CLEARFLEAU APPOINTS CEO
As part of strategic plans to drive forward the development of the business, following the completion of the BV Dairy project, Craig Chapman is joining Clearfleau as its Chief Executive Officer. Craig joins from CEL International, a member of the WSP Group, the UK based project management and engineering company where he was a Director. Craig will be attending the UK AD & Biogas 2010 exhibition to meet clients and partners.
Craig has been active within the process industries, particularly in the food, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and energy sectors, for most of his career. He has held a variety of roles in general management, operations and particularly sales and marketing with previous employers. In addition to CEL these include Bovis Lend Lease, Invensys APV, Bioengineering and Neu Engineering. Craig has developed and introduced new strategy, recommended and made acquisitions, managed the return of loss making businesses to profit and has a proven track record in business development and the growth of sales. He has experience both in the UK and internationally.
Tony Gover, Chairman of Clearfleau, comments:
‘We are delighted that Craig is joining Clearfleau to lead the next phase of our development. The area of renewable energy is one which has immense potential and we are confident that Clearfleau will be a significant player with Craig having an important role in the achievement of this goal’.
Craig joins Clearfleau, which supplies systems for the treatment of liquid bio wastes, at an exciting time in its development. The company has nearly completed the build of the anaerobic effluent treatment and power plant, funded by WRAP that will digest and treat dairy waste at BV Dairy Limited in North Dorset. Designed and built by Clearfleau, the plant will produce biogas from the treatment of whey and other feedstocks. The power and surplus heat produced will be used in processing operations on the site. When the plant is fully operational it should reduce BV Dairy’s carbon footprint by about 60%.
Clearfleau is exhibiting on 7th and 8th July at the UK AD & Biogas 2010 exhibition, being held at the NEC, Birmingham. This event, the first anaerobic digestion trade show in the UK, provides a platform for a wide range of suppliers of products and services. It will enable visitors to assess the range of technologies available, as the industry responds to growing political and commercial interest. Visit Clearfleau on stand 67, in NEC Hall 10.
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April 2010
Clearfleau - BV Dairy project on track
Jan 2010 Nov 09
Clearfleau at DECC Low Carbon Event 2010
Construction Commences on BV Dairy Site to Treat Dairy Effluent
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April 2010
Clearfleau - BV Dairy project on track
The BV Dairy Anaerobic Digestion (AD) project funded by the Environment Transformation Fund (ETF)* is on track despite a challenging winter, with the site covered in snow for most of January. The on-site facility, which will produce biogas from liquid effluent, will enable BV Dairy to utilise the energy (renewable power and surplus heat) produced from liquid waste in their production process.
Richard Gueterbock, Director commented:
“Despite the weather the construction team have excelled themselves. We expect commissioning to begin as planned in June. Once it is operating the plant will be open for visitors from the dairy sector and across the food industry.”
Work on the on-site biogas plant started in November 2009 and the civil build part of the project has been completed, with the main reactor tank in place and the other tanks installed. The mechanical and electrical installation phase starts after Easter, with the fitting out of the tanks and installation of the ancillary process equipment.
This demonstration project funded by the ETF for innovative Anaerobic Digestion (AD) will showcase a fully commercial application of the technology. BV Dairy was selected by the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to showcase this novel liquid digestion technology. The full scale BV Dairy facility will have the capacity to treat all the liquid waste produced on their site. The liquid AD plant operates with a hydraulic retention time of 5 days and is suited to installation on confined sites.
For two years after it is operational the BV Dairy project will be accessible as a demonstration site for the industrial application of AD. Clearfleau is already looking at other applications in the dairy sector, as well as in food processing and in brewing and drinks production.
*Note the BV Dairy project is featured (on page 28) in the recently published DEFRA AD Implementation Plan – “Accelerating the uptake of Anaerobic Digestion in England”. The five ETF projects are highlighted in the report as part of the strategy of extending the use of AD in a range of sectors and applications.
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Jan 2010
Clearfleau at DECC Low Carbon Event 2010
Clearfleau joined other technology companies exhibiting at DECC’s (Department of Energy and Climate Change) Renewable & Low Carbon Technology Exhibition Day on 13th January 2010. This event was organised to update DECC staff and other officials on innovative low carbon technologies.
Richard Gueterbock, Director of Clearfleau, said:
"Clearfleau was pleased to be asked by DECC to showcase the BV Dairy project and highlight the range of industrial sectors where our on-site energy from waste system can operate. These include food and drink, plus bio-fuel and other industries that produce bio-effluent.
During 2010 Clearfleau is planning to undertake further on-site trials with a range of industrial effluents. These will include dairy products, effluent from food and drink processing plus brewery and distillery waste”.
Clearfleau’s trials at BV Dairy in late 2009, with the mobile anaerobic treatment plant, exceeded expectations. The trials reduced COD* from the input level of 30,000 mg/L (36 kg per day) to about 300 mg/L. This level of performance represents a significant load reduction and will reduce costs significantly on industrial sites where effluent is discharged to sewer or hauled off-site for disposal.
Clearfleau’s mobile AD plant has been relocated to the site of a Somerset cheese maker for trials on whey, during January and February before moving to another site. These on-site trials demonstrate Clearfleau’s robust liquid AD process, which can also be integrated with existing treatment systems, and show how it can curb treatment costs and reduce the carbon footprint of processing operations.
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Nov 09
Construction Commences on BV Dairy Site to Treat Dairy Effluent
Construction is underway on BV Dairy’s site, where Clearfleau is building an innovative on-site liquid digestion facility that will transform the treatment of liquid effluent produced during the processing of dairy products.
This exciting anaerobic digestion (AD) project will deliver renewable energy to BV Dairy Ltd, which is located in North Dorset. Work commenced on-site in mid November.
Following the award of a WRAP grant, BV Dairy Ltd is installing Clearfleau’s design of innovative AD plant to treat its liquid waste. The plant will be operational by September 2010.
The BV Dairy Project was selected in June 2009 as a demonstration project, under the WRAP Environment Transformation Fund (ETF) for Innovative Anaerobic Digestion, funded by DEFRA.
Clearfleau’s system will enable BV Dairy to replace fossil fuel energy consumption with renewable electricity and heat. The digestion tank is under 1000m3 and the plant will generate 305 kWh of electricity and about 175 kWh of surplus heat, from 200 m3 of feedstock per day.
Clearfleau has been operating its mobile anaerobic treatment plant at BV Dairy for 3 months. This containerised unit has a tank capacity of 10m3 (this is 1% of the capacity of the full scale digester). The mobile unit is used for process optimisation purposes but it is also available for on-site trials.
Initial trials at BV Dairy have exceeded expectations. Clearfleau’s mobile plant was able to reduce the feedstock’s chemical oxygen demand (COD) by more than 95%and will significantly reduce the cost of discharge to sewer.
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June 09
Renewable Energy from Dairy Waste
Clearfleau Limited is delighted to have had its liquid anaerobic digestion technology selected as part of a preferred project, through the Environment Transformation Fund (ETF) Anaerobic Digestion demonstration programme which is administered by WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme), on behalf of DEFRA. The project will enable BV Dairy to replace much of their current energy needs with renewable energy generated from biogas, produced from unwanted liquid waste
BV Dairy, a family owned dairy processing company located near Shaftesbury in Dorset, processes milk from local dairy farms. The on-site energy plant will recycle energy (generated as heat and power from biogas) back to the dairy, where it will be used to replace energy derived from fossil fuels, thereby reducing the site�s carbon footprint.
The project is supported by Dairy UK, the industry trade association, which is engaged in a national exercise to reduce the carbon footprint of the dairy industry. Clearfleau�s novel AD technology is the first of its type to be installed on a commercial dairy site in the UK. During the first 2 years of operation it will be run as a demonstration site for food industry treatment of liquid waste.
Commenting on the selection for the ETF funding Richard Gueterbock, Director of Clearfleau, said: "We have been working with BV Dairy for some time to come up with an effective way of treating their effluent that reduces the environmental impact of the business. The power unit will be located alongside the BV Dairy plant and will feed electricity and heat back into the factory. We will start building the installation later this year and will have it operating by mid 2010. It will provide an exciting commercial showcase for our technology"
Jim Highnam, the Managing Director of BV Dairy, said: "The anticipated WRAP support for this innovative energy project is very welcome. This is a demonstration project for the dairy industry and also a major investment in the future of our business. Although we have yet to secure planning permission for the proposed site, it will help us to supply our customers with high quality dairy products made from local milk, in an energy efficient and environmentally conscious way. We are delighted to be working with WRAP and Clearfleau to demonstrate a technology that can be replicated across the dairy industry."
Clearfleau has developed a cost-effective solution for biogas generation from liquid effluent that is produced in the processing of food and drink products. Clearfleau�s system for anaerobic digestion of liquids will generate 45,000 kWh per week of electricity and 30,000 kWh of surplus heat from about 1,000m3 of liquid effluent per week. This is sufficient energy to run about 450 average sized houses for a year and will replace a significant proportion of the energy required within the business.
The selection of the project was announced today by the Rt Hon Hilary Benn, DEFRA Secretary of State, following detailed evaluation conducted by WRAP and DEFRA officials with external consultants. The project will highlight the energy saving and carbon reduction potential of the process, which is also suited for a range of applications in the food and drink processing sector.
About BV Dairy
For further information about BV Dairy please visit www.bvdairy.co.uk
About the ETF
WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) helps individuals, businesses and local authorities to reduce waste and recycle more, making better use of resources and helping to tackle climate change. WRAP is delivering the Environmental Transformation Fund (ETF) AD demonstration programme on behalf of DEFRA (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The names of the preferred bidders (subject to contract negotiations and planning permission) that have been selected for the ETF AD projects were announced on the 8th June by the Rt Hon Hilary Benn, following a challenging submission and selection process that started in late 2008. For further information about the ETF please visit www.wrap.org.uk/composting/etf.html
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