Biogas Safety first!

Recommendations for safe plant operation
1. Recommendations for the legal framework
In order to prevent overlaps in relation to safetyrelated
issues and areas of competence, ideally
the subject of safety at biogas plants should be
dealt with by just one ministry and its associated
authorities and agencies.
In Germany, all aspects of the law concerning
construction, waste management, the environment
and occupational and industrial health and
safety that are relevant to the construction and
operation of a biogas plant are examined as part
of the licensing process for biogas plants. In many
countries, however, there is no legal instrument
that provides for similarly comprehensive inspection
and regulatory approval.
If structures are set up in the new biogas markets
that establish comprehensive or even biogas
plant-specific licensing procedures, it would be
particularly important to include safety-related
and functional aspects (such as expert planning,
design of the plant, choice of components etc.) in
the licensing process. This could also be reviewed
by technical experts, if it is unrealistic for official
government inspections to occur.
In order to minimise or prevent problems with differing
or uncoordinated procedures for the licensing
and supervision of biogas plants, it is highly
important for biogas plants to be treated in the
same way across the whole country. It is therefore
advisable to develop a uniform regulatory framework
that applies nationwide (law, ordinance or
technical code). The regulatory framework should
define a state of the art for biogas plants that is
in line with international requirements. It should
contain all relevant requirements in one central
body of rules and regulations, be easily accessible
and easy to understand, and it should be updated
at regular intervals.
In order to ensure the safe operation of biogas
plants it is advisable to consider introducing an
expert appraiser system for biogas plants to examine
the licensing of biogas plants and to be
able to supervise the planning, construction and
operation of biogas plants at the time of commissioning
and at periodic intervals. The experience
gained from the appraisals should be collected
and analysed. The findings can then form the basis
for any adjustments that need to be made in
the regulatory framework.
Experience from cases of damage or accidents
should be recorded and then evaluated on the
basis of uniform criteria. The results can also
provide useful information in finding solutions to
problems and opportunities for optimisation. The
latest findings and insights from the biogas industry
should be made easily accessible in regular
publications and technical information sheets
and at conferences.
To ensure the safe operation of biogas plants, it
makes sense to comply with the European standards
and guidelines mentioned in this publication,
such as DIN EN 60529 (Degrees of protection
provided by enclosures (IP code)).
Constructively positive cooperation between planners,
operators, authorities and national biogas
associations (through working groups, position
papers, sharing of experience etc.) is crucial in
promoting the safe operation of biogas plants.
2. Training in the industry
Operators of biogas plants should have completed
recognised operator training and safety training
prior to start-up. The content of this training
should be chosen according to plant-specific
parameters (size, substrates etc.) and national
regulations.
The operators’ previously acquired expert knowledge
in the field of biogas should be refreshed at
regular intervals.
Specialised companies involved in planning,
construction, operation and maintenance should
be able to call upon defined and verifiable expert
knowledge, which should also be regularly refreshed.
Work on dangerous parts or components should
be performed by qualified and if necessary supervised
specialised companies.
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