Biogas for the glass melting process

As a responsible company committed to the principles of sustainability, Saint-Gobain Oberland AG is committed to making every endeavour to further reduce its CO2 emissions. The company is therefore planning to use biogas for glass container production in a pilot project at its Bad Wurzach facility.   

For this purpose it is intended to construct a biogas plant on the factory site that will generate biogas for the glass melting process that takes place there.    

For technical production reasons, considerable volumes of fossil fuels (natural gas, heating oil) are required for the manufacture of glass containers. Saint-Gobain Oberland – as an energy-intensive company – has therefore decided to increase its use of renewables-based energies in order to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and lower CO2 emissions so that its manufacturing processes remain sustainable well into the future.

The biogas generated on-site is intended to fuel our tank furnaces directly. The treatment and conversion stages are not necessary.

For the design and planning of our plant we have therefore formed a project team composed of scientists involved in biogas research, together with operators of existing plants and plant engineers. We intend to construct a modern, cutting-edge industrial biogas plant to which the pre-treated substrate – out of waste material that is constantly being generated – only needs to be delivered.

A depression hall, where the substrate deliveries as well as the storage of digestates for pick up is located, guarantees an odorless process for the environment.

For the manner in which we plan to harness biogas, no state subsidies or guaranteed income schemes are available – as there would normally be for electricity generated from biogas.

“Even though there do not exist subsidies for this kind of facility, we decided deliberately for the best technical and the most energy-efficient solution. We see in this a huge chance for us to lead the glass industry. Certainly the opinions of our neighbors of the plant are very important for us. For this purpose we implemented an email-address for questions, suggestions and representations”, commentates Stefan Jaenecke, chief executive officer of Saint-Gobain Oberland AG.

We are open to your opinions and proposals. Please write to us at energiesicherung.oberland@saint-gobain.com.