ABDE Solutions

On Thursday, March 31, at the proposal of Alain Maron, Brussels Minister of Climate Transition, Environment and Public Health, and following a comparative analysis of several potential sites, the Government validated its preferred choice for the construction of the future biomethanization unit in the Brussels Capital Region to process the bio-waste of Brussels households and professionals. This is the “Step Nord” site, between the Buda Bridge and the Avenue de Vilvorde in Haren. The ultimate goal is for this unit to be able to treat between 25,000 and 30,000 tons of bio-waste per year through methanization to produce renewable energy in the form of biogas and quality compost to nourish the soil.
This future recovery of organic waste fits into the ambitious waste management policy of the Brussels government. A region with more sorted waste means more circularity and less incineration and therefore less CO2, a direct contribution to the fight against climate change, which will enable the Brussels Region to meet its environmental and climate objectives.
The biomethanation unit allows for better recovery of bio-waste with the production of compost and renewable energy (biogas), which is not possible with the current incineration process.
For Alain Maron, Brussels Minister of Health: “This is an important step that has just been taken. This unit will allow the processing of the organic waste of the people of Brussels. This waste is a resource that must be recycled. Together with the municipalities, businesses and, above all, the people of Brussels who sort and will further sort their kitchen and table waste, we will create a circular region.
This site, located along the canal in an industrial zone in the immediate vicinity of the northern wastewater treatment plant, offers numerous advantages in terms of limiting the risk of nuisance, but also in terms of synergies with neighboring industrial activities, allowing maximum recovery of the biogas produced and thus maximizing the environmental benefits of treating bio-waste through biomethanization. This also creates a circular economy cluster with the Buda sector of Brussels Environmental Services nearby.
This choice was made based on the conclusions of the study carried out by the consulting firm ABDE & partner, which also worked in partnership with Brussels Cleaning and Brussels Environment on the specifics of the functional program, both in terms of the tonnages and types of waste treated, the method of biogas recovery and the technical choices to be made to ensure good quality compost that can return organic matter to the soil. An initial economic analysis has also made it possible to validate that the construction of the future biomethanation unit will make it possible to reduce the cost of treating Brussels bio-waste while ensuring control of an effective and sustainable treatment solution on the territory of the Region.
The next steps in the project are the appointment of a project management officer, whose task will be to draw up the technical specifications and all the documents needed to start the design, construction and commissioning of the biomethanization unit by the end of the year.
The ultimate goal is for the plant to be operational by 2026. In parallel, various operational and financial arrangements will be worked out and analyzed with the various government departments involved. The discussion on the partnership with the private players in this sector will take place within the government after the summer.
In the long term, the future biomethanization site should allow for

• treat 25 to 30,000 tons of bio-waste per year through biomethanization, coming from selective collections from Brussels households and professionals;
• treat the digestate at the exit of the digester by co-composting it with the woody part of green waste collected selectively or voluntarily brought in by professionals to produce compost;
• To valorize the biogas produced by cogeneration in a useful way, on the one hand for the plants’ own needs (including heating the buildings) and on the other hand for another use outside the biomethanization unit.

Specifically:

• Location: site of the northern wastewater treatment plant between the Buda bridge and the Vilvorde avenue no. 450
• Capacity: between 25,000 and 30,000 tonnes of methanizable waste (converted into biogas) + 5,000 tonnes/year of co-composted green waste
• Production : the total electricity production will correspond to the production of two onshore wind turbines (not offshore) and the electricity production excluding own consumption of the plant with 1 onshore wind turbine. In other words, this will correspond to the consumption of about 4,000 inhabitants and a net heat production of about 800 inhabitants.
  As for compost, the unit will produce about 5,000 tons of compost per year.
• Purpose: production of heat and electricity by cogeneration plus part as biofuel
• Which waste? Municipal bio-waste (orange and green bags) + professional bio-waste
• Budget: between 30 and 40 million Euros. The treatment cost per tonne of bio-waste will be lower than in the current situation
• Commissioning in 2026.