procurement pipeline. • 50% of the retail network is owned by black entrepreneurs through the Caltex Branded Marketer Programme, with average black ownership of 73%. • Social investment partnerships impact 50 000 direct beneficiaries each year in the areas of health, STEMeducation and economic development. “We conduct business in a socially re- sponsibleandethicalmanner, leveragingour ability tobenefit the communitieswherewe work. As such, transformation ismore thana scorecard tous: it is deeply embedded inour business strategy,” Rabbipal concludes. q

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