Alternative Manure Management

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Alternative Manure Management
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What is Alternative Manure Management?

• The development of innovative farm
  technologies to reduce the volume of manure to be
  stored, transported or applied to the land while
  transforming manure components into marketable or
  useable products.

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Why Change?
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Why Change?
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AMM Primary Goals

• Improve management of the plant nutrients in the
  manure
• Control of N, P and K that allows balanced
  applications at agronomic rates
• Minimal loss of nutrients
• Segregation of P and other components

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AMM Primary Goals (continued)

• Economically viable systems
• 6 - 8 year return on investment
• Cost sharing only provides incentives
• Value added uses for manure components or
  fractions
• Zero to minimal chemical inputs
• Sustainable soil tilth

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AMM Ancillary Benefits

• Energy production
• Offsetting bedding needs
• Land base efficiency
• Nutrient marketing
• Odor and pathogen reduction
• Green house gas reductions or conversions to less
  potent gases
• Weed seed reduction

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AMM Hurdles

• Marginal economics
• Traditional designs
• only suitable for the largest farms
• Perception of complicated operation
• Problematic designs causing high maintenance

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AMM Hurdles (continued)

• Gas quality
• low BTU
• H2S is corrosive
• Sale to grid was complicated
• Low historic wholesale price
• Little to no existing service industry
• Odor or green house benefits not quantified

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AMM Hurdles (continued)

• Feasibility Evaluations

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AMM Hurdles (continued)

• Time
• Farmers already working long days and do not want
  more headaches

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MFO Digester Foster BrothersOnline in 1985

• Mature Animals 240
• Construction Concrete, soft top, dual chambers
• Designer Spencer Bennett
• Engine 85 kW Caterpillar
• Elec. Generation Hybrid diesel-biogas,
  Self generation

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MFO Digester Nordic FarmOnline in 2005

• Mature Animals 240 (designed for 300)
• Cost 350 k
• Construction Slurrystore, external
  heating, continuous feed
• Designer Stan Weeks VT Ag
• Biogas Production 100 cf /animal
• Engine 65 kW GMC 350
• Boiler Smith 500,000 btu/hr Steam
• Electrical Generation 40 kW, Net Metered

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Nordic Farm Heat Exchanger

• Stage 1 hot digested manure from digester to cold
  manure from storage
• Stage 2 hot water to pre-warmed manure from Stage
  1

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Nordic Farm Flow
Pump feeds manure from barns though grinder to
external heat exchangers
Two chamber heat exchanger 1st solids
accumulation and removal 2nd exchange heat with
engine
Whole manure stratified flow silo digester
Biogas
Steam injection final heat stage
Manure for field application
Electricity
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Nordic Farm Slurrystore
Digester before insulation
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Nordic Farm Insulated Slurrystore
Digester after insulation
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Boerger Rotary Lobe Pump
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Nordic Farm Pictures Borger Grinder
Boerger Multi-Chopper

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Old Undersized Pump
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Gervais Family Farm
Variable speed rotary lobe pump
Single pass external heat exchanger
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LFO Digester Blue Spruce Farm Online in 2006

• Mature Animals 1000
• Cost 1.5 million
• Construction Concrete hard top
• Designer GHD
• Biogas Production 80 cf / animal
• Engine 180 kW 85 kW Caterpillar
• Electricity Generation 265kW, Wholesale
  Renewable Attributes

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Blue Spruce Farm Flow
Pump manure from barns to digester feed reception
tank
Whole manure agitated plug-flow digester
Biogas
Separator
Solids for bedding, field application or export
to Balance P
Electricity
Liquid for field application
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Blue SpruceFarm
Digester Tank Under Construction
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Blue Spruce Farm
Digester tank and support buildings
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Blue Spruce Engine and Solids
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MFO Digester Williston Cattle Co.Online in
2006

• Mature Animals 230
• Cost 350 k
• Construction 2-4 day attached growth, liquid
  fraction, fiberglass tank
• Designer BioProcess VT Ag
• Biogas Prod. 30 cf / animal
• Boiler Smith 300,000 btu/hr hot water

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Williston Cattle Co. Flow
Separator
Liquid faction from separator
Two stage heat exchange system 1st exchange heat
with exiting liquids 2nd exchange heat with
boiler
Solids for field application, Compost
or bedding
Agitated attached growth digester 2 day
retention time
Biogas
Remediation system
Clean water
Nutrient rich sludge
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Williston Cattle Co. Approach

• Totally different approach to manure handling
• Separate manure first
• Solids for remote field application and compost
• Liquid to a digester designed to
• Be delivered fully assembled
• Digest in 2 days (normally 20)
• Liquid then goes through a system that outputs
• Nutrients in a sludge
• Clear water that meets groundwater standards

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North Williston Pictures
Barn and Existing Manure Storage
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North Williston Pictures
Digester Tank Delivery
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North Williston Pictures
Setting Digester Tank
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Reception Pit

• Manure needs to be intercepted before reaching
  the manure lagoon
• 1 to 2 day covered concrete storage
• Pit needs to be agitated and pumped
• Frozen manure excluded

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Pumps and Agitators
Problems May need to add water with centrifugal
pumps or substantially increase horsepower.
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Screw Press Separator
Feed and return lines from reception pit
Solids drop into truck bay below
Separated liquids to holding tank
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Separator Screen
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Digester and Liquid Tank
Digester
Liquid from separator
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First Tank After Heat Exchange

• Liquid goes through a system outputting
• Nutrients in sludge
• Clear water meeting groundwater standards

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BioProcess Towers
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Boilers

• Oil heat during start-up
• Methane burned in natural gas boiler provides
  heat during operation
• Engine and generator set will be installed after
  gas production is known

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Lessons Learned, When to Separate

• Separate up front
• Easy to pump, conventional centrifugal pumps and
  grinders work
• Reclaim heat from digested liquids
• Loss of potential energy production
• Separate after digestion
• Difficult to pump, rotary lobe pumps adapted from
  waste water industry
• Heat recovery not possible without additional
  pumps
• Maximize energy generation
• Fine solids still remain Fine solids are
  limiting the biological process and nutrient
  separation
• Cascading screw press separators
• Addition of a centrifugal separator
• Chemical addition and flocculation

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Two Stage Belt Press
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Major Ramifications

• No hauling water on the roads
• Reduced manure storage needed
• Less rainwater collected
• No odors from spreading liquid manure
• Potentially P and N nutrients will be segregated
• Farmers could easily match application rates to
  soil needs
• Potential additional income streams for farm

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LFO Digester Pleasant Valley Farm Online in
2006

• Mature Animals 1600
• Cost 2.5 million
• Construction Concrete hard top
• Designer GHD
• Biogas Production 80 cf / animal
• Engine 2 300 kW Guascor
• Electrical Generation 500 kW, Wholesale
  Renewable Attributes

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Pleasant Valley Farm
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LFO Digester Green Mountain Dairy Online in
2007

• Mature Animals 1000
• Cost 2.0 million
• Construction Concrete, hard top
• Designer GHD
• Biogas Production 80 cf / animal
• Engine 300 kW Guascor
• Electrical Generation 200 kW, Wholesale
  Renewable Attributes

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Green Mountain Dairy
Screw Press Separator
Conveyor belt used to transport solids to a
covered storage area for use as bedding
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LFO Digester Montagne Farm Online in 2007

• Mature Animals 1000
• Cost 2.0 million
• Construction Concrete hard top
• Designer GHD
• Biogas Production 80 cf / animal
• Engine 300 kW Guascor
• Electrical Generation 200 kW, Wholesale
  Renewable Attributes

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Montagne Farm
Houle 5 Roller Separator
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Houle 5 Roller Separator
Separated solids for bedding and sold for compost
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LFO Digester Gervais Family Farm Online 2008

• Mature Animals 850
• Cost 1.5 million
• Construction GHD
• Designer Gervais Family Farm
• Biogas Production 80 cf / animal (est.)
• Engine 200 kW
• Electrical Generation Single Phase, Wholesale
  Renewable Attributes

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SFO Digester Foote FarmUnder Construction 2007

• Mature Animals 80
• Cost 200,000
• Construction Horizontal plug flow,
• dual 6 fiberglass pipe
• Designer Avatar
• Boiler Hot water

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Foote Farm Pictures - Entering
External heating, then transfer to parallel tanks
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Foote Farm Pictures - Exiting
Manure Transfer to Separator and Trickle Towers
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FooteFarm
Separator
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Trickle Towers A system of hanging media in
which the separated manure liquids drip through
and provide a place for aerobic bacteria to grow.
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LFO Digester Neighborly Farm Online in 2009

• Mature Animals 800
• Cost 1.5 million
• Construction Concrete hard top
• Designer GHD
• Biogas Production 80 cf / animal
• Engine 300 kW Guascor
• Electrical Generation 175 kW, Wholesale
  Renewable Attributes

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Neighborly Farm
Maxwells Neighborly Farm
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Sand Separation Newmont Farm Under Construction

• Mature Animals 800
• Cost 750,000
• Construction Mechanical Sand Separation
• Sand Separator McLanahan Corp
• Solid Separator Screw Press
• Secondary Separation DAF Unit

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Newmont Farm
Insulated Barns Outside temperature -35o Inside
temperature 35o
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Sand Settling Lanes
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Newmont Farm
McLanahan Corporation
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Newmont Farm
Residual Processing and Energy LLC Nutrient
recovery cell, chemical feed system, and control
panel
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Algeponics
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Algeponics
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Manure Injection

• Improves nitrogen capture in soil
• Reduces manure runoff in fields

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Tomorrows Technology

• Small Farm Digesters
• Algae Systems
• Sand Settling Lanes w/ Digesters
• Manure Separation Units
• Manure Injection

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• VT Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets

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• Thank you for your attention.
• Questions?