Waste material to power cellulosic/grain ethanol plant

POET installs anaerobic digester at pilot cellulosic ethanol facility

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (June 17, 2009) – A self-sustaining energy cycle for producing cellulosic ethanol is close to reality with the recent startup of an anaerobic digester at POET’s pilot plant in Scotland, S.D.

Corn cobs at Project LIBERTY will not only be used to produce ethanol; the liquid waste will go to an anaerobic digester to power the cellulosic plant and offset natural gas usage at the attached grain ethanol plant as well. That’s renewable energy created at the plant, powering the plant and powering the adjacent facility.

POET installed and fired up its anaerobic digester, which was designed and built by Biothane, on May 20. The digester uses liquid waste created in the process of converting corn cobs to ethanol. That waste is used to produce methane gas, which acts as roughly the equivalent of natural gas.

“This technology will cut fossil fuels out of our cellulosic ethanol production process and further improve the benefits of grain-based ethanol,” POET CEO Jeff Broin said. “Over the long term, POET would like to eliminate the use of fossil fuels at all of our plants through a variety of alternative energy sources.” The alternative energy technologies employed at other POET facilities include a solid waste fuel boiler, landfill gas and cogeneration.

The digester is in the research phase – corn cobs have never been used in this way before. The methane is currently being flared, but once the process is refined, it will be installed as part of Project LIBERTY.

Project LIBERTY is a 25 million gallon-per-year cellulosic ethanol plant, which will be built in Emmetsburg, Iowa. Research and development work is on schedule for the plant to begin production in 2011.

To see a documentary about POET’s pilot cellulosic ethanol plant visit http://www.poet.com/cellulosedocumentary.htm. Media outlets are welcome to link to the documentary in online coverage. Photos are also available for publication at http://www.poet.com/news/releases.asp.

About POET
POET, the largest ethanol producer in the world, is a leader in biorefining through its efficient, vertically integrated approach to production. The 20-year-old company produces more than 1.54 billion gallons of ethanol annually from 26 production facilities nationwide. POET recently started up a pilot-scale cellulosic ethanol plant, which uses corn cobs as feedstock, and will commercialize the process in 2011. For more information, visit http://www.poet.com.

Trials for technology that could cut costs from landfill gas power

Technology developers Aquafuel Research have come up with a new way to improve the economics of generating electricity from landfill gas, biogas and sewage gas.

The company based in Sittingbourne, Kent, has field tested a cheaper way to protect electricity-generating combustion engines from corrosive contaminants in the methane-rich gas arising from landfilled waste.

It says it can double the life of lubricating oil in engines running on landfill gas, resulting in less downtime and “substantial reductions in operational costs”.

Existing scrubbing technology can remove hydrogen sulphide – the contaminant that attacks engine lubricating oil – from landfill gas, but Aquafuel’s system cleans only the 5% of gas that enters the crankcase part of the engine.

This means shaving off potentially 30% of the running costs for operators compared to conventional scrubbing technology, the company claims.

Aquafuel is now running second-phase trials on the technology, but said it will be commercially available in the third quarter of 2009.

Continue Reading

Farm-Based Methane Management Key to 25x’25 Initiatives

Key to the 25x’25 renewable energy and carbon initiatives is the developing technology that is advancing anaerobic digestion. The process captures methane that is generated when biomass, usually animal waste, is broken down anaerobically, or without the presence of oxygen. The methane, a potent greenhouse gas (GHG), is often run through a generator to produce electricity. Methane digesters implemented on livestock operations to manage manure create a renewable source of electricity that can be used to help power the operation and, in some cases, sell electricity back to the grid. Digesters are also a proven way to reduce GHG emissions, which can provide offsets that could generate a significant revenue stream for the operation in a cap-and-trade climate change regulatory system.

While EPA estimates there were 111 commercial livestock digesters operating in 2007, the potential for anaerobic digesters to provide financial and environmental benefits to U.S. farms has prompted acceleration in the construction of digesters in recent years.

Successful examples are promoting that acceleration. The Crave Brothers Dairy Farm, a Waterloo. WI, is an operation that includes a regionally renowned cheese-making enterprise and runs a computer-controlled anaerobic digestion system that generates enough electricity to power the farm, cheese factory and 120 area homes. The Twin Birch Dairy is a 1,200-cow operation in Skaneateles, NY, where anaerobic digestion technology on the farm prompted the EPA in 2008 to selected Twin Birch as the northeast U.S. dairy to kick off the agency’s multi-year, manure and air quality study.

Continue Reading

Fish into fuel scheme could be a winner

A GROUND breaking project at Scalloway’s NAFC Marine Centre and Newcastle University will research how waste from the aquaculture industry can be turned into renewable energy.

Shetland Islands Council will tomorrow (Thursday) decide whether to give almost £55,000 towards the project, while an application for £61,000 of European LEADER funding will be decided upon later in May.

The project, if it gets the green light, will investigate how at least 2,000 tonnes of material, made up of dead farmed salmon and organic mussel farming waste, could be diverted from landfill.

The EnWRAP project (Energy from Waste – Realising Aquaculture’s Potential) will use standard “off the shelf” biogas equipment, widely used to break down farm slurry, in a laboratory prototype using aquaculture waste.

Alan Bourhill ‘ Huge potential’.NAFC business development officer Alan Bourhill said the project could open up huge future opportunities.

“There is enough material going to landfill to make this a viable opportunity to look at. The future potential for this sort of technology is huge as there is also domestic and agriculture waste that could link in to a combined facility producing biogas,” he said yesterday (Tuesday).

Continue Reading

Food waste to power Marks and Spencer ready meals factory

One of the makers of Marks & Spencers ready meals is to use its own food waste to power its factory in Newport, South Wales.

RF Brookes, part of Premier Foods plc, has
been awarded £500,000 by the Welsh Assembly government towards its own £5 million anaerobic digestion plant at its Rogerstone site.

The facility is expected to be in operation by the end of next year, turning the company’s waste material into biogas, which would be used to generate heat and electricity.

It is expected to produce about 10% of the factory’s power, reducing carbon emissions by about 8,500 tonnes a year.

Continue Reading

Ken’s Foods Utilizes Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor to Generate Biogas to Power Wastewater Treatment Plant Operation

Although all food processors have to deal with wastewater generated in their operations, the characteristics of the effluent exiting their facilities can vary greatly, requiring different processing technologies for the most efficient handling of the wastewater.

Ken’s Foods of Marlborough, Massachusetts, a large-volume food manufacturer of salad dressings and marinades, recently upgraded one of its three wastewater treatment facilities to more efficiently process its high-strength organic content wastewater, effluents which contain a high content of fat, oil and grease (FOG) and present serious challenges for waste treatment.

The solution incorporated a unique treatment process called ADI-AnMBR (anaerobic membrane bioreactor), a relatively new form or anaerobic treatment technology developed by ADI Systems, Inc. (ADI) in cooperation with Kubota Corporation of Japan, that utilizes submerged membranes for biomass retention and solids-liquid separation.

The system maximizes biogas production, increases solids digestion and provides a means to easily handle wastewaters with high concentrations of organic matter.

Continue Reading

Funds fuel gas plan expansion

Ibioenergy network invests in Nanaimo company working with regional landfill.

B.C. Bioenergy Network is investing $400,000 in Nanaimo-based Cedar Road LFG Inc.

The company has built a $3-million facility at the Cedar Road Landfill, which converts methane gas emissions captured from the landfill and uses the gas as fuel for electricity generation.

Methane – a major component of landfill gas – is 21 times worse than carbon dioxide as a contributor to global warming.

B.C. Bioenergy is also partnering with Cedar Road LFG to create a Collaborative Development and Demonstration Centre at the site to test and demonstrate new ideas and technologies that explore further commercial applications of landfill gas.

Continue Reading