A34—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 1,1984
A.O. Smith studying digesters
LANCASTER Manufactured
methane digester systems may
soon become a new product of A. 0.
Smith Harvestore, possibly within
a year, according to a member of
the company’s research depart
ment.
Fred Variani, A. O. Smith
researcher, gave this possible
timetable in a discussion of the
company’s research prototype
systems that are located on five
farms.
“These systems have been
studied and improved to where
they are almost at the point of
being a product,” he said.
“Perhaps, by next summer they
will be.”
The present five prototype
Methane digester
(Continued from Page AI)
borders Indian Run, a tributary of
the Cocalico Creek-Conestoga-
Susquehanna River system that
empties into the Chesapeake Bay.
The six farms contain diversified
livestock including dairy, swine,
beef and poultry, which generate
wastes that are equivalent to 800
cows.
The six operations include three
dairy only, one dairy and swine
and two beef, poultry and swine
farms.
While the overall area of the six
farms covers some 500 acres, the
livestock buildings are located in a
corridor about (Hie fifth that large.
Actual numbers of livestock
located within an area some 3,000
feet long and 1,500 feet wide are 300
milking cows, 130 young stock, 500-
plus brood sows, 1,200 nursery
pigs, 1,200 finishing hog capacity,
300 steers and 185,000 broilers.
The tightly-knit agricultural
complex of six diversified
operations was considered ideal to
study since a basic important
consideration in the economics of a
cooperative methane digester
program is the cost of moving the
manure, which is some 85 percent
water, according to Gregory.
Each farm is too small for an
economical individual digester
system, but together they
represent what would be
equivalent to an 800-cow methane
generator.
Gregory explained that the
cooperative methane digester
digesters will be supplemented
with two more to be located on
larger dairy operations. The
present five are located on a beef,
small dairy, poultry, hog and
combined hog and poultry
operation.
Variani concentrated his
discussions during a report at
Methane Digester Workshops in
Lancaster and Somerset this week
to the poultry and hog operation
digesters.
“Two of the biggest problems
we’ve encountered with the poultry
digester,” according to Variani,
“are the buildup of grit in the
digester and the need to remove
feathers that accumulate in the
manure particularly during
operation could likely take the
form of a corporation-type
management among the six with a
single individual from their
families charged weith the day-to
day responsibility.
Economic feasibility of the
cooperative effort must include
both the sale-back of electricity to
a utility and the farmers sharing
the utilization of the separated
effluent from the digested manure,
utilization of the effluent would
include sale of solids as a shrub
bery and garden mulch, land
application of liquids, and possibly
including a percentage of solids
and liquids into livestock feeding
programs.
“But the digester does not solve
the problem of excess nitrates,”
Gregory explained.
The livestock numbers on the six
farms produce some 25 percent
more nitrogen than would be
needed if all available cropland
were planted in continuous corn.
Some of the farmers among the six
rent neighboring land on which the
excess is utilized.
But another plus of the digester
system is the removal of any odor
problem that conventional manure
handling and disposal is causing in
builtup areas.
With the collection of technical
data completed by RCM, Inc.,
methane digester firm in Lan
caster, the study is now being
compiled by the Conservation
District staff for presentation in
the near future.
molting.”
In its poultry digester, A. 0.
Smith has installed a floor valve
that permits removal of ac
cumulated grit before it affects
operation. Every few months the
valve is opened and the grit is
flushed from the digester by head
pressure into the lagoon, which is
some 30 feet below the system.
The grit flushing reduces gas
generation for about a day but has
been found to be the easiest
method of removal.
Feathers accumulated during
molting are removed in an initial
manure holding pit before the
manure flows into the digester’s
holding pit.
Scum must also be removed
periodically from the digester but
is not nearly as serious a problem
as the grit buildup.
The poultry digester is located
on a 70,000 caged layer farm in
South Carolina; while the hog
operation digester is in Minnesota.
While the poultry digester
generates electricity and sells it
back only at peak periods, the hog
digester was installed primarily as
an environmental measure to
eliminate an odor problem from
lagoons.
The bio-gas is ultiized about nine
months of the year to heat the hog
buildings and is vented the other
three months.
Variani also said that no ap
preciable problems have been
encountered in its larger digester
from the combination of manure
from a 450-sow farrow to finish and
120,000 caged layer operation.
The researcher said that con
siderable technology is now being
utilized from Western Europe
which is ahead of the United States
in development and location of
units.
But, he predicted, that the need
for the digester units will continue
to increase in the U.S. from both an
energy and ecological standpoint.
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