The city of Aurich is breaking new ground in the use of waste heat. While for heat pumps the geothermal heat or the ambient air served as heat source so far, in East Friesland, the waste heat from the wastewater of a dairy farm is used. The pre-treated 30 ° C warm water of the milk processing plant heats the water of the city’s district heating network through heat exchangers to 25 ° C, then it is heated by a heat pump to a maximum of 60 ° C and distributed to the heating system and hot water supply.
Different facilities are connected to this system in the near future, and the heat potential allows to connect to other buildings on the approximately one km long district heating line, or to use it for sound other measures on the sewage plant, for example, the drying of sewage sludge, said Mimke Schulz, manager of the sewerage of the municipality. The project could therefore also contribute to the targeted goal of an energy self-sufficient purification plant. In any case, for the city of Aurich is the use of this renewable source of energy an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional technology with good prospects for an economic operation.
