Spanish AD plant deploys thermal energy recovery for biomethane digestate pasteurisation

Aug 4, 2026 A Spanish anaerobic digestion plant has become the first in the country to install an HRS Heat Exchangers Digestate Pasteurisation System (DPS), processing agricultural and livestock waste into 58 GWh of biomethane annually for grid injection. The facility, which commenced operations in 2025, supplies sufficient renewable gas for approximately 11,000 homes. The plant processes a mixture of whey, olive pomace, chicken manure and pig slurry. The resulting digestate must be pasteurised to comply with European animal by-products regulations (EC 1069/2009) before use as agricultural fertiliser, enabling a circular economy model that displaces synthetic fertilisers in rural areas. The HRS DPS pasteurises 200 tonnes of digestate daily using a corrugated double-tube heat exchanger that raises digestate temperature to 75°C. The system recovers approximately 50 per cent of thermal energy from hot pasteurised material to heat incoming feedstock, delivering annual savings of 1.75 million kilowatt-hours of thermal energy and reducing CO2 emissions by 375 tonnes. Spain's biomethane capacity is expanding rapidly: 12 operational sites in 2024 grew to 25 in 2025, with 46 facilities expected by end-2026 and 90 projected for 2027. According to HRS, efficient digestate management systems are critical as AD deployment accelerates across the region. LATEST NEWS Manage Cookie Consent We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience and enable essential functions on our website. Some cookies are categorised as "Necessary" are automatically stored on your browser as they are crucial for the basic operation of the site - they can no be adjusted using these tools. Additionally, we use third-party cookies to help us analyse your usage of the website. These cookies are stored in your browser only with your prior consent. You have the option to enable or disable some or all of these cookies. Statistical Cookies Statistical or analytical cookies are used to gain insights into how visitors interact with the website. These cookies collect data on metrics like visitor count, bounce rate, traffic sources, and more, helping us understand and improve site performance. Advertising Cookies Advertisement cookies deliver personalised ads based on the pages you previously visited and help analyse the effectiveness of ad campaigns.