Elcimaï Environnement Delivers an Anaerobic Digestion Plant in Chalandry-Elaire (08)
Designed and built by Elcimaï Environnement for SAS Métha-Garoterie, the new anaerobic digestion facility in Chalandry-Elaire (08) was inaugurated today. It will treat the department’s wastewater, agricultural byproducts, and organic waste, converting them into biogas, a form of green energy.
In 2018, Elcimaï Environnement, which is developing its expertise in consulting and engineering in the fields of the circular economy and ecological transition, was selected by SAS Métha-Garoterie to design and build, as the general contractor, a biogas and waste treatment/sanitation plant in Chalandry-Elaire (08).
Launched at the initiative of a group of farmers and Arcavi, a waste management company, the project stood out for its openness to local community investment. After a lengthy construction process interrupted by COVID-19 restrictions, the new facility—now operated by Arcavi and Valodéa, the Ardennes waste treatment authority—was inaugurated today.
Unique in the Ardennes department, it will convert agricultural waste into biogas : 7,000 tons of manure per year, 11,800 tons of solid manure, 400 tons of CIVE silage, and 5,000 tons of green waste, as well as 3,700 tons of biowaste (from cafeterias and selective collection from households, agri-food businesses, and supermarkets…), for a total of 88 tons per day. This is enough to produce 150 Nm³/h of injected biomethane, equivalent to the consumption of approximately 4,000 households.
The site, designed and built by the teams at Elcimaï Environnement, includes :
- a covered storage building for slurry and solid digestate,
- a deodorized building for receiving and unpacking biowaste,
- a biomass boiler room for the treatment of biowaste—a system that is still relatively rare, which is another unique feature of the site,
- two tanks, each with a capacity of 4,000 m³, intended for mesophilic digestion in the liquid phase, as well as two liquid digestate storage tanks, each with a capacity of 6,000 m³.
The anaerobic digestion tanks under construction, January 2023. ©Elcimaï Group
The Italian companies BTS Biogas (biogas production process) and AB Gruppo (biogas purification process) are the site’s main suppliers. The raw material will be processed via a Bioaccelerator to homogenize the mixture and increase the surface area for fiber degradation. This pretreatment will promote increased productivity. The separation of the organic fraction from unwanted waste (packaging, aggregates, cans, trays, yogurt cups, etc.) will be carried out using a technology called Bioseparator. The pasteurization unit ensures the sanitary quality of the incoming biomass by heating it for 1 hour at 70°C. The separation of liquid and solid fractions will allow the digestate to be used as a soil amendment and fertilizer, and to recycle part of the liquid fraction, thereby significantly reducing water consumption.
“The SAS Métha-Garoterie anaerobic digestion unit meets the waste treatment needs of the Ardennes department by following a virtuous cycle of renewable energy and green fertilizer production, directly used locally by residents for gas and by the agricultural sector for digestate,” explains Marc Wathy, president of SAS Métha-Garoterie and CEO of Arcavi. “This facility has the advantage of having the necessary tools for processing biowaste (unpacking, disinfection prior to anaerobic digestion) to offer a local treatment solution to municipalities and food waste producers. The involvement of companies and various partners is undoubtedly the key to this project’s success.”
The energy recovery site includes, in particular, a deodorized technical building for receiving biowaste, a storage shed for slurry and solid digestate, two tanks for receiving liquid materials (top), two methanation tanks (center), two tanks for storing liquid digestate (bottom), a biomass boiler room, and a biogas purification unit. The anaerobic digestion unit is located between the offices of Arcavi (the operator) and one of its composting sites.