Current And Future Processes
Please watch our short video to better understand the overall process below:
Current Processes
Linergy currently operates a rendering facility which processes animal by-products, food processing waste and fallen stock to produce renewable fuels. Rendering is a process that converts waste animal tissue into stable, value-added materials such as tallow oil and meat and bone meal. The tallow oil produced has the same energy value as heavy fuel oil whilst the meat and bone meal has an energy equivalent to dry timber or low grade coal. The tallow oil produced from the rendering process is used on site to raise steam to power the process. Any excess tallow oil is used as a boiler fuel or as a feedstock for biodiesel products. The meat and bone meal produced is currently exported to power stations in Great Britain to produce electricity and heat via incineration.
Any emissions produced by the process are controlled by advanced technology known as thermal oxidisation. This is used to destroy the volatile compounds from the rendering process by oxidising them to innocuous emissions of water vapour and CO2. The emissions are then passed to the atmosphere via the flue on site. Further information on this is included in the FAQ section of this website.
Future Process
Linergy has innovative plans for a second phase which includes a proposed £18m extension to its current rendering plant. This will utilise existing fuels produced from the rendering process to generate renewable energy.
So what will the expansion of Linergy produce?
Linergy expects to produce sufficient electrical power to cover its own needs and those of both Linden Foods and Dunbia. This would control waste disposal and electricity costs and underpin the future competitiveness of both companies and the local agri-food industry. This will protect the jobs of 1,500 people who work in the two plants. There will also be a surplus of renewable (green) electricity to export.
What technology will this phase use?
Linergy is currently identifying the best available technology to convert the biomass fuels to renewable energy. This includes advanced thermal treatment processes which maximise the energy conversion efficiency from these fuels while minimising any environmental impacts. Current technologies endorsed by the UK Government include gasification which is a thermal process which produces a fuel from carbon containing materials.
What other waste can be used to produce renewable energy?
Linergy is working with B9 Energy to explore ways in which other types of organic waste can be converted into renewable energy. This would involve treating other wet organic wastes. By utilising these organic waste streams as a resource Linergy and B9 will be diverting as much as 500,000 tonnes of waste away from landfill over a ten year period. It will also save over 58,000 tonnes of CO2 in emissions per year. This is equivalent to taking 16,000 cars off Northern Ireland’s roads for a year and powering approximately 8,000 homes with renewable electricity.
