What are the stages of building an AD plant? 

Building an anaerobic digestion plant is an intricate, complex and lengthy process that often involves expert contractors and subcontractors, specialist equipment, process designers and experienced project managers to successfully take the project all the way from the feasibility stage to commissioning & handover. So, what are the stages of building an AD plant? 

The stages of building an AD plant

Project outlining & the pre-construction phase: every successful AD project starts with 3 things – a location, an input and an output; i.e. a piece of land, a feedstock, and a way of releasing the biogas generated from the process of anaerobic digestion. 

Once you have these, putting together a project outline and arranging a feasibility study in order to assess whether the project is feasible is essential. 

Within this pre-construction phase also sits the assessment of the availability of feedstock (substrate); taking into account what feedstock is available and what feedstock would be best suited to this project.

Plant & process design: another crucial stage in the process of building an AD plant is plant and process design – designing the plant; identifying the design objectives, identifying and responding to any obstacles or challenges, and ensuring the process is fit for purpose. 

Selecting technology: will the plant use wet or dry digestion? What process stages will the plant use? And at what process temperature? The answers to these questions will drive the technology needed to produce biogas and operate the plant in question. 

Alongside this, ‘selecting technology’ also encompasses tank type(s), digestate storage method and the utilisation of biogas, as well as the transport and equipment used on-site. 

Procurement: procurement is another vital stage of the process of building an AD plant as, selecting and working with specialists and field experts, with an extensive portfolio of work, an understanding of specialist technology and strong contacts to other brands and businesses within the industry is key to ensuring the project will be successfully completed with minimal risk. 

Construction phase: this is where the magic happens! The phase everyone gets excited for and everyone loves – building the AD plant. 

Here, you’ll see many project milestones such as the first concrete pour, the building of the tanks, the installation of the CHP unit and the installation of the tank roofs. 

Here, also, is where the site road is laid and prepared and any agreed upon finishing touches’ are installed in order to make the site a safe and secure working environment. 

Commissioning: once the construction phase is complete and successfully signed off, the AD plant can enter into the commissioning phase – a period of rigorous testing where the plant is connected to the grid, and the tanks, the technology, the feedstock, and the microorganisms are all assessed and evaluated. 

Handover: and lastly comes the handover! Once the AD plant has successfully passed the commissioning phase – is connected to the gas grid and successfully producing and flowing gas, the project can be ‘handed over’ to the client. 

Here at AMZCO, we’ve successfully constructed and operated multiple anaerobic digestion plants at various locations across the country – designing, constructing and commissioning some of the UK’s most unique AD plants that are supplying heat & power to homes all across Britain. 

To find out more about our anaerobic digestion plant construction services, please click here or contact us to discuss your next AD project.