Digestion of Manure and High Strength Wastes

Mark A. MoserRCM/Biothane LLC Berkeley, CA 510-834-4568

RCM - Who We Are

Digesters are our only business,

>20 years in the digester business

>50 digesters operating

10 digesters finished since Oct. 2005

Staff of 9 in Oakland, California and 2 in Camden, NJ

RCM Philosophy

Provide a solution not a product

Design for Cost Effective Construction

Make them easy to operate

Be Farm Flexible

RCM Digesters for manure and food waste

Covered Lagoon – solubles onlyHeated mixed tank or lagoonPlug FlowMulti-farmMulti-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

RCM DigestersHeated Mixed Covered Lagoon

Apex Pork Rio, IL8,000 finishersAIAO production

Biogas collection andOdor control since 1998

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,

New Horizons Dairy, 2000 Cow Digester Elmwood, Illinois

New Horizons Dairy, Elmwood, IL Biogas since October 2002

RCM Digesters, Inc rcmdigesters.com510-834-4568

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:

USNo time-temperature requirements Maybe you can add food, maybe notHRT – 15 – 25 daysTemperature – mesophillic

Europe - CanadaPasteurization or time/temp requirement depending on location and added materials and who is making the rules – Germany v DenmarkHRT – 12 – 20 daysTemperature – 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 biodegradableSociety wants degradable wastes managed to minimize public health impactDigesters degrade highly biodegradable materials in a controlled fashion and the effluent doesn’t smell, support flies or vermin.Farm digester manure is a complete substrateFood waste may need nutrients from manure to enhance degradation

2. Why manure and food waste?

Farm ViewProfit

Tipping feesExtra Gas and Electricity Production

Waste Generator ViewReduced disposal cost while meeting society goal of controlled degradationFarm has land to manage the waste.

What digests:

Protein - Slaughterhouse waste, fish processing, road killVegetable oilsFats, Oils, Grease (maybe not so well)Carbohydrates – starch, sugar, fruit juice,whey and whey products, grains, some grain processing productsMost cleaning chemicals

What doesn’t digest:

Sticks, leaves Rocks and cement blocksMetal, glass, plastic, rubber glovesSome cleaning or disinfecting chemicals

Bad things to try to digest without testing

Petroleum productsChemicalsPesticides and herbicidesToxic anythingDrugs

Matlink Dairy, Clymer, NY

900 cows + organic wastes, 130 kW

Up to 325,000 ft3/d, solids separated RCM Digesters.com

The learning

Check what’s in the truckBig flares can be your friend

RCM Complete Mix DigesterRCM Complete Mix Digester

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, up to 500,000 ft3 of gas/day, big flare, solids

The learning:

Ditto on the big flare, gas keeps on comingOne 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 runningDitto on the evil nature of utilities – (Sorry I can’t help myself)

Lastly – 28,000 steers and thin stillage, hot and bothered 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 wasteBe honest with the neighbors

THERE IS HOPEEnlightened states like New York and Pennsylvania have been reasonable.Enlightenment awaits provinces like Ontario and states like California

The Rules of Digesters

DoFeed dailyFeed a constant dietKeep the digester warm

Don’tFeed too much or too littleOver 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