During this time, Ben met Tim Elsome, General Manager at FM BioEnergy, part of the ForFamers network. “I was impressed with FM BioEnergy’s background; the fact they are part of the same network as biological giants Schaumann and have a strong focus on R&D,” says Ben. “But having already employed two biological consultants and seen no improvement, I was sceptical of repeating the same mistake. I decided to embark on a trial with FM BioEnergy and in February 2018, challenged Tim to successfully recommission the plant.”
Tim recommended the company’s dedicated BC ProStart micro/macro nutrient product, specifically designed to support AD plants during the delicate commissioning phase by creating optimal digester conditions for the bacteria to reproduce. He backed this up with an iron supplement, Atox:SCon, which has a fast reactivity to control hydrogen sulphide (H2S) levels in biogas. Working on the assumption that most of the previous biology had been lost, the feeding plan was quite conservative at first. But after a short period, it was aggressively increased (going from 0-50 tonnes of feedstock per day in just one month), to achieve a high gas output in a short timeframe.
This ensured the successful restart of the digester and impressed Ben enough to continue the partnership: “In May 2018, after rolling out of the commissioning phase, we agreed to retain FM BioEnergy’s services long-term; but I knew this was when the hard work would really begin. After all, the plant had been successfully commissioned the first time around only to subsequently fail, and I was well aware that our complex feedstock mix would still be a difficult fit for the plant’s design.”