Landia mixers and pumps pass acidic food waste test with Biogen

Mixers and pumps made by Landia, a Danish processing equipment manufacturer, are contributing to the success of the Bygrave Lodge AD plant in Hertfordshire, UK, designed, built, and run by Biogen.

Processing 45,000 tonnes of food waste each year from supermarkets, food processors, households, and the hospitality industry, the 2MW Bygrave Lodge plant uses a total of four Landia mixers.

A fully stainless steel 4.0kW DGR submersible chopper pump is utilised in the acidic environment of the food waste reception sump, whilst two 18.5kW POPTR-I side-entry Landia mixers are employed in the primary digester to maintain a homogenous mix.

There is also a 7.5kW 1500rpm Landia MPTK chopper pump, which is used for discharging the AD plant’s pasteuriser.

Keith Knight, design manager at Biogen, says:  ‘This is a process that can’t be handled with standard equipment, especially with the acidity in food waste, but we are confident of the longevity with Landia’s equipment, which has been proven on other Biogen sites.’

Landia’s pumps and mixers are also installed at Biogen’s food waste to green energy GwyriAD AD plant near Caernarfon in North Wales and at Biogen’s Milton Ernest plant in Bedfordshire, where renewable energy is generated from pig slurry and food waste.

In addition to generating renewable electricity for up to 4,500 homes, the process at Bygrave Lodge also produces a nutrient-rich agricultural fertiliser for use on local farmland.