By SARAH B. AUBREY
Indiana Correspondent WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Indiana Biomass Working Group was formed in May 2008 to aid industry in research, education, policy and economic development of the biomass industry in Indiana.
“The goal of the Biomass Working Group is to build a network of individuals focused on this area in Indiana,” explained Klein Ileleji, assistant professor at Purdue University and event organizer. “One of our goals is to prepare a climate in the state of Indiana to be one of the major players in biomass industry development.”
In the group’s second meeting, held Sept. 2 at Purdue’s Beck Agricultural Center, participants learned more about anaerobic digestion, particularly about its impact as an on-farm renewable option.
“Anaerobic digestion is the platform that we hope to build farm energy upon,” said Frank Starr, with Energy Systems Group (ESG) and the project manager of Indiana’s Biotown Energy, LLC. Biotown Energy is a partnership between ESG and Biotown Ag that is working on the state-initiated project in Reynolds. “It is feasible for many farmers in and of itself.”
In addition to describing the Biotown Energy project and how anaerobic digestion plays a major role, Starr discussed the risks associated with installing an on-farm digester.
This includes fuel supply, technology and length of time it will be useful, and considerations of additional outputs besides power, including solids for bedding, wastewater return for livestock use and fertilizer.
Particularly for energy production that will be used to power farm functions, Starr believes digesters are a sensible fit. “(Digesters) work in the real world at real world size,” he explained, adding “as long as the cows can produce methane.”
Though he covered more technical merits of anaerobic digesters, Steve Dvorak of GHD, Inc. in Chilton, Wis., began with a simple analogy for the crowd.
“Anaerobic digestion is actually very simple. The four stomachs of the rumen of a cow is an anaerobic digester,” he said.
He explained digesters can utilize many feedstocks, mainly anything that is carbon-based such as ethanol waste and dairy or hog waste, making them suitable for a variety of different farm or rural business situations.
Dvorak added in the case of a dairy, a digester can produce 5-6 kilowatts of electricity per cow per day, without the addition of substrates. Also, 110 cubic feet of biogas is produced per cow per day.
“Basically, it takes four cows to produce 1 kilowatt of electricity,” said Dvorak.
He believes digesters should be more heavily utilized by many farmers with livestock. Including the sale and utilization of electricity, he said digesters help improve energy distribution in rural areas, generate waste heat that can be used to heat on-farm facilities and can make the producer eligible for carbon credits.
“We’re burning a ‘bad’ greenhouse gas and converting it to (carbon dioxide), and the industry sees that as a good thing,” Dvorak said.
He also said the time and effort to install a digester may help producers be prepared in advance for tighter regulations that come with the future or other planned farm expansion.
The Biomass Working Group, as one of its goals, provides information to those interested in this developing industry.
“The organization was initiated by the Indiana Office of Energy and Defense and they came to us to facilitate it,” said Chad Martin, renewable energy extension specialist at Purdue and one of the organizers for the working group. “We also teamed up with our Energy Center here at Purdue and the Ag Engineering Department.”
Martin explained the impetus for the working group was founded both on the success of the Wind Energy Working Group, now three years old, and the need to address the growing opportunities in Indiana’s biomass industry.
While the group accepts new members, he said it is directed toward those individuals and companies that are seriously engaged in the biomass industry. Participants, numbering around 70, include university researchers, economic developers, consultants and product vendors, utility companies and other industry professionals.
For more information, contact Martin by e-mail at martin95@purdue.edu |
