The residential building from 1880 is the oldest building on the Schulze-Icking farm estate. Over the years, the farm has been steadily expanded to include stables for livestock. In addition to the modern housing of bulls, the farm also has several biogas plants in operation, which are currently being converted to biogas processing for the public grid.
Combine wood gasifier and biogas plant for more profit
In February 2023, a HKA 50 wood gasifier from Spanner Re², which was installed in a container, went into operation. The special feature is that the heat produced by the wood gasifier is fed into the fermenter of the biogas plant. The heat thus released in the biogas plant can now be marketed, including a CHP bonus in Germany. This effective and direct use of heat is reflected in the fast amortization time of the wood gasifier. The combination of a wood gasifier and biogas plant is highly attractive, particularly with regard to the flexibilization of biogas plants in Germany.
Wood chips for wood gasifiers
The "Schulze-Icking" farm has its own forest area of approx. 20 hectares, which is used for forestry. The farm therefore obtains the chips from its own land. The trunk and residual wood material brought in is processed into chips approx. every 2-3 months by a contract chipper.
Waste heat from the wood gasifier for drying wood chips
The wood chips are dried using a self-built wagon dryer. The heat from the HKA 50 is used and fed to the overlying wood chips via a raised floor in the lower area. The drying capacity is around 33 m³ of dry wood chips in 3 1/2 - 4 days, depending on the weather and time of year. The quantity of wood chips to be dried is completely geared to the fuel consumption of the HKA 50.
Screening the wood chips
The dried wood chips are primarily fed through a swing screen. Part of the swinging screen sieves out the fines in the range of a few millimeters. Another screen with 50 mm holes sifts the actual wood chips once again, preventing long particles from being introduced into the fuel. There is a further fines screen in the conveyor section to the wood-fired power plant to further reduce the fines content if necessary.
Sustainable energy mix from local resources
The H&H Schulze-Icking Biogas GBR plant is based on the consistent use of heat. The amount of electricity generated by the HKA 50 is used entirely for the company's own requirements. The fuel comes exclusively from the region and is fully used in the company.
The innovative energy concept is an example of a sustainable energy mix from local resources. Energy generation from PV, biogas plant and biomass goes hand in hand in the business. In addition, residual materials are optimally utilized, thereby rounding off the value chain of a modern business in the best possible way.