Tuesday 2 October 2012

world’s largest biogas plants constructing in Malaysia

NIRAS is design advisor and provides consultancy assistance in a project which is to gather the entire Sarawak pig production around what will become one of the world’s largest biogas plants based on pig manure

When, next summer, the local government in the Sarawak province on Borneo, Malaysia, start using their new biogas plant, NIRAS has drawn up the basic design as a basis of a functional tender.

NIRAS has, further, assisted technically in the tender process up to the selection of contractor, and we have commented on the contractor’s detailed project. During the construction of the biogas plant NIRAS provides ongoing special consultancy. One approach is a progress report from the site, which includes commented photos. This is a highly effective method of “remote inspection”.

At present, the plant, which, once completed, will be able to treat and utilise the biomass from 250,000 pigs, consists of 8,000 pigs in piggeries operated by the individual former independent pig farmers. There are areas for pig breeding, slaughterhouse, workforce facilities and plants for treatment of the pig manure and sewage sludge from the slaughterhouse.

NIRAS is sub-consultant for local consulting engineer Jurutera Jasa. Jurutera Jasa is the developer’s advisor on the biogas plant and is involved in all processes from design, tender and contracting, via realisation/construction supervision to start-up and handover of the plant.

The plant is situated in the Sarawak province on the island of Borneo in Malaysia and has been named “The Livestock Farming Area (LFA) at Pasir Puteh, Samarahan Division”.
Construction in stages

The entire plant covers a total area of approx. 3.2 by 4.2 kilometres, of which the actual biogas plant covers an area of approx. 300 by 480 m2 (exclusive of collection reservoirs and floating aquatic plant system).

The plant is built in stages. The farm is constructed on an ongoing basis ending with a total capacity of 250,000 pigs. At present agreements are being entered into with pig farmers about moving their production to the farm.

The slaughterhouse and biogas plant are constructed to their full capacity from the start. The slaughterhouse was completed in 2011. The construction of the biogas plant started in 2011 and is expected to be finished in the course of the summer of 2013.