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