Landia mixers and pumps pass acidic food waste test with Biogen

Mixers and pumps made by Whitchurch-based Landia are playing a vital role in the success of the Bygrave Lodge AD plant in Hertfordshire, designed, built and run by industry leaders, Biogen.

Processing 45,000 tonnes of food waste each year from supermarkets, food processors, households and the hospitality industry, Bygrave Lodge benefits from a total of four highly durable, energy-efficient Landia mixers.

A fully stainless steel 4.0kW DGR submersible chopper pump is utilised in the acidic environment of the food waste reception sump - whilst two 18.5kW POPTR-I side-entry Landia mixers are employed in the primary digester to maintain a homogenous mix. There is also a 7.5kW 1500 rpm Landia MPTK chopper pump, which is used for discharging the AD plant’s pasteuriser.

Keith Knight, Design Manager at Biogen, said: “The mixers are living up to the Landia reputation for top quality, efficiency and reliability. This is a process that can’t be handled with standard equipment, especially with the acidity in food waste, but we are confident of the longevity with Landia’s equipment, which has been proven on other Biogen sites.”

Landia’s pumps and mixers are also installed at Biogen’s food waste to green energy GwyriAD AD plant near Caernarfon in North Wales - and at Biogen’s Milton Ernest plant in Bedfordshire, where renewable energy is generated from pig slurry and food waste.

Producing 2MW, generating renewable electricity for up to 4,500 homes in Hertfordshire, Biogen’s Bygrave Lodge AD plant takes in food waste from ASDA, Ocado, Simmons Bakeries, KP Waste and The Grove Hotel. In addition to the renewable energy, the process also produces a nutrient-rich agricultural fertiliser for use on local farmland.