However, for AD plants to meet the requirements of the protocol, their digestate will need to meet the PAS110 quality standard, which is not expected to be finalised for a few more weeks.
Launched yesterday (September 17), the quality protocol will enable digestate produced by accredited AD plants to be classified as a product and not a waste, meaning it will not be subject to waste management controls.
It outlines the criteria that plant operators must meet to satisfy the requirements of the protocols in relation to the source-segregated waste inputs they use, evidence they must provide of their processes and the markets they can sell the digestate into.
The protocol for anaerobic digestate is the sixth to be formally launched under the joint WRAP/EA waste protocols programme, and, Nina Sweet, organics technical specialist at WRAP claimed that its publication could be particularly significant.
“At the moment we have an emerging industry,” she told letsrecycle.com. “We hope it will have the same level of impact that the compost one has.”
The final draft of the protocol was published in January 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story), but it can now be formally issued after being approved by the European Commission's technical standards committee with what Ms Sweet described as “minimal changes”.
Ms Sweet also explained that the Renewable Energy Association had developed the rules, procedures and documents for the certification scheme, but stressed that the actual certification process for AD facilities would be sub-contracted to an approved certification body.
Commenting on the progress of the PAS100 standard, Ms Sweet said: “We really need to finish off the PAS110, we hope to have it done by this autumn – it has to be signed off by an independent certification organisation.”
Energy
The importance of the protocol in relation to energy production was acknowledged by Martin Brocklehurst, head of environment and business partnerships at the Environment Agency, who said: “The QP is a major milestone for the AD industry, which could help the UK deliver on wider climate change and environmental objectives.
“In the UK, we product 100 million tonnes of food and other organic waste every year that we could be using to create enough heat and energy to run over two million homes,” he added.
His comments were echoed by Ms Sweet, who highlighted the links it would have to energy production, noting that: “You have to do the two things together – you can't get the energy without producing the digestate.”
The protocol is expected to help make AD more attractive for investors, and Ms Sweet explained that it was just one part of WRAP's work in relation to the technology.
“There has to be market development,” she said, adding that the Defra-funded body was also involved in trial work, demonstration projects (see letsrecycle.com story) and running training for operators, as well as its Organics Capital Grant Programme.
Selby
Today (September 18) the company behind a project that aims to build the “UK's largest” anaerobic digestion plant at Selby in North Yorkshire would be one of the beneficiaries of the WRAP capital grant fund.
Whites Biogas Ltd, developers of the Selby Renewable Energy Park, said that it would be receiving
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