By Dave Harcourt •
November 7, 2009
SAB Miller, South African grown, second largest brewer in the world has introduced anaerobic digestion to treat the waste leaving its Alrode Brewery in Gauteng, South Africa. Anaerobic fermentation of organic material produces methane, which is used to reduce the consumption of fossil fuel based energy.
Copper brewhouse in a Trappist brewery
Brewery Waste & Biogas
In the brewery the waste is a collection of unavoidable losses of carbohydrate and protein rich materials, which would otherwise be sold as beer or byproduct and the large quantities of water used to maintain a hygienic operation.
By Dave Harcourt •
September 20, 2009
Dairy farm anaerobic lagoons without covers
The first large scale biogas plant linked to a beef feedlot, could make a more significant contribution to renewable energy in South Africa than the planned 3.8 MW of electricity, by advancing the technology in South Africa.
The Business
Independent power producer (IPP) Lesedi Biogas Project (LBP) is planning to build one of the world’s largest open-air feedlot manure-to-power plants, in Heidelberg, near Johannesburg, South Africa. Such plants use the anaerobic fermentation (bacterial fermentation of organic waste, with little or no oxygen present) to produce a methane rich gas which can be used to produce electricity or burn for heat.
The plant will be situated at the Karan Beef feedlot, which will supply the manure from its feedlot to the LBP. This would initially amount to 110,000 tons per year of manure, which would allow the production of 3,8 MW of base-load power reaching 6,2 MW of peak power.
By Jerry James Stone •
September 7, 2009
Using food as a resource in biofuel production is one of the biggest mistakes our country could make. And while we all shake our heads at the idea of corn ethanol…what about using turkey innards? Or Mountain Dew for that matter.
First, who ever has leftover alcohol except maybe these guys? The Shaq-backed MicroFueler is a 250-gallon tank for organic feedstock, such as waste wine and beer, that converts it into pure ethanol. It also doubles as a fuel pump and the only waste product is distilled water.
By Jamie Ervin •
July 10, 2009
“The Experiment- How do environmental conditions affect the amount of biogas produced?” If you are homeschooling like I am, entering a science fair or simply looking for a fun way to teach your children about our impact on this planet then Save the Earth Science Experiments, Science Fair Projects for Eco-Kids by Elizabeth Snoke Harris is the book for you.
This fun book (which I purchased through a Scholastic flier) is filled with experiments to get you thinking (and by YOU I do mean parents as well as the kids). The book begins with an introduction on problems occurring in the world which impact our global well being. It is then followed by a section on how to put together an effective Science Fair Project and more than 20 experiments that are related to our current environmental concerns. Throughout the book, you will find short stories and facts which detail a concern or in “The High Price of Ethanol” points out that a solution (biofuels) we think is better, is actually just as damaging.
Achieving a goal of 100 percent energy independence is a little closer for San Jose thanks to a momentous move by the City Council today. The City Council authorized the City Manager to negotiate and execute a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop potential lease terms and guidelines for developing an organics-to energy bio-gas facility.
By Derek Markham •
June 9, 2009
15 year old Javier Fernández-Han invented a truly innovative solution to meeting the basic needs of many of the world’s poor, and won Ashoka’s Invent Your World Challenge with his algae energy system, called VERSATILE. His holistic approach uses an efficient, modular system to meet multiple needs.
“An invention that is narrowly focused on solving a single problem often inadvertently creates more problems because nature is highly complex and interconnected.” - Javier Fernandez-Han
By Tina Casey •
April 5, 2009
If the experience of one Tyrolean farm in the village of Schlitters, Austria is any indication, food waste recycling is in for a big step up. The farm just added a biogas plant to its operations, using a new design that can boost methane yields from biogas by 30%. The secret? That’s where the missing link comes in.
By Tina Casey •
March 7, 2009
When it comes to methane gas emissions and the impact on global warming, one’s thoughts naturally turn to the barrage of untreated manure unleashed by factory farms. Methane is also an issue for small farms, especially the growing number of start-ups with little spare cash to invest in equipment. To the rescue: a new breakthrough in biogas treatment that promises to pour some much needed cold water on methane emissions from factory farms, while giving the small-farm sector a chance to have their cake and eat it, too.
By Dave Harcourt •
February 8, 2009
The biogas process, which produces fuel from animal and human waste, is prompting many supposedly amusing posts that could have a negative effect. Googling “biogas and poop” gives 12 800 hits including The Power of Poop, California Cow Poop Power and Turning Cow Poop into Car Power. This is counter productive as it distracts from the potential that biogas holds for both developing and developed countries.
Besides the comical slant of the titles, it is surprising that biogas is often presented as something amazing & unknown although it has been around for hundreds of years, is used in tens of millions of rural household and is a significant contributor to Europe’s renewable energy production.
Biogas - Amazing Natural Technology
The fermentation of organic material such as biomass, manure, sewage, farm waste, municipal waste, green waste and energy crops in the absence of air produces biogas. The same anaerobic fermentation produces swamp, marsh and landfill methane.
By Alex Felsinger •
November 20, 2008
By Alex Felsinger •
November 16, 2008
The Toronto Zoo says their 5,000 animals produce enough dung to easily cover the costs of the proposed $13 million biogas-to-power facility within five years.
The plant would produce enough electricity for not only the zoo, but thousands of Toronto households. Similar operations that convert farm animal and human waste into biogas are already in place across the world.
But where does a zoo come up with $13 million dollars?
