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From straw to gold: LEHMANN makes extrusion shine

 

The extruder is painted green for a reason: whether for biogas or as a peat substitute - it conserves resources and protects the environment.

Extruder and feeding technology from Lehmann UMT

Extrusion without limits

Lehmann-UMT GmbH, a German mechanical engineering company, has developed the key technology for defibering various organic materials with its bioextruder. The extruder is used worldwide in the field of substrate processing for biogas plants. It enables the gas yield to be increased and makes lignin-containing substrates, such as straw, usable in biogas plants. The system is used to produce fibers from wood, coconut and other materials, which are used in potting soil production as an environmentally friendly alternative to peat.

High pressure to success - Bioextrusion by LEHMANN

Bioextrusion is based on the hydrothermal decomposition of organic biomass using a steam-explosion-process. Two counter-rotating screws, partially break the raw materials down to the cellular level. This process ensures a thousand-fold increase in surface area.

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More yield from biomass - the key to green gold

The LEHMAN-UMT extruder offers biogas plant operators a highly efficient solution for substrate processing that significantly increases the gas yield (by up to 20 %). With this innovative technology, agricultural waste and residual materials such as straw and miscanthus can be processed and used profitably and sustainably - both for energy production in biogas plants and for the production of bioethanol. By increasing the surface of the source materials, floating layers in the fermenter are reduced. Consequently, less stirring energy is required, which results in lower energy costs.

 

Extrudiert vs unextrudiert

On course for growth with fibers from the extruder

Peat extraction is a silent climate killer, as it releases large quantities of stored CO₂. This is a wake-up call for potting soil suppliers: peat substitutes are becoming indispensable for sustainable and future-oriented action. The LEHMANN-UMT extruder enables the flexible defibration of various materials such as wood chips, coconut or forest residues. The resulting fibers are characterized by optimum stability and water storage capacity, which qualifies them as a peat substitute in potting soil production. The largest soil plant in Portugal, for example, has been using LEHMANN-UMT bioextruders for over 10 years. The soil plant invested in a 90 kW extruder back in 2014. In order to meet the growing demand, the plant concept was expanded in 2024 to include a new 180 kW extruder from LEHMANN. As a result, 73.6 m³ of wood fibers are produced every day.