Methane Fuel

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Methane Digesters For Fuel Gas and Fertilizer With Complete Instructions For Two Working Models by L. John Fry, Santa Barbara, California: When we consider digesters on a homestead scale, there are two general questions to ask: (1) with the organic wastes and resources at hand, what kind of digester should be built, and how big should it be? and (2) what is the best way of using the gas and sludge produced to satisfy the energy needs of the people involved? (whether the sludge should be used to fertilize crops, fish or algae ponds, and whether the gas should be used directly for heat, and light, or stored, or fed back to the digester to heat it, etc.

The Methane Digester for Biogas all text, but good info.

Methane Generation From Livestock Waste The technology needed to generate methane from livestock waste and other farm refuse has been known for about 100 years. But due to inexpensive and abundant petroleum energy, its use has been limited in the U.S. Today, however, high energy costs and low profit margins experienced in some livestock enterprises as well as recent digester improvements through research are causing many farmers to re-evaluate the feasibility of on-farm production of methane gas from livestock waste. Also available HERE and HERE

Coalbed Methane Coalbed Methane--An Untapped Energy Resource and an Environmental Concern

Keene Public Works Department - Landfill Gas Wells What's a Million Ton Trash Heap Good For?

Understanding the Biorealis Systems Anaerobic Methane Digester The process by which anaerobic bacteria decompose organic matter into methane, carbon dioxide, and a nutrient-rich sludge involves a step-wise series of reactions requiring the cooperative action of several organisms. In the first stage, a variety of primary producers (acidogens) break down the raw wastes into simpler fatty acids. In the second stage, a different group of organisms (methanogens) consume the acids produced by the acidogens, generating biogas as a metabolic byproduct. On average, acidogens grow much more quickly than methanogens. They are also much hardier organisms, able to survive a broader range of temperature and pH conditions.

Anaerobic Digester Calculator Onscreen program helps you design your own system. How to use: Change any of the default values shown in blue. Instantly see the results of your changes.

Build Your Own Digester Almost easy to understand graphics together with text. The brighter among us will be able to make heads & tails of this. Those not so bright (yours truly) will buy one from them when they are done.

How to Operate The Contraption You've Built This part is fairly easy.

GENERATING METHANE GAS FROM MANURE Charles Fulhage, Dennis Sievers and James R. Fischer Department of Agricultural Engineering, College of Agriculture At first glance, the idea of generating methane gas has considerable merit because it appears to offer at least a partial solution to two pressing problems-the environmental crisis and the energy shortage. Unfortunately, present-day large-scale methane generation requires rather high investments in money and management which considerably reduce the practicality of the idea for the farmer. This Guide is intended to provide quantitative information so that the feasibility of methane generation can be evaluated for a given situation. Also available HERE

PRACTICALLY GREEN An environmental consultant firm in Magherafelt, Northern Ireland (the County of Londonderry) that specializes in "research, consultancy and engineering to convert organic wastes into biogas , electricity and hot water (Co-generation of Heat and Power CHP), compost and liquid fertilizer." The headquarters of the firm is situated in a building designed to have minimal energy requirements after construction, and which used as much recycled materials, in the process, as possible. Practically Green specializes in anaerobic digesters for "sour gas" - gas that has a higher hydrogen sulphate content.

Whipple - Methane Production From Dave Paxton's BioGas Series

USGS Fact sheet- Gas (Methane) Hydrates -- A New Frontier Methane trapped in marine sediments as a hydrate represents such an immense carbon reservoir that it must be considered a dominant factor in estimating unconventional energy resources; the role of methane as a 'greenhouse' gas also must be carefully assessed... See also: Methane hydrates & Methane Hydrate & Ocean- Cold Methane & DOE - Fossil Energy- DOE's Methane Hydrate R&D Program

The forgotten methane source Until now, it has been assumed that biogenic methane is formed anaerobically, that is, via micro-organisms and in the absence of oxygen. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics have now discovered that plants themselves produce methane and emit it into the atmosphere, even in completely normal, oxygen-rich surroundings. The researchers made the surprising discovery during an investigation of which gases are emitted by dead and fresh leaves. Then, in the laboratory and in the wild, the scientists looked at the release of gases from living plants like maize and ryegrass...

Managing Manure with Biogas Recovery Systems. Improved Performance at Competitive Costs - Environmental Protection Agency, Winter 2002

Agricultural Biogas Casebook (pdf), Great Lakes Regional Biomass Energy Program - This 87-page book profiles farms in the Great Lakes region using anaerobic digesters. September 2002 Also available HERE and HERE

Guide to Operational Systems — Learn more about the status of farm-scale digesters currently operating at commercial livestock farms in the U.S.

AgSTAR Digest contains all editions of the program's annual newsletter.

AgSTAR Press contains news and media articles on digester systems.

Evaluation of Mesophilic, Modified Plug Flow Anaerobic Digester for Dairy Cattle Manure (PDF, 38 pp., 372 KB) – This report summarizes the results from one of a series of AgSTAR studies designed to more fully characterize: 1) the air and water quality improvements provided by anaerobic digesters for managing manure and other wastes in the swine and dairy industries, and 2) the associated costs.

Funding On-Farm Biogas Recovery Systems: A Guide to Federal and State Resources (PDF, 72 pp., 653 KB) provides information about programs and strategies, such as low-interest loans, grants, and tax incentives, that can help parties interested in implementing anaerobic digestion technology overcome financial barriers to project development.

Anaerobic Digestion of Flushed Dairy Manure (PDF, 5 pp., 323 KB) is a paper presented by Ann C. Wilkie at the Anaerobic Digester Technology Applications in Animal Agriculture – A National Summit, hosted by the Water Environment Federation in Alexandria, Virginia, in 2003.

AgSTAR Handbook and Software is a comprehensive manual developed to provide guidance on developing biogas technology at commercial farms. The Handbook also contains FarmWare, an expert decision support software package that can be used to conduct prefeasability assessments.

USDA-NRCS Biogas Interim Standards are available here. They are also available in Appendix F of the Handbook or from USDA's website at www.usda.gov.

Technical and Environmental Articles contains an array of technical, economic, and science based publications. Understanding that there is an enormous volume of waste management related publications we try to screen and post publications that have a high degree of merit relative to the subject area.

Final Report: Haubenschild Farms Anaerobic Digester. (PDF, 39 pp., 706 KB) The Minnesota Project's final report for the Haubenschild Dairy manure-to-methane digester.

Managing Manure with Biogas Recovery Systems: Improved Performance at Competitive Costs. (PDF, 8 pp., 4.3 MB) This brochure provides background information about anaerobic digestion, and explains how the methane produced from this process can be captured and used to generate heat, hot water, and electricity. It also includes information for dairy and swine farmers to help them determine if a biogas recovery system is right for their farm and describes the environmental benefits of anaerobic digestion systems and provides a table that compares the cost and environmental effectiveness of conventional animal waste systems to anaerobic digester systems.

A Comparison of Dairy Cattle Manure Management with and without Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Utilization. (PDF, 59 pp., 543 KB) This AgSTAR study compares the environmental performance and cost-differential for two typical dairy farms in upstate New York—one that includes anaerobic digestion and biogas utilization in its manure management strategy and another that does not.

Ambient Temperature Anaerobic Digester and Greenhouse for Swine Waste Treatment and Bioresource Recovery at Barham Farm (N.C.) (pdf), North Carolina State University - This provides research information on an anaerobic digester used on a 4,000-head farrow-to-wean pork operation.

Anaerobic Digesters and Methane Production… Questions That Need to be Asked and Answered Before Investing Your Money (pdf), University of Wisconsin - This link provides brief answers to common questions about anaerobic digesters and methane generators. See also: Anaerobic Digestion of Animal Wastes: Factors to Consider

Mother's Methane Maker: Past, Present and Future THE MOTHER EARTH NEWS' original digester, in short, leaked from every seam of its main tank and water jacket ... and was absolutely worthless. We had hoped to have our waste disposal plant in operation a week after Singh returned to India so, of course, this was a major disappointment. Disappointment soon turned to determination, however, and—in the spring of 1973—the maimed methane maker was transported to the Indiana farm owned by my parents, Richard and Esther Shuttleworth.

Anaerobic Digester at Craven Farms, Oregon Office of Energy - The use of an anaerobic digester on an Oregon dairy farm is profiled.

Anaerobic Digestion (pdf), Iowa State University. 1998

Anaerobic Digester Calculator, Biorealis Systems, Inc.

Anaerobic Digester Factsheet - Michigan Sate University Extension factsheet that describes different system designs.

Anaerobic Digestion, California Energy Commission

Anaerobic Digestion of Animal Wastes: Factors to Consider (pdf), Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas. October 2002

Economics and Environmental Impact of Biogas Production as a Manure Management Strategy (pdf), Texas A & M University

The Economics and Feasibility of Electricity Generation using Manure Digesters on Small and Mid-size Dairy Farms (pdf), University of Wisconsin - Madison. January 2002

Environomics - Cost-benefit analysis and operating experience for ten farm-based manure digestion systems developed as part of The AgSTAR Program, sponsored by the USEPA, USDA and USDOE to encourage farm methane recovery from anaerobic digestion.

Haubenschild Farm’s Anaerobic Digester (pdf), The Minnesota Project - This 39-page report documents the use of a digester on a Minnesota dairy farm. August 2002

Managing Manure with Biogas Recovery Systems. Improved Performance at Competitive Costs (pdf), Environmental Protection Agency. Winter 2002

Manure Matters. What is an Anaerobic Digester? (pdf), University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Methane (Biogas) from Anaerobic Digesters, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Beginners Guide to BIOGAS - Paul Harris, The University of Adelaide

Methane Generation for Livestock Waste - From Purdue University, this publication is an overview of various systems for methane generation, and discusses the design of on-farm systems and their problems, and provides a procedure for determining the potential of the technology for the farm.

Methane Generators Turn Agricultural Waste Into Energy, University of California-Davis - This article highlights research on converting animal and other agricultural wastes to energy using a two-phased, closed-loop anaerobic digestion system.

Methane Recovery from Animal Manures (pdf0, The Current Opportunities Casebook National Renewable Energy Laboratory - This 150-page book tells all about on-farm anaerobic digester use. 1998

New UF (University of Florida) system helps dairy farms reduce odors Florida Farm Bureau - This links to information about a fixed-film digester developed at the University of Florida. 2001 See also the more detailed report [Word .doc] or PDF Format

Plug-flow Digester - AgSTAR overview of this cattle manure digester design. see also: Criteria

PRODUCING METHANE GAS FROM EFFLUENT Luke Jenangi Adelaide ... [PDF] Download this EXCELLENT report NOW; easy to read with good photos and diagrams.

BioCycle The greater energy requirements of the larger American livestock operations led to the design and installation of several demonstration projects that transferred state-of-the-art sewage treatment plant technology to the farm. Although complete-mix digesters can operate in the thermophilic temperature range, the demonstration projects at facilities such as the Washington State Dairy Farm in Monroe operated only in the mesophilic temperature range. At the Monroe project, the digester was sized for the manure volume produced by a milking herd of 180 to 200 Holstein cows.

Portland General Electric is building a methane digester on a 500-head Holstein dairy farm near Salem, Oregon, to convert 35 to 40 tons of manure into 100 kilowatts of electricity.

Profits from Manure Power? The Economics of Anaerobic Digesters On-Farm (pdf), The Minnesota Project

Research Projects, Economics of Animal and Poultry Waste Management, North Carolina State University

Viability of Methane Production by Anaerobic Digestion on Iowa Swine Farms (pdf), Iowa State University - This is a case study on the MaCabe pork operation in Southern Iowa, and its long-term use of a digester.1999

Wisconsin Biogas Development Group As a fuel, biogas composed of 65% methane yields about 650 Btu per cubic foot. Often used when designing systems for the anaerobic digestion of manure, these energy estimates can predict the amount of power production per animal. General estimates predict one kilowatt of electricity production requires five to eight dairy cows.

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