The magical biogas factory

When people hand in their green food waste bags for recycling, the biological waste is transported to Greve Biogass. At the factory it is converted into biogas.

In 2013 Grenland og Vestfold Biogass AS (Greve Biogass) saw the light of day, and since then the biogas plant at Sem in Tønsberg has recycled waste and used it in the production of new energy. The food waste of residents is transported, along with livestock manure, to the biogas plant and ground into a slurry that is sanitised by removing putrefactive bacteria. This material is put into tanks full of enzymes, and the result is methane gas. The residue is used as bio-fertiliser by farmers in Vestfold, thereby ensuring that the recycling and methane production take place in a circular loop.

A plant with automation

To make such a plant function as it should, an advanced automation system is required. In addition to the electrical installations, Guard Automation has delivered the new automation system of Greve Biogass, a FactoryTalk system from Rockwell, which monitors and ensures that all components in the plant work together. With well over 300 components, each having up to twenty sensors, there are large amounts of information to be handled. We have delivered and programmed the control units that control all controllable components, such as pumps and valves, in the factory. Our trademark is that we manage to integrate most components regardless of the supplier, so that they work optimally together in our Guard Control system. Through long experience, Guard Automation has built up knowledge in integrating many different types of process equipment.

Operators use the screen system to maintain control over the factory in real time. Here they can, among other things, read trend values on key sensors, get an overview of all alarms in the plant using dynamic screen images, and gather data in clear reports. The goal is for the factory to be in continuous operation, and over a long period of time.

Industry-leading operations and maintenance system

The operations and maintenance system we have delivered to Greve Biogass is industry-leading. What we deliver, which differs from others, is that the screen system is integrated directly with the operations and maintenance system. This makes it easy for operators to navigate seamlessly between the systems. The system is designed to be industry-oriented, making it easy both to get started with and to utilise the many functions that are available.

When the food waste from the residents of Vestfold and Grenland goes through the transformation process from garbage to new, climate-friendly energy, operators can follow the processes minutely on the screens in the factory. They can also receive alarms as text messages directly on their mobile phones, and intervene if there is a warning of problems from the equipment in the factory. Should that sound a bit old-fashioned, we have also delivered an app connected to the Apple Watch, so that operators can get operational information directly on their watch.