Diageo Cameronbridge distillery invests in bio-energy plant 08 May 2013

Diageo has completed a £105m investment in its Cameronbridge distillery, the largest grain distillery in Scotland, which includes installation of a £65m bio-energy plant.

The project incorporates several processes ranging from anaerobic digestion to biomass conversion, reverse osmosis and ultra-filtration, all contributing to the firm's green agenda – and bringing the total number of UK anaerobic digesters to 250.

Veolia designed the plant with BCI Process responsible for the stainless steel pipework linking the process plant packages and vessels, as well as providing the design and construction of the support structures and gangways.

The distillery produces 90,000 tons of waste per year, which will be used to generate 5.5MW of electricity. The effluent, a mix of wheat, malted barley, yeast and water, will pass through a belt press to remove biomass, which will be burned to generate heat and energy for the distillery. Extracted aqueous liquid will then be treated in an anaerobic digester, producing biogas to provide a second boiler fuel.

The boilers use the renewable fuel to produce superheated steam at 60bar, which drives the first stage of the steam turbine to produce electricity. Recovered steam, now at 16bar, goes on to drive the second stage of the turbine but is also tapped off and sent into the main plant, where it is used in the distillation process.

The project is expected to generate 80% of the electricity and 98% of the steam to run the distillery, as well as to clean up the effluent discharge.

Diageo says that the biomass plant could reduce CO2 emissions at the distillery by 56,000 tonnes a year. "Diageo is committed to reducing its reliance on fossil fuels and to reducing our overall impact on the environment," comments malt distilling director Brian Higgs.

BCI Process used Solidworks CAD (computer aided design) to produce a detailed 3D layout of the stainless steel pipework, up to 1,000mm in diameter, as well as the galvanised supports, all assessed for structural integrity.

Brian Tinham

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