GAS-TESS

SA Water approached 1414 Degrees to develop a thermal energy storage system (TESS) charged with gas, rather than electricity, which could store the energy from the biogas created in their wastewater treatment process.

The result is the GAS-TESS, the first technology in the world to solve the issue of effectively storing biogas as thermal energy to produce heat and electricity on demand.

SA Water is a leader in sewage treatment. A by-product of the wastewater treatment process is biogas, this is a highly economical source of renewable energy, however, there are challenges in storing the gas which generally must be used as it is generated.

SA Water approached us with the idea of using our technology to help them time-shift their use of biogas. Wastewater treatment plants want a stable, consistent source of heat, lower maintenance costs, and electricity when it’s needed.

Biogas usage options:

1. 1414 DEGREES GAS-TESS: timeshifts the use of biogas energy, delivers constant hot water to feed the digestion process and lower operating and maintenance costs.

2. FLARE: biogas is burnt resulting in wasted energy and carbon dioxide emissions.

3. GAS-ENGINE GENERATOR: biogas is burnt in reciprocating engines to generate electricity and heat. Costly pre-treatment of the gas is often required, maintenance costs are high and generation cannot be matched with demand.

The GAS-TESS time-shifts energy usage by burning untreated biogas at high temperatures and storing the energy as heat. This heat will then pass through an energy recovery system, converting to hot water and electricity on demand.