The Tanzania Sisal Board biogas plants

TSB set to install biogas plants in 14 sisal estates

 

The Tanzania Sisal Board (TSB) has taken bold and foresighted decision by opting for biogas for power generation to its sisal estates. OUR CORRESPONDENT reports that the ambitious project will initially cover 14 sisal estates specifically picked because of their performance.

The move, he writes, will enable TSB to stop using power from the national power utility firm - TANESCO - which at present pockets 40 per cent of the total running cost in the sisal industry. The 14 biogas plants are expected to generate about 500 MW, sufficient to meet the estates’ needs while the surplus will be sold to the national grid. Read on…

Electricity stakeholders in the country - manufacturing industries, institutions and individual households - are evidently not happy with the country’s sole energy power provider, the Tanzania Electricity Supply Company (TANESCO).

They are particularly frustrated by the intermittent power cuts which have persisted for too long. As if this was not a serious shortcoming, the stakeholders have again to grapple with ever escalating exorbitant power tariffs.

Experts believe that the suffering wrought on the populace is a result of the power utility firm’s monopoly in the provision of electricity in the country.

“TANESCO should not be allowed to run its business side by side with the government. It should have competitors. In the process, prices of electricity will be pushed down”, says a Dar es Salaam based industrial engineer.

He believes that competition which would be brought about by investment in the sector could cover a larger population of power users; hence more revenue to the government.

Having noticed that the country’s energy cost is too high, the Tanzania Sisal Board (TSB) has envisaged to put up a total of 14 biogas plants for production of biogas for electricity generation.

The parastatal also aims at running away from the present exorbitant cost which it pays to TANESCO, amounting to 40 per cent of the total direct running cost in the sisal industry.

“The anticipated move is intended to enable TSB to participate fully in supplementing the government’s efforts to provide power to the country,” says Hamisi Mapinda, TSB’s Acting Director General.

Mapinda said the plants would be erected at sisal estates earmarked for this purpose.

“Fourteen estates where the plants will be installed were picked on merit based on performance,” said the acting DG in an exclusive interview with THE GUARDIAN recently.

The plants will be installed at Magoma, Gomba, Rudewa, Magunga, Fatemi, Kigombe and Kwaruguru estates.

Other estates are Mwera,Toronto, Mazinde, Mkumbara, Lugongo, Mwelya and Ubena.

The DG said the proposed plants are expected to generate about 500 MW, which according to the board, is sufficient to meet the estates needs while the surplus will be sold to the national grid.

“Apart from the envisaged installation of the plants, we also intend to erect 3,000 digesters to 3,000 households for generation of biogas for both lighting and cooking,” he says.

Mapinda said his institution has already prepared a 10 year crop development plan - an implementation of the Election Manifesto 2010 - for the purpose of promoting production and productivity in the sisal industry and ultimately overcoming the effects of poverty, hence ensuring household food security.

According the proposed plan, which has already been availed to stakeholders for their views as implementers of the strategy, a large chunk of land - 146,061.69 hectares of sisal - has been earmarked for development.

“This includes 131,069.79 hectares of mature sisal land and 14,981.90 hectares of immature sisal land,” says Mapinda.

The area under the ownership of small scale sisal farmers will be increased from the present 6748 hectares in 2010 to 22,200 hectares in 2020,” he says.

In order to ensure the selected estates have enough sisal for decortications, the industry will put emphasis on replanting new sisal, cleaning of existing sisal fields as well as encouraging the use of soil and water conservation techniques, according to Mapinda.

To succeed in such endeavors, TBS’s plan lists objectives such as mobilization of financial, human and technological resources for increased production.

Others, says the sisal boss, are increases in the country’s export market share from the current 7 per cent to 39 per cent within the plan period.

“Participation of small holders and out-grower farmers in the industry, shall be increased from the current 418 households in 2010 to 4,400 households within the plan period,” according to him, adding that the aim is to widen their participation and improve the farmers income and alleviate poverty.

Presently, the sisal industry has one biogas plant – installed at Hale in 2007 as a pilot project. Built at a cost of 1.5 million US dollars, it was financial by Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), United National Development Organization (UNIDO) and the government of Tanzania.

Commenting on the proposed installation of the plants, a retired government school head, Aloyce Gondwe, said TSB had taken a step in the right direction by investing in other sources of power.

He added: “The government should use what is available in the country. There is solar energy, windmill etc. which are cheaper than hydroelectric power.”

Sole dependence on hydro power is not appropriate, he says, adding: “The use of this energy is too expensive because for electricity to reach a village or school, you need poles, wires and transformers, components which are definitely out of the reach of the intended consumers”.

Source: http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=30670

Trucks running on compressed Biogas ( Methane)

Manure to power Ind. dairy farms' delivery trucks

FILE In this Sept. 17, 2003 photo, Dr. Guy Roberts of the Intervale demonstrates a model Anaerobic digester in Burlington, Vt., One of the nation's largest dairy farm cooperatives plans to use manure from its thousands of cows to power a new fleet of milk-delivery trucks. Fair Oaks Farms in northwestern Indiana plans to have 42 new delivery trucks running on renewable natural gas by early next year. The fleet will be able to haul more than 300,000 gallons of milk to processing centers in Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee daily. The fuel is created by anaerobic digester technology, which harnesses microorganisms to turn manure into biogas. The Fair Oaks Farms project will turn the biogas into nearly pure methane that can fuel the natural gas-powered trucks. Photo: Toby Talbot / AP

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — One of the nation's largest dairy cooperatives plans to tap a plentiful energy source — manure from the farms' cows — to power its fleet of milk-delivery trucks.
By early next year, Fair Oaks Farms in northwestern Indiana plans to have 42 new delivery trucks running on compressed natural gas created by harnessing microorganisms to turn the cows' manure into biogas.
Anaerobic digester technology uses bacteria to break down manure in the oxygen-free environment of closed buildings or covered lagoons, producing methane, carbon dioxide and trace gases. Fair Oaks Farms, a marketing cooperative of 10 farms housing about 35,000 cows owned by several families, already operates six digesters which produce gas to run generators that provide electricity to the farms.
The new project supported by federal and state grants will take the technology further, upgrading one of those digesters to turn the biogas into nearly pure methane and compressing it to fuel new natural gas-powered trucks that will replace diesel-power models.
The new fleet will be capable of hauling more than 300,000 gallons of milk each day to processing centers in Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.
"The cows making the milk will be helping delivering it too," said Mark Stoermann, project manager for Fair Oaks Farms.
To help extend the trucks' range between fill-ups, they will be outfitted with extra natural gas tanks purchased with a $2 million U.S. Department of Energy grant.
A separate $750,000 state grant will support construction of two fueling stations along Interstate 65 — one at Fair Oaks, which is about 70 miles south of Chicago, and one nearly 220 miles away in Sellersburg, near the state's southeast border with Kentucky. The Fair Oaks station will supply renewable gas derived from manure, while the Sellersburg station will deliver regular natural gas.
Stoermann said Fair Oaks expects to feed enough surplus renewable natural gas from its operations into a pipeline near the farms to more than compensate for the gas its trucks get in Sellersburg.
A handful of California dairy farms produce methane from manure and compress it for use in powering tractors, trucks and other machinery. But that equipment is used primarily on those farms, said Jerry Bingold, director of renewable energy at the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, a dairy industry group founded in 2008.
Fair Oaks' broader plan appears to be a first for an American dairy, he said.
"They're actually moving from localized on-dairy use to really long-haul application, which is a significant move for the industry," Bingold said.
About 150 U.S. dairies use anaerobic digesters to process manure and produce power. Bingold said the industry hopes that by 2020, about 1,300 dairies will be using digesters to either generate electricity or make compressed methane.
While U.S. dairies are beginning to realize the potential of manure-to-methane technology, Bingold said agricultural lending institutions still are being sold on the technology's potential, just as other renewable energy sources received slow acceptance.
"We're developing a business model around digester operations that's going to take lessons learned from the wind and the solar industry to really build this industry," Bingold said.
About 2,600 dairy farms and 5,500 hog farms are good candidates for the technology, according to the federal AgSTAR program — a partnership among the U.S. energy and agriculture departments and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that's promoting manure-to-methane technologies.
Those more than 8,000 farms have the potential to produce 13 million total megawatt hours of electricity each year, or enough to power about 870,000 households. Or, the same farms could instead produce some 150 billion cubic feet of renewable methane that would be enough to heat 3 million households, AgSTAR national program manager Chris Voell said.
The nation harnesses less than 2 percent of its potential for renewable methane, Voell said. But he said farms, restaurant chains and big food processors are slowly recognizing that the organic waste they send to landfills or otherwise discard can be turned into power to help their bottom lines.
"The energy policies in this country are in some cases still running to catch up with all of the opportunities out there," he said.

Read more: http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Manure-to-power-Ind-dairy-farms-delivery-trucks-1430061.php#ixzz1Ph1lrZtP

Zobayer rooftop tube type Biogas Plant in Bangladesh. News

Zobayer rooftop tube type Biogas Plant in Bangladesh.

Zobayer rooftop tube type kitchen waste based Biogas Plant. Its first rooftop biogas plant in Bangladesh.

Russia to Develop Biogas Projects

Russia to Develop Biogas Projects to Help Power Rural Regions

Russia plans to develop biogas to provide fuel and power in rural regions, supplementing fossil fuels in the world’s biggest exporter of oil and gas.
The country may produce 66 billion cubic meters of biogas a year from agricultural waste, the Energy Ministry said today in an e-mailed statement. That is equivalent to 33 billion liters (8.7 billion gallons) of gasoline or diesel a year or could generate 110 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity and 1 billion gigajoules of heat, it said.
The Energy and Agriculture Ministries plan to seek subsidies and legislative support from the government to expand use of the renewable resource and make it profitable, Deputy Agriculture Minister Shamil Vakhitov said in the statement. “Without these measures, bioenergy has no future in Russia.”
OAO Inter RAO UES and China’s National Bio Energy Co. agreed June 16 to create the Green Energy Corp. joint venture by the end of this year to overhaul inefficient power plants that run on coal and fuel oil to include the use of biomass, according to the statement.
To contact the reporter on this story: Marina Sysoyeva in Moscow msysoyeva@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-18/russia-to-develop-biogas-projects-to-help-power-rural-regions.html

Biogas from food waste water will be used for powering buses and garbage trucks

Biogas from food waste water will be used for powering buses and garbage trucks

Today, a ceremony is held to commemorate the completion of facilities for producing automotive fuels at the Sudokwon Landfill Site Management Corporation, where waste from the Seoul metropolitan is daily processed. The facilities are prepared to refine biogas from food waste water into more than 95 percent methane gas and, as a result, generate the fluid by mixing it with CNG. 

Every day, biogas of about 10,000㎥ from about 800 tons of food waste water can be refined and the refined biogas of about 6,500㎥ can be mixed with CNG in the ratio of 77 to 23 at a station. The fluid can be used for about 300 city buses and garbage trucks.

The facilities of Sudokwon Landfill Site Management Corporation are significant as the first outcome of a waste-to-energy policy. It is expected that 33,530 CO2 tons of greenhouse gas can be reduced annually by providing renewable energy and replacing fossil fuels.

Under the master and action plan for waste resources and biomass energy, the Ministry of Environment has been active in waste-to-energy policies. Besides the facilities for biogas automotive fuel of Sudokwon Landfill Site Management Corporation, the ministry has supported about 20 local governments in building facilities for producing biogas from organic wastes.

The ministry is also in the process of improving related system including streamlining licensing procedure of waste-to-energy facilities and setting up biogas automotive fuel manufacturing standards.

Source: http://www.ngvjournal.com/pt/home/item/5424

100 Companies Now Growing the U.S. Biogas Industry

100 Companies Now Growing the U.S. Biogas Industry 

Washington, D.C. – Illustrating it is the voice of the biogas and anaerobic digestion industry, the American Biogas Council (ABC) welcomed its 100th member this week. The American Biogas Council is the first and only trade association in the U.S. representing organizations dedicated to maximizing the production and use of biogas from organic waste. Municipalities, digester designers, multi-national engine manufacturers, farmers, natural gas providers, waste management companies, engineering and law firms, non profits and universities are just part of the diverse group of organizations that represent the ABC membership and the U.S. biogas industry.

"America is waking up to the potential of biogas as a tool for job creation, baseload renewable energy generation, stronger family farms, cleaner water and competitive, organic waste management solutions," said Paul Greene, Chairman of the ABC. "We are very pleased that so many companies have stepped up to support our vision for the future of this industry."

While the biogas industry in Europe is very mature, with over 10,000 biogas-producing digesters in operation, in the U.S., the biogas industry is just beginning to grow. Currently, 167 digesters are operational on farms and 1,500 are making biogas at wastewater treatment plants.

"The untapped potential for the U.S. biogas industry is significant. We count 8,200 farms, 2,000 more wastewater plants and countless sources of urban, organic waste that together could produce nearly 70 million megawatt-hours of renewable, baseload electricity using biogas," said Patrick Serfass, Executive Director of the ABC. "Not many renewables can produce uninterrupted power like biogas can. If domestic, clean energy is important to U.S. policymakers, biogas must be included."

Biogas, a renewable gas, is generated by breaking down organic waste in an anaerobic digester (AD). Organic waste for biogas generally falls into three main categories: agricultural waste, like manure; waste water; and urban waste, like food scraps and yard clippings. Once produced by a digester, biogas can be used to make electricity and with minimal treatment, also used the same way traditional natural gas is for utilities, homes, vehicles and businesses. The digester process also creates useful byproducts like pathogen-free fertilizer, fluffy bedding that animals love and compost.

"We believe that biogas can play an increasingly important role in U.S. efforts to tap renewable energy resources and reduce our dependence on foreign oil," said Clay Harrison, the President of Clean Energy Renewable Fuels, the leading provider of natural gas fuel for transportation in North America and the American Biogas Council's 100th member. "The ABC's efforts to educate the public and policy makers on biogas potential and promote policies that incentivize the capture and use of biogas fuel are critical to the further expansion of the industry."

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About the American Biogas Council
The American Biogas Council represents 100 companies dedicated to maximizing the production and use of biogas from organic waste. Members include municipalities, digester designers, multi-national engine manufacturers, farmers, natural gas providers, waste management companies, engineering and law firms, non profits and universities and other organizations covering the entire biogas supply chain.

American Biogas Council Reaches 100 Members

Visit http://www.americanbiogascouncil.org for further information
The American Biogas Council, the trade group representing the biogas industry in the United States, now has 100 members.

source: http://www.altenergymag.com/news/2011/06/16/american-biogas-council-reaches-100-members/20589

Biogas from 'Waste Land' site to Power Brazilian Refinery

 Biogas from 'Waste Land' site to Power Brazilian Refinery

From Newport Beach, California based energy company, FirmGreen, Inc. has made the first international shipment of its biogas cleaning equipment to the Novo Gramacho Landfill near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Novo Gramacho landfill where the project is located has also been depicted in a documentary nominated for a 2011 Academy Awards - Waste Land.

In 2010, FirmGreen negotiated an agreement with Brazil's Gás Verde, S.A., which is the project developer and the plant's owner-operator, to turn Waste Land's 'dirty gas,' a natural by-product of decomposing waste, into clean usable gas using the company's proprietary technology.

The company claims that the resulting biogas is an environmental-friendly, highly useful fuel with the energy equivalent of natural gas.

Petrobras, the largest company in Latin America by market capitalisation and revenue, will use the biogas to generate over 10% of the thermal energy needed to run its Duque de Caxias Refinery.

The company claims that using the U.S. government's EPA LMOP calculator the Novo Gramacho Biogas Plant will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.4 million metric toness, annually..

To fabricate the specialised gas cleaning equipment required for the project, FirmGreen contracted with Dublin, Ohio based Guild Associates. Guild employees are also helping start-up Gás Verde's Biogas Plant. Brazilian contractors are manufacturing some of the project's components and will take a lead role in the plant's installation.

FirmGreen's CEO, Steve Wilburn, commented, "Our world continues to face significant economic challenges, yet this project demonstrates how bi-cultural teamwork can generate hundreds of jobs, in this case throughout six U.S. states-Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio, California, Michigan, and Texas-as well as Brazil."

The Novo Gramacho Biogas project is slated to begin commercial operations later this year.

___________________________________________________________
Editor Note: Original post Link  http://www.waste-management-world.com/index/display/article-display/2048081780/articles/waste-management-world/landfill/2011/06/Biogas_from__Waste_Land__site_to_Power_Brazilian_Refinery.html

Energy Solutions through Biogas

Energy Solutions through Biogas

 

 

THAILAND - Thailand can now produce 700 million cubic metres of biogas per year, equivalent to 214,000 tonnes of crude oil, from agricultural waste and wastewater.

Suthep Liumsirijarern, director-general of the Energy Policy and Planning Office, said yesterday that the office had promoted biogas production from the wastes of the agricultural industry, wastewater from factories, and dung since 1995.

Developing alternative energy became part of the national policy spanning 2008-17, The Nation reports.

So far 543 livestock farms and 107 industrial factories have joined the project, saving the country Bt3.746 billion in crude-oil imports a year.

The policy also includes the promotion of energy plants to produce biogas and compressed biogas (CBG) to replace natural gas for vehicles (NGV) used in the transport industry.

The office has assigned the Energy Research and Development Institute-Nakornping at Chiang Mai University to research plants in Thailand and find those with potential to produce biogas.

One discovery was bana grass, which resembles sugar cane. The Lampang Elephant Conservation Centre purchases the grass from farmers at Bt1.20 per kilogram for elephant feed.

The research project can make CBG from bana grass at a cost of Bt16.50 a kilogram, which is higher than the Bt15 cost of making NGV.

If the government focused more on promoting CBG, it could lower the cost. Then jobs could be generated in rural communities and the occasional problem of a low supply of NGV in some areas in the upper North could be partially relieved, Suthep said.

One tonne of bana grass can yield 160-190 cubic metres of biogas. A planting area of 438 rai (70 hectares) is needed to produce enough biogas to generate 1 megawatt.

The office and Chiang Mai University are in talks on the possibility of launching a pilot project next year.

TheBioenergySite News Desk

Biogas Plants Constructed in Kilimanjaro Region

Eleven Biogas Plants Constructed in Kilimanjaro Region

Biogas technology is one of the bio-energy technologies which are promoted and disseminated by TaTEDO to various beneficiaries as a mean of increasing energy access to the marginalized communities in the country. Biogas provides people (particularly in rural areas) opportunities to improve energy availability for cooking and lighting.

Eleven Biogas Plants

In May and June 2010, TaTEDO in collaboration with Tanzania Domestic Biogas Plant (TDBP) has constructed eleven biogas plants at Hai, Moshi rural and Siha districts in Kilimanjaro Region.

Prior to the construction of the biogas technologies TaTEDO and TDPB conducted awareness creation and promotion activities to the villagers of the three districts to promote the usefulness and benefits of the technologies and how it can raise the living standard of rural communities

Some of the clients contributed construction materials and subsidized by Tanzania Domestic Biogas Program while three others were granted a loan which was guaranteed by the project.

In order to increase the number of biogas constructed in the area TaTEDO has arranged on job training for the local masons who have been identified and are interested to learn the Modified Fixed Dome Biogas Technology (MCD). The main objective has been to enable local masons to understand the construction process of MCD, significance of the technology and promotion strategies

The training of staff was conducted for all biogas plants during constructing at Foo, Manushi and Kilolotoni villages. The overall output expected from the training programme has been the internalization of the training process by the individuals to be able to impart assistance to farmers and masons to advice, to inform, to construct, to monitor, to supervise, to operate and to maintain Biogas Plants in Tanzania.

Biogas technology has great potential in areas where cattle are kept at zero grazing. However high cost of materials hinders swift dissemination of the technologies as most farmers cannot afford the cost. TaTEDO is trying to mobilize villagers in these areas to join SACCOS and Sustainable Energy Groups to secure loans as they construct the technology for better energy access.

TaTEDO has acquired technical capacity from TDBP in order to monitor and control quality of biogas plants constructed.

Emanuel Benjamin and Rosada Kimaro, TaTEDO

Source:http://www.biogas-tanzania.org/index.php/highlights/eleven_biogas_plants_constructed_in_kilimanjaro_region/

Chesterfield BioGas Fuels Vehicle Test

Chesterfield BioGas Fuels Vehicle Trial

UK - Chesterfield BioGas Ltd has delivered a bulk gas road trailer to the London Borough of Greenwich to serve as a temporary refueling facility under the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Grants Programme (AFIGP).

The unit will dispense, measure and record the use of compressed natural gas during a 12-month trial, aimed at demonstrating the viability of using gas-powered vehicles within the Council's fleet.

The unit and its accompanying electronic dispenser and fuel management system (also manufactured by Chesterfield BioGas) will be sited at the council-owned Birchmere Business Site, Thamesmead. It will enable a comprehensive and informative trial to take place without going to the initial expense of installing permanent infrastructure. Chesterfield BioGas will provide a full training programme in safe procedures.

The trial will take place alongside the Council applying for planning permission to construct a 40,000 tonne-per-year anaerobic digestion (AD) facility to be sited adjacent to depot where the gas refueling facility is to be installed.

Greenwich Council hopes that, if trial proves successful, biogas upgrading equipment and a vehicle refueling facility will form part of the overall AD scheme, and will lead to use by a larger fleet and the consequent installation of a permanent refueling facility. The Thamesmead site has suitable access and space to accommodate third party vehicles, with the use of the facility being open to all organisations wishing to trial natural gas powered vehicles.

The gas trailer is being leased to the London borough and on completion of the trial would become available to conduct further trials for other local authorities and potential users.

The trailer unit has been constructed by Chesterfield BioGas' sister company, Chesterfield Special Cylinders Ltd, who have considerable experience of building and refurbishing road trailers for bulk gas transport at high pressures. The unit comprises 235 89-litre high-pressure gas cylinders, coupled in series, with the capacity to transport approximately 4.4 tonnes of natural gas - an environmentally friendly vehicle fuel generating up to 25 per cent less carbon dioxide than diesel. More importantly, there are virtually zero particulate emissions which contribute to respiratory disease and subsequent fatalities.

A spokesperson for Greenwich Council said: "We hope the project will contribute greatly in helping to achieve a number of measures set out in Council's Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP). It will also help to mitigate the transport impacts of development in our own Borough. It complements the aim of Low Emission Strategies and should also help the borough to make progress in demonstrating a reduction of CO₂ - as required by one of Defra's National Indicators (NI 185)."

The Department for Transport, through its delivery agency CENEX, funds the Infrastructure Grant Programme. Alternative road fuels (i.e. alternatives to diesel or petrol) such as natural gas and biomethane offer a means of cutting carbon dioxide and air pollutant emissions, as well as reducing dependency on fossil fuels. CENEX has funded 50 per cent of the cost of supplying the trailer to Greenwich.

A similar temporary facility employing a skid unit was leased by Chesterfield BioGas to Sheffield City Council and is nearing completion of a similar trial.

TheBioenergySite News Desk
Source:http://www.thebioenergysite.com/news/8913/chesterfield-biogas-fuels-vehicle-trial

Oregon biogas industry

Oregon biogas industry primed to ignite

Stahlbush Island Farms' Bill Chambers shows off the farm's 1.6 megawatt plant.

 

If Oregon realized its potential for a biogas industry, the state would have an industry 12 times its current size, according to a recent review by Energy Trust of Oregon and The Climate Trust. But kickstarting the biogas industry can’t happen without state support, the review concluded.
Biogas is methane gas harvested in an oxygen-free environment. It comes from the breakdown of a variety of organic wastes, everything from sewage and yard debris to manure and food processing residue. It can be either compressed as a transportation fuel, injected into a natural gas pipeline or combusted for electricity or heat.
Its supporters say biogas creates energy and jobs while recycling nutrients and eliminating methane emissions. It also has potential to reduce operating costs for some rural businesses —farmers can substitute bedding hay for animals with residue from biogas digesters, for example — and reduce farm odors.
Energy Trust and The Climate Trust completed a review of biogas potential and benefits in February, producing a white paper called Growing Oregon’s Biogas Industry: A Review of Oregon’s Biogas Potential and Benefits.
The effort stemmed from meetings hosted by Energy Trust that brought the biogas community together, provided a networking opportunity and assessed needs among the small group of early adapters.
“What came out of that was the need for some sort of white paper that, at the very least, promoted what biogas is, raised attention for biogas and offered a brief overview around how we could see more biogas,” said Peter Weisberg, senior project analyst at The Climate Trust and a co-author of the paper with the Energy Trust’s Thad Roth.
Ultimately, the review suggested policy tweaks and incentives that could ignite a biogas industry, creating 300 permanent jobs in rural areas and reducing greenhouse gasses by 800,000 metric tons of equivalent carbon dioxide — about 5 percent of the reductions needed to meet state greenhouse goals for 2020.
The sector could be built around wastewater treatment plants, municipal solid waste collectors and food processors and generate more than 100 megawatts of energy from biogas, the review noted, thought the state has only 8 megawatts of biogas installed so far.
Wastewater treatment plants have developed the most biogas plants in Oregon, about half of the potential for wastewater treatment plants overall with 5.8 megawatts installed. Other sectors with abundant feedstock and capable infrastructure have been slow to develop, with capital costs presenting a significant obstacle.
Municipal solid waste facilities and dairies show the biggest potential for gains.
The study pegs municipal waste facilities' potential at 30 megawatts of energy generation. Nothing is currently running in this sector, but Columbia Biogas has announced plans to open a 5-megwatt plant in North Portland.
Dairies had 45 megawatts of potential but had developed less than a megawatt of capacity spread among four small plants. Food processors have put just more than 10 percent of their capacity online with 1.6 megawatts installed at Stahlbush Island Farms of Corvallis. The industry holds the potential for 10.4 megawatts, according to the report.
The Stahlbush Island Farms biogas plant, the first in the United States to handle only food waste cost $10 million to develop and created four jobs.
Though tax benefits and state programs do exist to provide incentives to biogas development, those incentives come into play only after the projects are built. The review suggested stakeholders consider several possible fixes:

• Oregon’s Renewable Portfolio Standard could carve out a requirement for energy from biogas, boosting its value, or offering credits for biogas injected into natural gas lines.
• Oregon’s Public Utility Commission could set avoided cost rates for renewable sources like biogas at prices that reflect their value. Currently, those rates are set at the lowest cost to the utility for creating equal power.
  A bridge loan program could provide financing, lending or grant a small portion of capital costs that could be used to pull in private investment.
• And feed-in-tariff legislation could set a rate for all distributed renewables, including biogas, which would require utilities to purchase biogas at a premium and reduce associated risks for lenders. 

Dairy farms are also promising sources for biogas plants.

 Source: http://www.sustainablebusinessoregon.com/articles/2011/06/oregon-biogas-industry-primed-to-ignite.html

Biogas could be cause of E.coli outbreak

Germany’s Biogas Bhopal? Deadly E. Coli “House-Made” Says Expert

By P Gosselin on 5. Juni 2011

The German Die Welt online here reports that veterinary and medical experts are now saying that biogas plants may be the source of the lethal E. coli bacteria now running rampant through Germany. Although the disaster is nowhere the scale we saw in Bhopal, India, so far we have seen 18 dead and over 500 hospitalized. And needless to say, millions of Europeans are spooked.

Manure and biogas plant-waste on food would be unthinkable inside a food factory, but not out in the field? Photo source and information: http://sustainableagrisystems.com/landapplication.htm

Die Welt also reports that Hellwig has long been critical of biogas plants. Yet biogas industry proponents claim there is no connection between the current E. coli outbreak and biogas plant operations.
Hellwig is not alone in this belief. Die Welt also writes that laboratory director Bernd Schottdorf, founder of the 1500-employee private medical laboratory Schottdorf MVZ in Augsburg, the biggest in Europe, also thinks the connection is possible. “Spores survive the biogas plants’ prescribed hygienization of 70°C without a problem“, he says. “We don’t know if the hygienization is properly carried out at all biogas plants.” When waste product from biogas plants is spread on fields, they can contaminate the vegetables.
North Germany’s unusual dry weather and drought conditions, where it did not rain for weeks during the springtime, may have played a role in the spread of the deadly bacteria. Spores can stay on plants for a long time, as they don’t get washed off by rain. The biogas plant substrate, which is a by-product and is used as a fertilizer, probably didn’t get washed off the crops by any rain. Currently there are 6800 biogas plants in Germany and their inspection is disorganised.
North German drought and dirty irrigation and “unwashed” crops

Manure slurry spreaders also used for irrigation.

Die Welt also writes that experts believe the unusually dry spring weather also may have led farmers to irrigate their crops using their liquid-manure spreaders. Farmers sometimes irrigate crops during dry spells using liquid manure spreaders, as this German manufacturer suggests here (scroll down to Liquid manure Distribution and irrigation systems). 
The problem is that these liquid manure tanks are of course dirty and so contaminate the water, which in turn contaminates the crops. And then if it doesn’t rain for days or weeks, the crops stay contaminated through the time they are harvested.
Some points are clear: 1) The source of the E. coli is Northern Germany, which is home to many biogas plants and where agricultural manure fertilizer is widely used. The weather in the run-up to the start of the epidemic was very dry. Indeed, more detective work is needed to trace back the cause.
The online  FOCUS magazine here also brings up the biogas plant issue, hat-tip DirkH.
Biogas plants are also suspected of causing DEADLY BOTULISM in North German Agriculture, read here. Looks like all the well-intentioned green growing is leading to a trail of death and illness instead of natural health and cleanliness.

Original post from : http://notrickszone.com/2011/06/05/germanys-biogas-bhopal-deadly-e-coli-house-made-says-expert/

Community bioggas plant

 Community bio-gas plant to come up in Mau

VARANASI: For the promotion of green or non-conventional energy sources, the Jatropha Mission Cell, Department of Planning, is taking initiative to expand its activities in eastern UP.

"We have identified a place in Mau for the creation of community bio-gas plant based on solid and liquid wastes," informed PS Ojha, the state coordinator of the cell. He is hopeful of beginning a bio-gas unit in Mau within a month. "We have also made a proposal to the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) for the establishment of a demonstration plant of bio-diesel from jatropha on its Rajiv Gandhi South Campus, Barkachha," he said.

According to Ojha, Government of India has modified the 'Total Sanitation Campaign' (TSC) guidelines to incorporate the management of solid and liquid wastes. "We have started a 1000-cubic metre bio-gas plant at a village in Sant Kabir Nagar district for electricity generation for villagers," he said and added "the projects of 100-cubic metre bio-gas plants have sanction for other districts including Mathura, Jyotiba Phole Nagar and Mau. The bio-gas produced by from wastes is a clean-fuel."

Earlier, the cell had established a bio-gas unit at Mishrawallia village in Ballia district in 2008 for piped bio-gas supply to rural households. According to him, all types of wastes, including solid and liquid, are utilised in bio-gas production.

"Beside community bio-gas plants, we also promote family size (10-cubic metre) units for the need of a family," he said. Such bio-gas units have been incorporated in the Ramabai Ambedkar Gramin Urja Pariyojna. Referring to a report of the ministry of agriculture, he said though crop-increasing value of animal faeces had been recognised, more than 50% of the cattle dung was either burnt or remained unmanaged.

"Traditionally the cattle dung, along with house sweeping, is collected in the open backyard in rural areas. The most common way of disposal of cow dung is to convert it into dung cakes that are burnt as fuel in rural households," he said. Burning the cow dung not only adds to carbon emission, which is a green house gas leading to ozone layer depletion, but also is an inefficient way of using the dung which is rich in calorific value and can generate efficient form of fuel if properly decomposed in a bio-digester.

According to him, anaerobic decomposition of organic waste leads to methane production, which is a good fuel. As per calorific value table one kg of methane gas is more or less equal in energy content to one kg of petrol, LPG, kerosene or diesel. The 'gobar' gas research station in Kanpur Gaushala Samiti has established that one cow gives enough cow-dung in a year to produce methane gas equivalent to 255 litres of petrol in energy terms. The cow dung and other organic wastes in rural areas can be used to produce methane gas. It is estimated that with existing cattle population, India can produce enough methane gas to entirely replace LPG and kerosene in cooking, and substitute petrol in transportation. "Methane gas can also generate enough electricity to meet all requirements, at least in rural areas. The by-product can serve as excellent organic manure, substituting chemical fertilisers," he said. "The advantages of the use of waste in bio-gas generation include sanitation, energy security, pollution control, and employment generation," he added.

UK AD & Biogas Exhibition

 

NEC, Birmingham
UK AD & Biogas 2011, taking place on 6-7 July, Hall 10, NEC, organised by The Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association (ADBA), is the single most important annual UK event for anyone involved or planning to become involved in the AD industry. Whether you are looking to generate enquiries, meet leading suppliers, learn from industry experts or understand the opportunities for your product or service in the AD and biogas industry, this event is solely devoted to the AD and biogas industry and includes a successful recipe of features to help you meet your business objectives. Grown by 100% from last year’s inaugural show, UK AD & Biogas 2011 is set to be the biggest two days in the AD calendar.

What’s on offer?

• Over 140 exhibitors showcasing the latest AD technology
• A high profile two day conference "The life cycle of an AD plant"
• Key note speakers include Lord Henley, Defra (TBC), Wendy Manning, Director of Customer Logistics, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Nigel Keen, Property and Development Director, Waitrose, Bill Elliot, Chairman, Envar, Steve Sharratt (OBE), Group Chief Executive, Bio Group, Richard Nourse, Joint Managing Partner, Novusmodus, Chris Walsh, Head of Technical Support and Consultancy, Cenex and many more
• FREE two day seminar and workshop programme
• 50% discount on entry to trade show if you pre-register (excludes conference)
• Exhibitors receive 50% off conference delegate rates

To register for the event or for more information please visit www.adbiogas.co.uk

Biogas - Research & Consulting Group

The Biogas Research and Consulting Group (Anaerobic Digestion) works on the anaerobic utilization of energy crops, waste materials and waste water. Due to long lasting experience and a great number of national and international projects profound and broad know how could be built up. This makes the working group to one of the most important scientific institutions concerning that research area.

Team of the Biogas Research & Consulting Group

Research:

According to the current research projects the AD working group deals with all sectors of the anaerobic digestion technology. For instance: developing market strategies for energy crops, pre-treatment of substrates for increasing the methane-yield, optimizing the technology of the AD plants, enabling the utilization of certain substrate groups, characterization of the involved micro-organisms and the treatment of fermentation residues.

Goal is to integrate the results of the research programmes in full scale AD applications to increase the efficiency and sustainability of this technology.

Consulting:

A further key issue are the consulting activities for AD plants with the focus on analytics and chemical, biological process-control.

The interaction between technical parameters of fermenters with chemical, physical and biological factors determines the stability of the microbiological process.
The evaluation of the microbiological status is carried out by analysing the biological parameters always in consideration with the technical set up of the plant.

biogas plants highlighted

Need for biogas plants highlighted

 

CANACONA: A ten-day training programme for masons from different talukas of Goa on construction of biogas plants, was organised by Directorate of Agriculture in association with the zonal agriculture office, Canacona, at Marlim-Tirval in Poinguinnim recently.
Master mason from Belgaum, Mr Kalappa Navregar was the resource person for the programme, informed Canacona ZAO, Mr Rajesh Desai.
Deputy director of agriculture, Mr Prajapati Tufani, who was also present during some of the sessions, spoke on the importance and significance of biogas and said that the compost that is derived from a biogas plant is devoid of weeds. He further said that, in order to sensitise the people and the farmers on the importance of biogas, a meeting was held at this very place.
He informed that biogas plants were constructed in four homes free of cost and that the construction of fifth plant is in progress.
The residents who got biogas plants constructed are Mr Shashikant Gaonkar, Mr Ram M Gaonkar and Mr Anand Gaonkar from Marlim and Mr Laxman Gaonkar from Tirval, while the fifth construction which is in progress is of Mr Mhablu Gaonkar of Tirval.
During the programme, the masons were also guided by Dr H Eshwarappa, professor and head of department of agricultural engineering, Bangalore, Dr K V Pathy, professor of agricultural engineering and Dr Kumar Gowda, project manager, biogas training centre.
During the programme, assistant zonal officers of all the talukas were present, informed ZAO Canacona, Mr Desai, who welcomed the function while assistant zonal officer, Ms Gauri Prabhudesai proposed the vote of thanks.

Banana peels to biogas

Banana peels to biogas - Peninsula News Review 

 

The Vantreight family farm is moving ahead in an attempt to create its own energy source while diverting compostable material from the waste stream.
Ryan Vantreight made a presentation to a meeting of all three Peninsula municipalities to explain the process.
“Vantreight Integrated Resource Management has been a process we’ve been looking at as well as a technology we’ve been researching that started about three years ago. We do, right now, aerobic composting, so it’s outdoor with forced air going through it,” said Vantreight.
“The first stage of this project is feed-stock. Getting the feed-stock. Household organics right now are going to be part of the landfill unless someone has a green thumb and does composting in their backyard,” he said.
The Vantreights propose to use bio-digesters for the anaerobic digestion of organic matter to create heat and energy for the farm and community. The contained composting creates heat and natural gas which would be used on the farm, while methane is collected, reducing green house gas emissions.
Their plan is to collect compostable material from Peninsula businesses and households biweekly in the winter and weekly during the summer months. The total cost per household is estimated at $95.52 per year. Vantreight said it would also reduce the amount of garbage being taken to the landfill by 35 to 40 per cent.
Up to 20 per cent of the compost created will be available to local farms for a fee, the other 80 per cent would be used on Vantreight Farm. The natural gas created by the process would also be made available for local hospitals and other public facilities that use natural gas.
“We have been approved in writing by the ALC (Agricultural Land Comission) to process up to 45,000 tonnes a year of organic matter on the farm as a farm use,” Vantreight said.
“We will not be using sewage sludge, municipal waste from the sewage treatment plant (for input) and our electricity and transport fuels (output) will be later. What we will be using the biogas for is heating greenhouses to be able to grow more food,” he said.
“We already have letters of interest from commercial and industrial facilities that want to be able to utilize this process for their organic waste stream. What we’re looking to fill in 10 to 15 per cent is Saanich Peninsula — Saanich basically — first-come-first-served. We have the capacity and as soon as we have those agreements in place we know how much we can build and we can then engineer that facility … December 31, 2012 is when we want to be able to have our operation up and running.”
Sidney councillor Mervyn Lougher-Goodey asked Vantreight what happens if residents who already compost do not want to participate. “From local municipalities you need 15,000 tonnes … if people don’t want to pay for that service, do they have to? Right now I pay for garbage, I do not want to have to pay for this because I have a composter in my backyard and that’s where it all goes and I’m sure there’s all sorts of folks like that living here,” he said.
“This is, I think, where the conversation begins, how that would be structured,” Vantreight answered.
“In North Saanich there are lots of people that have very large properties that actually already do their own organic processing and certainly there’s lots of farms … so it’s a bit of a trickier issue when you don’t have concentrated populations,” said North Saanich councillor Ruby Commandeur. “It might be a better focal point in Dean Park where we have a concentration of housing or in Sidney or in some parts of Central Saanich, but it might be difficult to do that as an entire municipality to say, ‘everybody has to be on board and pay that $95.’”
“At one point or another it won’t be a choice,” said Vantreight. “At one point or another organics will need to go somewhere. What we’re proposing is somewhere that would be able to utilize on farm to reduce green house gas emissions … How it’s structured within the municipalities may be challenging but it’s definitely something that’s coming.”
“It’s to a point where we either sink or swim. We need to be able to move forward with this and what we need to do is be able to have those long-term agreements. This is the start of the conversation and we will be going to the other municipalities to be able to make that organic tonnage. It wasn’t solely focus on Central Saanich North Saanich it will go first-come-first-served,” said Vantreight.
“You may find it more efficient to start at the CRD (Capital Regional District) level,” said Sidney Mayor Larry Cross. “It feels a little dodgy to me, to ask us as a community, to sign a supply agreement with you by September of this year, given what’s happening in the larger picture of the CRD … also our own agreements with our service providers in terms of collection.”
Vantreight said the tonnage and timeline are attainable goals if there is both public and political will to move forward. “The main goal is to get in front of the CRD organics ban — which is coming,” he said. The ban that was scheduled for  May 1, 2012 has now been postponed to 2013.

View the original article here

Diesel to Biogas Engine Conversions

Omnitek Engineering Ramps Up Diesel to Biogas Engine Conversions in the Philippines

Omnitek Engineering says it expects demand in the Philippines for its diesel engine conversion technology that enables utilization of biogas fuel to gain momentum, particularly on hog farms in remote areas with an abundance of biogas sources and sometimes limited access to electricity.
Large hog farming operations in the Philippines are participating in Methane Recovery and Electricity Generation projects, which are being governed by the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) - an article of the Kyoto Protocol which allows industrialized countries with a greenhouse gas reduction commitment to invest in emission reducing projects in developing countries and apply them to Kyoto targets.
Covered in-ground anaerobic digesters, which convert animal waste into biogas, are being financed by foreign firms, which subsequently sell the generated carbon credits through global carbon trading markets, such as the European Climate Exchange to offset green house gas emissions.
"High diesel fuel costs, an abundance of biogas and the financial burden of replacing diesel powered generators with new natural gas systems are strong incentives for farmers to adopt our diesel engine conversion technology," said Werner Funk, president and chief executive officer of Omnitek Engineering Corporation.
He noted that four Omnitek-converted biogas power generators are already operating in the Philippines. Estimated monthly savings to farmers are considerable, and the engine conversion cost can be recovered within a four-to-eight month period - depending upon the amount of electricity produced.
Funk added that Omnitek continues to experience solid demand for its diesel engine conversions for heavy- and medium-duty truck and bus applications in other parts of the world.
"Biogas fuel is an exciting opportunity to expand and we look forward to capitalizing on other global opportunities," he said.
Sales and marketing initiatives for Omnitek's diesel engine conversion technology for biogas and farming applications in the Philippines are being supported by the company's strategic relationship formed in 2009 with Philippine-based Alternative Bio-Energy Technologies Company (ABET) to address growing local market demand for biogas engine solutions.
Funk added that diesel engines have a service life of up to 20 years, which provides an additional incentive to convert.

Electricity generated by biogas plants in Pune, india

 Electricity generated by biogas plants in  Pune, india

Pune, May 28: Electricity maked by processing organic household waste is being used to light up the streets of Maharashtra's Pune city.s many as 225 streetlamps have been lit up by power maked by biogas or gobar gas plants.

The initiative, which was taken by the local municipal corporation, has been aimed to set up five more power plants towards the end of 2011.

According to officials, biogas or gobar gas from organic waste can be effectively used to make electricity.

"The Municipal Corporation started this biogas or gobar gas plant a year ago in the city. Every day we supply about five tonnes of organic waste to the biogas or gobar gas plant, from which we can make near about 300 cubic metres of gas, and that gas can be utilized to run the genset (generators), gas engine to make electricity. After electricity generation, electricity is utilized to light up the streetlights," said Suresh Jagta, a systems engineer.

As much as 40 percent of domestic garbage is processed every day in 12 biogas or gobar gas plants in the city.

Statistics reveal the city produces 1,200-1,400 metric tonnes of waste, out of which only 200-250 tonnes is organic waste. Out of that, 50 metric tonnes of organic waste is processed to make electricity.

According to officials, the waste is collected from different sources for further treatment.

"The plant uses green waste from households, vegetable and markets, which is called wet waste. We collect it here for treatment," said Sanjay Nandre, a project developer.

The first biogas or gobar gas plant in the city was set up in 2009.

About 2,400 tonnes of organic waste has been processed since the project was started, and 48,000 kilowatts of power has also been maked.

India has an estimated two million biogas or gobar gas plants in use since 2000.

Large digester, energy facility being built at Wyoming County dairy farm

This information came from CH4 Biogas

Wyoming County, NY -- A new mixed-waste anaerobic digester and renewable energy facility is being built at the 2,000-cow Synergy Dairy in the town of Covington.
CH4 Biogas, LLC is building the project. Four of the 16 digesters in New York state are located in Wyoming County.
CH4 Biogas said Synergy Biogas will be one of the largest on-farm digesters in the state — and the first independently owned and operated plant located on a dairy farm. Additionally, the Synergy facility will be the first biogas plant in New York state designed specifically for co-digestion of manure with food grade organic waste, said CH4 Biogas officials.
In addition to producing renewable energy, the facility will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the farm, divert organic wastes from landfills, reduce manure odors and provide the farm with manure handling systems to more efficiently manage nutrients and protect the environment.
CH4 will build, own and operate the biogas facility that will produce renewable energy by anaerobically digesting manure from the dairy along with food grade organic waste from food processors in the region. As anaerobic digestion unlocks the energy value in manure, it reduces odors and greenhouse gas emissions and produces a nutrient-rich end product for use as fertilizer.
Synergy Biogas will provide more than 10,000 megawatt hours per year of renewable energy to the grid (electricity to power more than 1,000 homes) and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of 8,500 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

It is anticipated the Synergy Biogas Plant will begin operation in September.
CH4 Biogas is a renewable energy company that builds, finances, owns and operates biogas based renewable energy facilities on farms and at food processing plants.