UK: Bioline's waste reduction project is heating up
As you can imagine, the site is full of an increasing number of heated greenhouses and humid growth rooms to ensure Bioline can keep up with the demand of global growers producing good quality fruit, vegetables and flowers to feed a rapidly growing world population that right this second sits at 7.5 billion.
With that in mind, have you ever wondered how they heat production departments living in a country that is notoriously known for its grey skies and damp weather? Feast your eyes on the latest installment— Bioline AgroSciences UK Biomass boiler officially opening November 8th.
Bioline recently said goodbye to the oil boilers that once heated their glasshouse areas (creating approx. 1281 tonnes of CO2 annually) and said a happy hello to a newly installed biomass boiler running on waste wood which will reduce their CO2 impact by 1281 tonnes per year as it is fuelled from a sustainable source.
A biomass boiler works in a slightly different way to an open fire or stove. The process is known as “gasification”. This means that the fuel is burned at a temperature of 600°C to release gases. The hot gases are then re-burned (hence the name gasification), which generates temperatures of 1,200°C. This then runs through heat exchanges and generates the hot water to run the glasshouse heating.
The ash produced by this biomass boiler is considered to be a compostable component. Bioline can use this on their land on site and there is no current licensing issues related to this disposal.
Plus, there is a UK government incentive called the renewable heat incentive (RHI) which pays a sum for every KWH produced by the boiler going to a production system. This once gained is in place for 20 years and will give significant savings to the business through cheaper fuel and the receiving of the RHI.
Bioline AgroSciences’ Operations Manager, Keith Oakley, voiced “Bioline Agrosciences has been producing beneficial insects at the Clacton site for nearly 20 years. Our new energy centre is a significant investment for us, and shows the confidence Invivo (our owners) have in us to deliver on our expected business performance.”
“Besides the importance of hitting the numbers, we are also focussed on improving our environmental performance. We have new waste segregation on site and this boiler burns waste wood which would ordinarily go to a landfill. This has been a great project well executed by the staff on site and all the contractors involved. We are really happy with the outcome!” Keith added.
For more information:
Bioline AgroSciences
Telstar Nursery,
Holland Road, Little Clacton,
Essex CO16 9QG
UK
+44 (0) 1255 863200
[email protected]
www.biolineagrosciences.com