Hydromanagement Ltd from October 2012 to June 2015 implemented the research program entitled: “Energy Utilization and Processing of Wine Waste”. The “Stelios Kehris” Estate, external collaborators from the Technical University of Crete and the Democritus University of Thrace have made a significant contribution to the project. The project was proposed as a “good practice” project by EYDE – ETAK.
As part of the program, experimental research was carried out which confirmed that wine grapes and liquid waste can be used for energy production. Thus, at the winery of the “Stelios Kehris” estate in Kalochori Thessaloniki, a pilot system for their anaerobic treatment was installed and operated, as well as an innovative energy production system with fuel cell technology.
In the installed system, the liquid waste was anaerobically digested in a shaped tank with a capacity of two tons, where excellent quality biogas was produced while the organic load was also removed at a rate of 95%. Simulated biogas was then produced energy in an environmentally friendly manner, minimizing the produced CO2, NO and H2S which are the usual by-products of common biogas combustion engines. The biogas was reformed to produce H2 and fed into specially designed fuel cells to generate electricity.
The conclusions of the research include different sustainable and attractive systems both for the processing and for the utilization of wine waste suitable for the Greek market, the market of Mediterranean countries and the Balkans. The research continues beyond the scope of the program in order to optimize its results.
