With the biogas boom in Germany over the last two decades, the proportion of corn in agriculture has also increased significantly. The advantages of this fast-growing crop are clear to operators: corn not only offers a high yield, but also a very good methane yield thanks to its high energy density. The proportion of corn on arable land in Germany is correspondingly high and this is precisely where the big problem lies: because large monocultures damage ecological diversity and the environment. The German government has also recognised this and has limited the use of corn and cereal grains in biogas plants in an amendment to the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG).
But there are alternatives to corn. In addition to other plant species, dung and liquid manure are the solution, as farm manure has enormous potential for energy use in biogas plants. Until now, dung in particular has tended to be ignored in biogas production. The reason: dung contains many fibrous components such as straw, which have to be shredded before being fed into the biogas plant. With our AK series, this problem is a thing of the past! The robust shredders process dung, as well as potatoes and beet, which are also popular in biogas plants, efficiently and economically. Even with lumpy and tough input material, the mobile fine shredder achieves very good homogenisation and straw defibration. The best thing about it is that the straw can be flexibly defibred into different grades as required thanks to our technical solutions in the impact plate, flail tips and rear baskets.