![\"Manuel](\"https:\/\/www.mwm.net\/files\/upload\/image\/8587_47_klaeranlage-weinheim-klaermeister-ritter.jpg\" "\\"Manuel")
\r\nManuel Ritter, Germany’s youngest waste water plant manager, takes pride in the sewage treatment plant’s outstanding energy efficiency. Using MWM cogeneration power plants it feeds up to 1.800 MW per year into the public grid.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\nWaste water treatment beyond state boundaries <\/h2>\r\n\r\n
Bergstrasse Waste Water Utility District encompasses the Hessian and Baden-Wuerttemberg communities of Weinheim, Viernheim, Birkenau, Hemsbach, Hirschberg, Laudenbach, along with the “Grundelbachtal” Waste Water Utility. Currently the waste water from some 170,000 people is biologically treated and cleaned in the Weinheim Waste Treatment Plant. Yet the system is designed for a waste water treatment capacity of 230,000 to 240,000 inhabitants. Depending upon rainfall, the plant processes between 20,000 and 130,000 m3<\/sup> of waste water per day, producing up to 7t of fermentation sludge daily as a byproduct of water treatment. The fermentation tanks, a typical visual characteristic of waste treatment plants, generate roughly 2,400,000 m3<\/sup> of fermentation gas per year. “Our plant is designed to achieve an extremely high gas yield during the fermentation process \u2013 we increase the efficiency through filtering and drying,” says the plant manager, illustrating the sewage treatment plant’s energy efficiency.<\/p>\r\n\r\n The fermentation tanks, a typical visual characteristic of waste treatment plants, generate roughly 2,400,000 m3 of fermentation gas per year. “Our plant is designed to achieve an extremely high gas yield during the fermentation process \u2013 we increase the efficiency through filtering and drying,” says the plant manager, illustrating the sewage treatment plant’s energy efficiency. <\/p>\r\n\r\n “Thus far we have been operating two cogeneration systems, each equipped with a 400 kWel and a 600 kWel genset from MWM. A third CHP plant with 600 kWel from MWM is currently under construction and is expected to be ready for operation at the end of 2014,\u201d explains Manuel Ritter. “It will enable us to cover 100 percent of our own substantial electricity requirement and simultaneously use the heat generated for the heating of our buildings and of fermentation towers that require a temperature of 37\u00b0C for the fermentation processes.”<\/p> The gas gensets of the cogeneration systems in the Bergstrasse Waste Water Utility District reach some 7,500 annual operating hours. The third CHP plant currently under construction is a redundancy unit, as the failure of a CHP plant would result in unnecessary energy costs. With the third MWM TCG 2016V 12 genset, a high-performance system is available as a “standby CHP plant.\u201d Since the commissioning of sewage treatment plant in 1977, there has been seamless cooperation between the waste water utility district and the Mannheim-based gas engine manufacturer.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Further proof of the waste water treatment plant’s energy efficiency is the use of solar energy \u2013 in addition to the CHP plant, the Bergstrasse Waste Water Utility District installed over 5,000 m2 of photovoltaic panels on the roof tops of the waste water treatment building, which yield up to 560,000 kWh\/year. Together with the cogeneration power plants, they produce up to 162 percent of their own electricity requirement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n Bergstrasse Waste Water Utility District\r\n Photos: Weinheim Waste Treatment Plant (Kl\u00e4ranlage Weinheim)<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Using MWM CHP plants the Weinheim Waste Treatment Plant produces some 150% of its own electricity use<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Large](\"https:\/\/www.mwm.net\/files\/upload\/image\/8831_47_klaeranlage-weinheim.jpg\" "\\"Large")
\r\nLarge capacity: The waste water plant Weinheim is designed for a waste water treatment capacity of 230,000 to 240,000 inhabitants.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.mwm.net\/files\/upload\/image\/5323_47_waste-treatment-plant-weinheim-fermentation-tanks.jpg\" "\\"The")
\r\nThe fermentation tanks of the waste water treatment plant Weinheim<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\nPrecaution against power outages and grid disruptions<\/h2>\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.mwm.net\/files\/upload\/image\/8979_47_klaeranlage-weinheim-kwk-anlage.jpg\" "\\"Two")
\r\nTwo MWM cogeneration systems are currently operating at the waster water plant Weinheim. A third one is currently under construction.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\nWeinheim Waste Treatment Plant<\/h2>\r\n\r\n
\r\nAltau 10\r\n
\r\n69469 Weinheim\/Bergstrasse\r\n
\r\nGermany<\/p>\r\n\r\nTechnical specifications waste treatment plant<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n Waste water volumes:<\/td>\r\n 20,000 \u2013 130,000 m3<\/sup>\/day\r\n
\r\n12,000,000 \u2013 18,500,000 m3<\/sup>\/year<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n Fermentation sludge:<\/td>\r\n approx. 7 t\/d (solids)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n \r\n Fermentation tanks:<\/td>\r\n 3 fermentation tanks, 4,700 m3<\/sup> each<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n \r\n Gas production:<\/td>\r\n ca. 2,400,000 m3<\/sup>\/year<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n \r\n Power production:<\/td>\r\n ca. 5,600,000 kWh\/year,\r\n
\r\nequivalent to approx. 147 % of the plant’s own requirement<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n Heat output:<\/td>\r\n approx. 5,340,000 kWh\/year<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n \r\n Commissioning: <\/td>\r\n 1977<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table> \r\n\r\n Technical specifications CHP<\/h2>\r\n\r\n
\r\n Commissioning:<\/td>\r\n 2006 (400 kWel<\/sub>)\r\n
\r\n2011 (600 kWel<\/sub>)\r\n
\r\nEnde 2014 (600 kWel<\/sub>)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n Engine type:<\/td>\r\n 1 x MWM TBG 2016 V12K \u2013 469 kWel<\/sub>\r\n
\r\n2 x MWM TCG 2016 V12C \u2013 600 kWel<\/sub><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n\r\n Electrical output:<\/td>\r\n 1 x 400 kWel<\/sub>, 2 x 600 kWel<\/sub><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n \r\n Electrical efficiency:<\/td>\r\n approx. 42.5 %<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n \r\n Thermal efficiency:<\/td>\r\n approx. 40.5 %<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n \r\n Overall efficiency:<\/td>\r\n approx. 83.0 %<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table> \r\n\r\n