DOE, USDA Research Manure-Powered Turbine
EarthVision Environmental News Thursday, August 15, 2002
Washington, August 15, 2002 - The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Bio-Power and the National Energy Technology Laboratory will evaluate the potential of generating electricity and heat for a research dairy farm from a microturbine generator powered by methane biogas from animal manure.
The generator could benefit small dairy operations of less than 250 cows by producing approximately 400,000 British thermal units (btu) of heat and up to 26 kilowatts (kw) of electricity per hour.
'This project is an example of the positive partnership between USDA and DOE to combine resources and capabilities to develop renewable energy for on-farm use, while also addressing an animal waste management issue,' explained USDA deputy under secretary for research, education and economics, Rodney J. Brown. 'A system that operates efficiently and is cost-effective would provide an alternative energy source for dairy farmers and help them to lower their operating costs.'
ARS, the primary scientific research agency of the USDA, operates the Henry A. Wallace Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) in Beltsville, MD, where the project will be conducted. The DOE will provide the microturbine generator for the project.
This technology holds a solution to the problem of waste generated by dairy cows. Tons of manure produced by the 1,400-pound dairy cows will be pumped from the barn into an anaerobic digester, where the liquids and solids are separated. Soils are composted and liquids undergo further processing in the digester to produce a methane- containing biogas. The methane gas is captured for use in the microturbine generator and the remaining liquid, with a greatly reduced odor, fertilizes the crops at the BARC.
The ARS research team, headed by acting research leader Louis Gasbarre, is part of the USDA's Animal Manure and By-Products Laboratory. They will oversee operations of the microturbine system during the test periods; provide analysis for manure, methane, and greenhouse gas emissions; and, evaluate the environmental and economic impact of the project. If the system proves to be both efficient and cost-effective during the test period, it could be an alternative energy source for dairy farmers, whose energy costs account for a large portion of their operation costs. In place, the system would help reduce emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas.
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