GE's Jenbacher Biogas Plant Helps Eliminate Animal Waste
Milan, Italy - Azienda Agricola 2G di Giuseppe and Paolo Gomiero, two commercial farmers and cattle breeders in Limena (PD), have selected an ecomaginationTM-certified Jenbacher gas engine from GE Energy to power the Baita del Latte farm's first biogas plant.
The power plant uses biogas created by the digestion of a wet mixture of animal waste, or slurry, as well as agricultural biomass materials such as corn and rye. By using the biogas for power generation in place of fossil fuels, the project is expected to result in the reduction of the equivalent of about 5,000 tons of CO2 per year, thus providing significant environmental benefits.
The new biogas project allows Gomiero to address two common farming challenges: obtaining energy at sustainable prices and properly disposing of agricultural and animal wastes like cow manure and chicken dung, which presents an ecological and regulatory challenge for farmers due to its high content of nitrates.
"This project is an excellent example of an advanced solution to an ecological issue," said Paolo Gomiero, who owns the Baita del Latte plant along with his two brothers, Rob erto and Lorenzo. "In fact, the EEC's Nitrates Directive1 provides for very restrictive regulations in terms of chicken dung disposal. Thus the biogas plant actively contributes to the correct use of such substances. The anaerobic digestion of organic substances optimizes the initial product by making it more stable and odorless. Moreover, the remaining substrate is useful as an excellent fertilizer - eliminating the use of chemical substances."
GE Energy supplied a Jenbacher type J320 GS cogeneration unit for this plant, which recently wentinto operation at the farmstead. The plant has an installed electric capacity of 1.06 megawatts (MW), with an efficiency of 40.8 percent. The power plant is equipped with a heat recovery system that utilizes the waste heat from the jacket water. The electricity produced is supplied to the Italian power distribution network, while thermal energy is recovered and used to power the biomass digestion process, the farm's housing facilities and cattle sheds.
The Jenbacher engine is fueled by biogas created from 20 m3 of cattle effluent and approximately 50 tons of biomass each day. By delivering the electricity generated by the biogas engine to the public grid, Baita del Latte is able to obtain "Green Certificates" provided by Italian legislation. These certificates are negotiable instruments that prove electricity is being produced using renewable energy sources.
Source: IWR Online, 06 Jun 2008
