Post on 15-Dec-2015
Digestion of Manure and High Strength Wastes
Mark A. Moser
RCM Biothane LLC
Berkeley, CA
510-834-4568
RCM - Who We Are
Digesters are our only business,
>20 years in the digester business
>51 digesters operating
Staff of 12 in Oakland, California and Camden, NJ
RCM Philosophy
Cost Effective Construction
Easy to operate
Flexibility
RCM Digesters for mixed manure and food waste
Covered Lagoon – solubles only Heated mixed tank or lagoon Plug Flow Multi-farm Multi-waste
Castelanelli Brothers Dairy Lodi, CA
Covered Lagoon Digester
2,000 cows, Sand Bedding, Flush Collection
180 kW Generator
RCM Digesters
Castelanelli Dairy – 180 kW
Gas Handling
Castelanelli, Lodi, Ca
Typical heated mixed digester
Agro Super, Chile, 2002 120,000 finish hogs
heated, mixed, covered digester, boiler
400 hp Biogas Boiler and Gas Skid, Chile
WPF – Wheatland,Wyoming, 2004 18,000 finish hogs, heated, mixed,
concrete tank digester 160 kW engine,
Plug Flow DigesterMeadowbrook Dairy
Phelan, CA1200 cow vacuumed drylot170 kW, separated solids
July 2004
Port of Tillamook Bay
Regional Dairy Digester
4,000 cow capacity at build out
2,000 cows from 8 dairies contributing today
240 kWh continuous
$2,000,000
Operating Requirements:
US No time-temperature requirements Maybe you can add food, maybe not HRT – 15 – 25 days Temperature – mesophillic
Europe - Canada Pasteurization or time/temp requirement depending on
location and added materials and who is making the rules – Germany v Denmark
HRT – 12 – 20 days Temperature – depends on HRT
RCM First Accidental Co-digestion
24 years ago cheese whey from Marin French Cheese was added to dairy manure at the Marindale Dairy Digester.
Good News! Some whey made some extra gas.
The owner then added too much whey and almost killed the digester.
1. Why manure and food waste?
Food waste is typically highly biodegradable Society wants degradable wastes managed to
minimize public health impact Digesters degrade highly biodegradable
materials in a controlled fashion and the effluent doesn’t smell, support flies or vermin.
Farm digester manure is a complete substrate Food waste may need nutrients from manure to
enhance degradation
2. Why manure and food waste?
Farm View Profit
Tipping fees Extra Gas and Electricity Production
Waste Generator View Reduced disposal cost while meeting society
goal of controlled degradation Farm has land to manage the waste.
What digests:
Protein - Slaughterhouse waste, fish processing, road kill
Vegetable oils Fats, Oils, Grease (maybe not so well) Carbohydrates – starch, sugar, fruit
juice,whey and whey products, grains, some grain processing products
Most cleaning chemicals
What doesn’t digest:
Sticks, leaves Rocks and cement blocks Metal, glass, plastic, rubber gloves Some cleaning or disinfecting chemicals
Bad things to try to digest without testing
Petroleum products Chemicals Pesticides and herbicides Toxic anything Drugs
Matlink Dairy, Clymer, NY
900 cows + organic wastes, 130 kW
Up to 225,000 ft3/d, solids separated RCM Digesters.com
The learning
Check what’s in the truck Big flares can be your friend
RCM Complete Mix RCM Complete Mix DigesterDigester
Gypsy Hill Farm - Lancaster, PA
4,000 Pigs and Whey
Biogas and 120 kW since 1983
Original: Energy Cycle 1983
RCM: redesign, rebuild, increase capacity 2000
The learning:
Steady is good
Langerwerf Dairy, Durham, CA 1983, 350 cows, 70 kW,
45 kW without FOG
70 kW plus flare with FOG
The learning:
Too much of a good thing is bad
Kluthe Farm– Dodge, NE, 2006 8,000 finish hogs, 70 kW,
The learning:
Ditto on too much of a good thing. The consultant really meant what he said.
Patterson Dairy, Auburn, NY, 2005, 1200 cows and whey, 200 kW, big flare, solids
The learning:
Ditto on the big flare, gas keeps on coming
One mans whey permeate is another mans processed whey concentrate
Van Ommering Dairy, Lakeside, CA. 2005, 600 cows, thick FOG, 130 kW
The learning:
Steady feeding keeps the engine running Ditto on the evil nature of utilities – (Sorry I
can’t help myself)
Lastly – 28,000 steers and thin stillage, coming 2006
The learning:
Learning has no end and
Déjà vu happens all over again.
Potential Pitfalls
Zoning - Food waste is sometimes ruled an industrial waste. A farm might have to be rezoned for accepting industrial waste.
Permitting – Food waste is often regulated as a solid waste. A farm may have to have a solid waste permit and compliance schedule to operate.
Nutrients - The other pitfall:
When bringing waste to a farm, are nutrients coming in the waste?
Can imported nutrients be used on the farm?
Does the nutrient management plan or permit need to be altered? YES!
Advice:
Permit a digester for food waste Be honest with the neighbors
THERE IS HOPE Enlightened states like New York and
Pennsylvania have been reasonable. Enlightenment awaits provinces like
Ontario and states like California
The Rules of Digesters
Do Feed daily Feed a constant diet Keep the digester warm
Don’t Feed too much or too little Over or under heat
The Rules Food Wastes
Rule 1. There are no rules. Not all food waste is equal. Waste means waste to the producer. Truckload means what’s in the truck. Quality or quantity? Never on Sunday unless its Sunday.
The Rules of Mixed Wastes
A digester that receives food waste should be a digester designed to receive food waste.
The Consequences of Violating the Rules:
Death to the digester
Dishonor to the operator
Loss of waste source.
What RCM Digesters does:
1. Budget Prices2. Feasibility Study
3. Design and equipment supply 4. Turnkey construction