Technology assessment of anaerobic digesters for Arkansas farms

Book · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1980

OSTI ID:6553907

Ellsworth, D; Shadduck, G; Abeles, T

The anaerobic process is briefly outlined. The availability and suitability of various manures in Arkansas for bioconversion to methane are examined. Chicken, turkey, and cattle manures are considered. The authors conclude that the economics of digester systems based on gas utilization alone have been marginal for most small farm applications. Feasibility of the systems are often predicted on 100% utilization of the gas produced. Often, because most livestock farms today tend to be monoculture operations, energy utilization on the farmsite heavily favors one type of energy. If conversion of the biogas to electricity is required, or, if seasonal farm energy loads are such that a large percentage of the gas goes underutilized during off-peak months, a preliminary analysis for direct combustion that showed profitability, could end up with heavy red ink for the first several years of operation. As this assessment and other studies point out, renewable energy technologies in general and digesters in particular need to be perceived as total systems and not just as energy producing devices. They need to be carefully integrated into the farming operations. In many cases, they will provide a catalyst to change the operation in ways which make for greater economic and energy stability. Thus, this assessment is not to be viewed as an evaluation of digesters as a narrow technology, but as a tool which can provide opportunities, many of which are as yet unrealized. It should also be clear that the current state-of-the-art is quite simple and that as the technology is put into practice, many new alternatives in systems design and application will materialize, in many instances, as a result of stimulating the last bastion of creative ingenuity, the farmer.

• OSTI ID: 6553907
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
090122* -- Hydrocarbon Fuels-- Preparation from Wastes or Biomass-- (1976-1989)
AGRICULTURAL WASTES
ALKANES
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION
ANIMALS
ARKANSAS
AVAILABILITY
BIOCONVERSION
BIOSYNTHESIS
BIRDS
CATTLE
CHEMICAL REACTORS
CHICKENS
DATA
DATA COMPILATION
DIGESTION
DOMESTIC ANIMALS
ECONOMICS
ENERGY SOURCE DEVELOPMENT
FARMS
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
FOWL
HYDROCARBONS
INFORMATION
MAMMALS
MANAGEMENT
MANURES
METHANE
NORTH AMERICA
NUMERICAL DATA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC WASTES
PROCESSING
RUMINANTS
SOUTHWEST REGION
SYNTHESIS
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
USA
USES
VERTEBRATES
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTES