A milk farmer in Connecticut, thinking what it will do with all the fertilizer of his herd … [+]
The idea of ”renewable natural gas” is almost smiling. Who would think that the fermentation of a dirty dirty pile could generate a valuable flow of natural gas? In an article about the Barstow Longview milk farm, a 200-year-old operation in Massachusetts, I described the tool that converts the farm fertilizer into natural gas as a “mechanical stomach”.
In the world of renewable energy, the mechanical stomach is given the least lyrical name of the “anaerobic solvents”. According to the US Biogas Council, about 2,300 facilities are producing biogas in the US, of which about 530 are anaerobic solvents on farms.
The simple idea of using organic waste farms as a raw material to produce an energy source was revolutionary for its time, and I am grateful that 2,300 existing biogasis facilities are helping to compensate for the demand for hydrocarbons.
That is to say, anaerobic solvents have some weaknesses. Digesters are not very effective in extracting energy from the breakdown of the organic matter-the energy they extract is better than nothing, but many energy-rich issues are simply not converted. Antibiotics fueled for cattle to treat diseases also destroy the surgeries of a solvent and can remove the efficiency even more.
Once any gas has been harvested, a solid called “digestion” must be cleaned by the solvent and dumped. This digestion can be used to fertilize crops, but contains high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus that can flow to the local water table if exceeded in crops.
Also, as it was true for barsows, capital costs for a solvent are high and operating costs of building maintenance can be high. For many farms, complications and increased expenses of anaerobic solvents make them a non-initial.
That is why my ears were withdrawn when I heard a step for starting Colorado based in Colorado Renewable W2E solution at a Keiretsu forum meeting. I joined a voluntary care team to dig into W2E technology and discovered that the company offers an interesting technical and business solution to both farmers seeking to manage waste leaks and companies seeking to reduce carbon intensity of their operations.
W2E facilities produce renewable natural gas without the weaknesses of anaerobic solvents
W2E President Chris Webb-a co-founder and executive management of long waste management-realized that by processing manure in a certain way, it was possible to generate large amounts of energy rich in energy.
Webb tells me that the first step in the W2E process is to create Singas which can be burned to generate direct or refined electricity in green hydrogen and sold in an outward holder (ie, one party signing a long -term deal of purchase). External holders that require natural gas are also lucky because the syngas can also be converted to that fuel and transported to the market through the wide system of natural gas pipeline.
Webb and its co -founder, John Wallace (current W2E chairman) built a team of engineers, energy executives and industrial gas experts and designed a system to operate web knowledge. The system they designed allows them to produce various energy -rich results by using the same organic fertilizer entry.
A W2E structure uses off the shelf equipment-the company’s “secret sauce” is not in the tools to do the job, but in the process with which it is done. The use of available commercial equipment reduces the risk of enterprise technology, holds the costs. and facilitates the modulation of objects to adapt to the volume of the raw material of the entry and the requirements of the extraterrestrial.
A process diagram for the W2E reactor system. All devices are available commercial, lowering … [+]
From a farmer’s perspective, the W2E solution provides relief at very true points of pain. Management of manure is costly, especially for large dairy products, because farms must meet local and federal environmental regulations. W2e pays farmers for their manure, turning the farmer’s cost center into a revenue manufacturer. Also, unlike anaerobic digestion, the W2E process does not generate digestion, saving farmers from the quarrel and the cost of digestive management.
The only by -products of the W2E process are char – a chemically durable form of nearly clean carbon that can be applied to areas to increase water retention, added to cement, or applied to other industrial uses – and carbon dioxide, which can be captured and stored.
W2E is in the middle of its char certification as a “additional cement material” approved by the industry to use in concrete (see this article to learn more about the SCM market). Webb plans to supply local highway and other infrastructure projects with Char from local farms. The addition of Char cuts the carbon intensity of the cement and can actually strengthen the concrete.
While farmers represent a group of W2E clients, the company also sells its renewable natural gas for external holders who want a low carbon intensity product to compensate for fossil fuel fuel carbon trail. For each cubic meter of Gas W2e produces, the company can generate high quality carbon loans that are easily measurable and audible, unlike, for example, outdoor -based loans by forest projects. Audit tracks make W2E loans attractive from the point of view of a great buyer (think Microsoft or United Airlines).
W2E plans to maintain intellectual property for facilities in a holding company and fund local projects separately with project sponsors. As the technology gets well, the firm will switch to a clean license -based model, generating high borders for Holdco.
Because I signed a non-discovery agreement with the company as part of the right care, I cannot report the profits provided for each facility, but it is enough to say that they received my attention.
Mathematics is simple: we need to cut some of our dependence on fossil fuels and foreign energy sources, and less fossil natural gas should be fried for each cubic meter of renewable natural gas produces W2E. Intelligent investors take notes.