USDA support for Anaerobic Digestion in Oakley Kansas can be seen as a positive move which once again shows that biogas plants are viable and are part of an overal picture in the US in which home production of energy is rising, alongside better fuel efficiency to drastically reduce the drain of wealth and job resources abroad which goes hand-in-hand with the importation of energy from abroad.
Frequently, the fact that biogas plant will provide local jobs has been given less prominence than it should have been, so it is good to read of the number of local jobs that this biogas project will generate. Please read our excerpt from the original article below, and click on the lnk at the bottom for further information:
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on April 9 the USDA approval of a $5 million payment to Western Plains Energy LLC to support the construction of a boigas producing anaerobic digester in Oakley, Kan. The completed project will utilize waste energy resources from a local cattle feedlot to replace almost 90 percent of the fossil fuels currently used by Western Plains Energy. The funding of this project is expected to create 15 full-time positions and almost 100 additional construction opportunities.
"For the first time in 13 years, imported oil accounts for less than 50 percent of the oil consumed in America. That is because we are producing more domestically, using more alternative fuels, and using less energy through energy efficiency efforts," said Vilsack. "Projects such as this are a key part of the Obama Administration's all-of-the-above approach to American energy that is supporting the development and usage of renewable energy, revitalizing rural economies and creating an America built to last."
Western Plains Energy expects to complete construction of the biogas digester in August. It is scheduled to become fully operational in 2013. The digester is expected to produce enough biogas to replace 89 percent of the fossil fuel that Western Plains currently uses to provide process heat at its Oakley ethanol plant, which produces 50 million gallons of ethanol annually.
Animal waste from a local feedlot will be the primary feedstock that Western Plains will use for the digester. It also will use grain dust as well as waste from a variety of industrial food and municipal facilities. Western Plains expects to be able to produce more than 100 million Btu of renewable energy per hour daily.
Today's announcement was made under USDA Rural Development's Repowering Assistance Program. This program was authorized under the 2008 Farm Bill. It allows USDA to make payments to eligible biorefineries to encourage the use of renewable biomass as a replacement fuel source for fossil fuels used to provide process heat or power in the operation of these eligible biorefineries. Biorefineries that were in existence when the bill was enacted, June 18, 2008, are eligible to apply. For more information, visit www.rurdev.usda.gov/BCP_RepoweringAssistance.html.
Support for renewable energy projects such as these is an example of the many ways USDA is helping revitalize rural economies. This support for these innovative technologies creates opportunities for growth and prosperity, helps identify new markets for agricultural producers, and better utilizes our nation's natural resources. For more information on USDA energy efforts, click here.
USDA, through its rural development mission area, administers and manages more than 40 housing, business and community infrastructure and facility programs through a national network of employees in the nation's capital and state and local offices. Rural development has an active portfolio of more than $165 billion in affordable loans and loan guarantees. These loans and loan guarantees are designed to improve the economic stability of rural communities, businesses, residents, farmers and ranchers and improve the quality of life in rural America.
We recently featured a posting in which Little Miss Muffet made an appearance in a discussion of on-farm AD, so we've been waiting for a chance to better that, no matter how tenuous the link! Hence, our title!
We are often told that the wet anaerobic digestion process, as used for the "standard" type mesophilic biogas digesters so commonly used on-farms and for food waste digestion, must be the consistency of a porridge. Like Goldilocks in the Three Bears nursery tale insisted, it must be just right. Not too hot, not too cold and no doubt also just the right consistency too.
Within an AD Plant the temperature is controlled by hot water heating pipes which are often fixed around the inner side of the perimeter wall, and use hot water from the jacket of the engine, otherwise known as (part of) the CHP output, and that is not hard to achieve. But, getting the consistency right and keeping it right while mixing the reactor completely for a good biogas yield is much trickier.
That's why we were interested to read the following press release from Landia, in the following application at the newly completed Burdens’ AD plant. We hope that you find it of interest.
Landia’s Pumps Help Bring Healthy Gas Yields to Burdens’ AD Plant
Tough durable pumps from Landia are playing an integral part in the success of Burdens’ innovative anaerobic digestion biogas plant at Llangadog in Carmarthenshire, South Wales.
Designed with additional shredding knives to cut and pull raw waste into the pump at the AD plant’s reception tank, Landia’s 7.5kw MPTK-I Chopper Pump is proving extremely reliable and effective, according to Burdens’ Project Engineer, Arrash Shirani:
“With Landia we have developed a very efficient pre-treatment chopping and blending process. We are achieving just the right consistency for the mixed feedstock, which results in very healthy gas yields”.
The hydrolysis tank at Llangadog is also served by a Landia pump that sends the blended material to the pasteurization unit. This MPTK-I 2.2kW Transfer Pump offers high performance but with very low energy consumption.
“Importantly too,” added Shirani, “we have no downtime because both Landia pumps just keep on working, so we save on costs, time and hassle with maintenance, which is also a big benefit”.
Located on the edge of the Brecon Beacons by a Site of Special Interest (SSI), Burdens’ AD biogas plant at Llangadog operates in conjunction with a Carmarthenshire County Council civic amenity site – and also as a demonstration plant to test different types and combinations of feedstock.
The separated hydrolysis system from Burdens is a key part of this new type of plant for capacities of around 10-50 tonnes per week. By combining modular components that can be scaled up as demand increases, it helps manage the risk of large speculative investment. Every part of each sub- assembly is available off the shelf, and can be bolted together to develop increasingly larger systems, suitable for all possible AD requirements from 30 tonnes of waste per week up to 100 tonnes per week.
The process and monitoring systems enable maximum constant yields of biogas to be maintained, delivering increased efficiency – typically up to 30% better than existing methods – also with far less operator supervision required.
Did we go too far with our Goldilocks and the Three Bears analogy? Did it get you to read this? You have the opportunity to comment! Why not give us your thoughts using the website commenting facility?
I recently became aware of the following forthcoming auction for the plant illustrated here, and I thought that although originally only intended for subscribers to the www.landfill-gas.com website Newsletter, by also publishing details about it here may help one or two US readers to fulfil forthcoming plant needs.
In fact, given that the cost of equipment bought at auction can be much lower than the equipment’s cost new, and provide a low cost entry point for those who have been seeking to install EfW at a currently flare-only landfill, this may just possibly be your chance to begin to ultilize your biogas and profit from current high (and sometimes also subsidized) feed-in tarrifs available from many electricity power companies.
So here are the details:
Secured Party Sale ONLINE ONLY AUCTION
(3) Complete 2 mW Co-Generation Systems Previously operated at Dean Foods
Franklin, MA ■ Lynn, MA ■ City of Industry, CA
Date: Bidding Closes Tuesday, May 22nd Inspection: By Appointment Only
Each 2 mW Co-Generation System Includes:
2001 - GE Jenbacher JGS 616GS NL Natural gas fired 16 cylinder turbo charged skid mounted, water cooled generator
2006 - Cain Industries ESG1-824D17.6CSS Natural gas exhaust steam generated water tube boiler
2004 - Steuler SCR and catalyst system
2006 - Jenbacher PLC generator control centers
Quincy and Pioneer gas compressors, as new as 2005
2006 - Horiba Enda E-4220L Continuous emissions monitoring system
All accompanying support equipment, replacement parts and supplies
And more!
Check out the full details of this online auction at:
where you will also find details about how to register to participate.
(We recommend that the buyer consults the manufacturers as appropriate for advice on suitability for this plant for use at your landfill. Biogas quality, the presence of impurities, and corrosion are all aspects which need considering when selecting plant for gas utilization.)
About the auctioneer:
Capital Recovery Group is a recognized leader in the appraisal and disposition of industrial and commercial assets.
Capital Recovery Group, LLC 1654 King Street, Suite 9 Enfield, CT 06082 Tel: 860-623-9060 Fax: 860-623-9160
If you want to know more about them you could do worse than spend five minutes on their website, read their testimonials page, and take note of the list of blue chip companies they list as clients.
We hope that you found this email of interest. At Landfill-Gas.com we are always pleased to receive comments and feedback, and we would be delighted to hear from you if you have any comments about this or any other aspect of our communications.
With the announcement of economic figures last week, which show that the UK has slipped back into recession, many are asking what the coalition government is doing to stimulate the economy at a time when clearly everything conceivably possible which might boost business, and benefit the nation, should be being done by them.
Thankfully, the Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas industry, is being recognised as one such case, and there have been some really positive moves forward by the UK government in the form of the announcements which we have listed below:
Rural Planning Requirement Relaxed for Small-scale Anaerobic Digestion
A number of renewable energy technologies including anaerobic digestion have received a boost following revisions to the English Town and Country Planning Order.
From April 2012 small-scale energy installations in England built on agricultural or forestry land will be exempt from planning permission under amendments to the Order.
The amendment means that planning permission will no longer be required for farmers and landowners who install anaerobic digesters or any associated storage buildings with a ground area of less than 465 square metres on farming or non-domestic land.
The changes could result in a significant boost to the rural economy by removing legislative red tape, reducing energy bills for farmers and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.
Feed-in Tariff Scheme Rates Increased for Anaerobic Digestion from 2 April 2012
Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs) subsidy rates for electricity generated through anaerobic digestion have today been increased in line with the retail price index.
The tariffs are now as follows:
For a digester less than 250kW in size the rate is now 14.7 p/kWh For a digester between 250 and 500kW in size the rate is 13.7 p/kWh For a digester between 500kW and 5MW in size the rate is 9.9 p/kWh
For more information visit the Department of Energy and Climate Change FiTs web page www.decc.gov.uk/fits/.
UK Bioenergy Strategy Published
The UK Government published its Bioenergy Strategy on 26April 2012. Bioenergy is expected to play a key role in meeting the UK's 2020 renewable energy target as well as longer term carbon reduction targets to 2030 and 2050. But the Government also recognise that bioenergy is not automatically low carbon, renewable or sustainable: alongside its many positives, bioenergy carries risks.
The UK Bioenergy Strategy, published jointly by DECC, Defra, DfT sets a framework of principles to guide UK bioenergy policy in a way that secures its benefits, while managing these risks. The strategy’s overarching principle is that bioenergy must be produced sustainably and that there is a role for UK Government to steer sustainable development of bioenergy in the UK and as far as possible internationally.
A number of organisations provided supporting evidence for the report including bioeconomy consultants NNFCC, who predict the UK anaerobic digestion industry is likely to have an installed capacity of 320-580 MWth by 2020 and support up to 2,500 jobs with more than half being permanent.
At Bernd Mueller’s farm in Bockhorn, North West Germany, his investment in a new chicken barn would normally set him back with a €15,000 annual heating bill, but thanks to the efficiency of his biogas plant, this expenditure will be zero. What is even better is the fact that his 40,000 chickens will provide him with the manure he’ll mix with maize to produce and sell 725kW per hour of renewable energy produced every day.
This is all a far cry from just five years ago when Bernd was considering whether to expand his dairy cattle herd in order to try and make his farm more profitable.
“Buying more cows just didn’t compare to the potential I could see in biogas,” said Bernd.
“It has taken some time to go through the planning stages and fine-tune everything, but it has all been very worth it”.
Bernd Muller checks that all is well with his biogas process
Initially, Bernd used only maize as his feedstock, but now finds that a combination of 90% maize and 10% chicken manure produces much more gas. This increased biogas production which can be viewed at a glance via the monitoring system on his computer screen.
Now at this point, those that have some knowledge of the AD process will be slightly puzzled, as chicken manure would be unlikely to raise the gas production rate very much, given that it has a fairly low biogas potential compared with maize. Well, you would be right about that, and the reason for the increase is also down to efficient mixing getting the most out of the new manure feed.
Landia’s mixers help boost farmer’s biogas
Look a bit deeper into the biogas production rate and you will find out that at the heart of the biogas operation are three Landia PowerMix side entry mixers, positioned at the bottom, middle and top of the 21m diameter, 9.8m high digester.
Utilizing recirculated liquid from the continuous process with a total of 37 tonnes of maize and three tonnes of chicken manure per day, Bernd produces electricity for use on the farm, with ample left-over to sell to Germany’s national energy grid. His fully automated system can also pass heat on to neighbours and maintain digester temperatures when necessary in winter, as well as service the new chicken barn, and a further one planned.
“Good mixing is essential to the reliability and productivity of my biogas system,” says Bernd.
“Landia’s mixers do an excellent job and haven’t given me any problems at all”, he added.
Maize for Bernd Muller's biogas plant
It also hasn’t escaped Bernd’s attention that the Landia mixers minimise energy consumption. Landia explains that, correctly sized mixing system allows adjustment of mixing operation times to types and quantities of feedstock, dry matter content and gas production. High methane percentage not only depends on the feedstock mix but very much on good mixing. It is the most essential tool for mechanical process optimization in the digester and can be controlled by the biogas plant’s monitoring system.
Trends are duly noted through the monitoring system probes, and should any of the monitored parameters look set to adversely affect the process, an alarm is raised. It is also important to ensure that the gas the plant produces is at all times cleaned, and then cooled from 41 degrees to 8 degrees, before it enters the big 12 cylinder DEUTZ engine (which is connected to the electrical turbine).
In addition to all the benefits from their biogas plant, the farm also gains a greatly enhanced digestate product for use as a fertilizer – a proportion of which is sold on.
In addition, the entire process is virtually odour-free.
Efficiency is, as reported by Landia, evidently extremely high at Bernd’s farm. Last year a 97% electricity production time rate was recorded, with just 3% of output lost during engine maintenance. They are currently receiving a fixed price for electricity, and that regular income clearly helps with budgeting. Bernd’s profits have the potential to rise even further, Landia report, if the farm management reduces the balance of maize which is bought-in, by growing more themselves. Currently, only 40% is produced on the farm against the 60% balance which is bought from other farms.
Harper Adams University College in Shropshire is leading the way in creating and utilising sustainable energy through a £3 million plus renewable power system.
The rural focused college which has been five times winner of the Sunday Times University Guide 'University College of the Year' was one of three higher education institutions in England that are sharing a £10 million fund set aside for 'transformational projects under the Higher Education Funding Council for England's Revolving Green Fund.
The institution has put this towards an Anaerobic Digester plant which was constructed in 2011 and began generating power and heat towards the end of April the same year.
Recycling landfill bound waste
The plant uses 12,000 tonnes of food waste which would otherwise end up at landfill sites and 11,000 tonnes of dairy and pig slurry from farms. When opened it was anticipated that the digester would offset campus carbon emissions more than three times over. The digester produces renewable electricity and provides the campus with a highly effective waste management system.
The system also reduces the University College's reliance on manufactured fertilisers as the waste that is digested in it is recycled into liquid fertiliser and compost which can then be used for the farm and grounds operations.
Award winning
The Harper Adams has won accolades for this system at the Times Higher Education Awards where they won the Outstanding Contribution to Sustainable Development Award at the end of 2011. The prestigious event at London's Grosvenor Hotel was compered by Rob Brydon and the award was in recognition of all the hard work that went into making the anaerobic digester a success.
One of the judges Patrick Finch who is bursar and director of estates at the University of Bristol said of the system: “Harper Adams has produced a ground breaking project. While this has been trialled before, the judges felt that the work on developing a system that would produce a step change in carbon management at the college had the potential for wider application in the higher education community and in the farming sector. Energy and carbon savings, reduction in waste to landfill and release of farmland for growing food crops together present a compelling case.”
First year success
Twelve months on since the system first started producing renewable energy the college is now engaging with local schools to make further developments. Leftover food from school dinners from four county schools will be recycled at the plant and turned into power and energy at the college. This venture is part of a pilot scheme which if successful then waste from all schools in the Shropshire area could be sent to the plant.
The schools in the pilot are using specialist waste contractor Cartwrights. The local contractor has also benefited from external funding in the form of the Waste & Resources Action Programme to help them convert an existing bin lorry into one that would be suitable to carry food waste safely.
James Wood who is the college's energy plant manager said: “The anaerobic digester has now been operational for a year, and we are all delighted to be gaining interest and support from the local community. We really hope that the schools partnership is a success and can be rolled out across the county.”
Community spirit
The Harper Adams project is a fabulous example of the community all pulling together to produce a system that benefits the county. The college also uses an eco vehicle around the plant which carries the slogan “A cleaner solution without the pollution”. The slogan was chosen after the college ran a staff competition to come up with a catchy slogan for the vehicle which is to be used around campus collecting recycling and other jobs.
The college saw the competition of really getting the staff behind the plant project and getting them interested and involved in the sustainability of it. The campus uses electric vehicles around campus as another way of the college being eco friendly.
The winner of the competition was rewarded with an energy monitor worth £40 and the honour of having their slogan added to the eco vehicle and therefore being part of campus history.
In order to find out about the fantastic ways in which Harper Adams University College are helping the environment through all their sustainable activities visit www.harper-adams.ac.uk/sustainability.
Izzy Harrington is a freelance writer from England who writes technology articles covering everything from Tempur-Pedic comparison to future technologies.
New case study investigates the commercial viability and funding structure for Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas facilities in the USA
Zero Waste Energy and Harvest Power are just two of the innovators taking advantage of Anaerobic Digestion as a means of recovering value from waste. These companies are amongst a recent batch of well-structured companies that have secured long term agreements to make this process a reality according to a recent abstract released by Renewable Waste Intelligence.
The potential of anaerobic digestion is significant. With a sound scientific profile from European projects and an increasing appetite for more sustainable waste management options, there are trailblazing projects springing up all over the USA, often backed by strong local support, waste management money and European project developers.
The primary concern for these innovators has increasingly become one of commercial viability rather than a need to prove the science. With the payback on larger facilities upwards of 10 years and the initial investment substantial – these projects are taking longer than expected to materialize. Plus they require a very long term approach by the waste managers at a local level who have to be prepared to commit to long term contracts (and therefore a fairly rigid pricing structure).
The abstract that has been released by Renewable Waste Intelligence looks at both the pros and cons of AD as a means of tackling waste management for organics. But in addition, there is some consideration given to the funding structure of Anaerobic Digestion facilities with a case study to give more detail. Greg Shipley (CEO of Waste to Energy LLC) said of the report, “'Renewable Waste Intelligence' has created a well written and informative report. This, in combination with the detailed case studies would be valuable to those seeking proof of viability of investing in renewable waste.”
If you need more information, then you can contact Oliver Saunders on osaunders@renewable-waste.com or +44 (0) 207 375 7185 or Freephone US 1800 814 3459 ext 7185 to find out more about the report and also the work they are doing in Anaerobic Digestion.
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