AI to be rolled out into anaerobic digestion plants

Artificial intelligence (AI) could soon be integrated into anaerobic digestion plants.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, Patrick Harte, CTO of Carbon AMS, said the company is rolling out an AI system designed to improve the efficiency of anaerobic digestion plants by analysing large volumes of operational data.

The company has entered a strategic licensing agreement with Agbotic Inc. to the deploy the platform and optimise plant performance and increase biomethane output.

Monitors

The technology monitors metrics including tank temperatures, gas pressures, electrical loads and feedstock mixes to predict the most efficient operating conditions.

Harte said trials on Northern Ireland plants indicate AI could increase gas output by about 3%. On a 40GW plant, he said this could translate into “substantial” financial gains across €4m-€6m annual revenue streams.

Harte also addressed concerns over AI’s environmental footprint, explaining the system operates through low-energy edge computing on-site, powered by energy generated by the plant itself, rather than relying on energy-intensive cloud-based data centres.