Consultant:

P
oultry
P
ower

Client:

PerdueChickenSalisbury,
MD

Date:
12/11/2015

ConsultantTeam:
SarahKoskinen,JaspreetNarang,Nihil
Rajendran,JackTurner,WooChoi

ExecutiveSummary

PerdueAgriRecycle,alargescalepoultrylitterrecyclingoperationcollectsasurplusoflitter
fromtheDelmarvapeninsulaandconvertsitintofertilizer.Theoperationhasexceededovera
billionpoundsofmanure,orover450,000tonssince2009.Astheamountofmanureprocessed
byoperationincreasessowilltheirneedsanddemands.

Thisreportgivesoverviewofourproposalofa$5millionmixedinputanaerobicdigesterdesign
asaninitialconstructioncostandanoperatingcostof$333,681.78peryear.Thedesigned
3
digesterwouldprocess30tonsofmanureasdailyinput,produce1,975,947m
methaneper
yearresultingintheproductionof6,788,156kWhperyear.

Aftercomputingthecosts,energyproduction,andincomefromthedigester,wehavecalculated
thepaybackperiodtobearound15yearsusingtheMarylandEnergyAssociationIncentives.
Despitecurrentuncertaintieswithanaerobicdigestiononanindustrialscale,andunsuccessful
projectsinthepast,wehavebasedthisdesignoffofacurrentlysuccessfulprojectinFranceand
wewouldstronglyrecommendtoourclienttoexplorethissustainableandrenewableenergy
sourceinanefforttosupporttheiroperationandmaximizetheoutputoftheirdailyload.

OverviewofClient

PoultryPowerstargetclientisPerduesAgriRecyclebusiness.TheAgriRecyclebranchof
Perdueisalargescalelitterpelletizingoperation(perdueagrirecycle.com).Theyarealso
involvedinalitterrelocationprogram.BesidesthesetwooperationsPerduehasnosystemsetin
placetoeliminateexcesspoultrylitter.Ourcompanysproposalistobuildalargescale
anaerobicdigesterwouldbethefirstofitskindforPerdue.

ThelocationoftheproposeddigesterwouldbeinChurchill,MDontheEasternShore.We
believethatthisisanideallocationforseveralreasons.Onebeingthereareseveralacresofland
availableintheareaforsuchalargesystemtobebuilt.Additionallythedigesterwouldbe
locatedinbetweentwolargePerduefarms(oneinChestertown,MDandtheotherin
Sudlersville,MD).Buildingthedigesterbetweenthesetwofarmswouldallowthemtotransport
thelitterandcropresiduewithlittletransportationcosts.ConstructingthedigesterontheEastern
ShorewouldmakeitaccessibletopoultryfarmsinDelaware.Aspreviouslymentionedthe
anaerobicdigesterwouldtakenotonlypoultrylitterfromthefarmsbutalsocropresidues.In
additiontothat,thedigesterwouldtakefoodwastefromanearbyretirementcommunity.This
allowsthedigestertohaveabettermixoffuelsources.


DescriptionofRenewableEnergyTechnology

AnaerobicdigestionisaBiologicalconversionmechanismthatconvertsorganicmaterial
tothemostreducedandoxidizedform(methaneandcarbondioxide)intheabsenceofoxygen.
Sincenoelectronacceptorsareadded,theinitialenergypresentinthefeedmaterialisretainedin
amoreusableandtransportableformintheproductionofmethanegas(McGahanetal,2013).
Thereare4mainstepsinanaerobicdigestion:

1. Hydrolysis:Anextracellularstepinwhichparticulatematterisconvertedintosugarsand
aminoacidsbyextracellularenzymes.

2. Fermentation:Amicrobialprocessbywhichsugarsandaminoacidsareusedinthe
productionoforganicacidssuchasalcoholsandhydrogenbyfermentativemicrobes.

3. Acetogenesis:Anothermicrobialprocessbywhichtheorganicacidsandalcohols
producedinthepreviousstepareconvertedintoaceticacidandhydrogenbyobligate
HydrogenproducingAcetogens.

4. Methanogenesis:Thisprocessisactually2differentprocesses,onewhichisdoneby
Aceticlasticmicrobesintheconversionofacetatetomethane,andtheotherdoneby
Hydrogenotrophsintheconversionofhydrogentomethane.

Likeanyrenewableenergy,anaerobicdigestionhassomeadvantagesanddisadvantages.
Theadvantagesinclude:beingarenewableenergysource,creatinglessGHGemissions,creates
anintegratedmanagementsystem(Monnet28),theelectricitycouldbesoldtootherparties.
Thesourcesforthedigesterwouldbemostlypoultrylitterwithsomecropresiduesandfood
wastes,allofwhicharerenewable.Adigesterwouldalsocreateanintegratedsystemsothat
mostofthepollutionfromthrowingthesourcefuelawaycanbeeliminated.Beingarenewable
energysource,anaerobicdigestioncreatessignificantlylessgreenhousegasemissionscompared
totraditionalfossilfuelssuchascoalandnaturalgas.Anothermajoradvantageisthatthe
electricityproducedcanbeusedwithinthefarmsorcanbesoldtoathirdparty.

Therearealsoseveraldisadvantagesofananaerobicdigestionsystem.Onesuch
disadvantageistheinitialcapitalcosttobuildthesystemmightbehighdependingonthescale
ofthesystem(psu.edu),butforacompanyaslargeasPerduethisshouldnotbeamajor
problem.Anotherdisadvantageistheodorandincreasedtrafficthatwillaffectnearbyresidential
areas.Theodorwillbecausedfromthelargeamountsofpoultrylitterandtheincreasedtraffic
willcomefromthetruckshaulinginthesourcefuels.Alsopoultrylittercanhavedangerous

pathogensthatmightposearisktohumans.AlthoughthereisareductioninGHG,thesystem
wouldstillproduceadecentamountofnitrogenoxidesandsomemethane.Thenitrogenoxides
couldresultintheformationofgroundlevelozoneandthemethanecouldbeafirehazard.

RenewableEnergySystemDesign

PoultryPowerwillconstructacompletemixanaerobicdigesterusingmixedinputsfor
biomass.Wewillconnectoursystemtothegasgrid,andtheeffluentslurrybyproductof
digestionwillbeusedinadjacentagriculturefieldstoreplacetraditionalnitrogenand
phosphorusfertilizers.Ourplantusesdesignsthathavebeenprovenintheindustry,while
remaininginnovative.Ourreactorismodeledoffofanactiveanaerobicdigestionreactorlocated
inUssysurMarne,France.Thisreactorisalsoacompletemixanaerobicdigesterhoweverit
usesdifferentinputs,andassuchhasdifferentrequirementsfortreatmentandbiomethane
production.Webelievethatourdesignwillbesuccessfulbasedonourunderstandingofthe
literatureandourmodelingandapplicationofexistingprojectstoanewreactor.

Thesizeofourplantplantislargescaleindustrial.Therearethreemainsilos,abiomass
storagearea,andvarioussupportbuildingsandinfrastructure.Thereactorhasthecapacityto
outputgasatarateof250Nm3/hr.Thebiomethaneisproducedintwomainstepsdigestionand
postdigestion.Ourplanthasabiomassdemandofupto30tonsperday,whichareloadedinto
thedigesterthroughacontainersizedhopper.Thebottomofthehoppercontainsthreelarge
rotatingbladesthatspinoppositethinkenormousmetalspinningrotinipastapieces.These
bladesservetohomogenizethebiomassinputandaidinpushingthemixtureintothedigester.
Fromthebottomofthehopperblades,amixboxmachineaddsnecessarymoisturebasedon
sensordata,andpushesthemixtureintothedigester.Thedigesterisamesophillic/thermophillic
temperaturecontrolledreactorapproximately100feetindiameter.Thetemperatureisregulated
bywaterpipeswhichencirclethesilo.Thesilostandsat18feetandiscappedbyadouble
membraneroofwhichservestocollectanddistributegasbetweenthethreesilos.

Fromthedigester,gasanddigestatearetransportedtothepostdigesterbypressureand
pumps.Thepostdigesterisidenticalinsizetothedigester,withasimilardesignedroofand
heatingsystem..Postdigestionfurtherdecomposesorganicmaterialandproducesmore
biomethane,inadditiontounwantedproductssuchashydrogensulfideandcarbondioxide.The
digestateisfurthertransportedintothethirdsilo,mainlyusedforstorageandextraspace.The
thirdsiloholdsthedigestateuntilitisreadytobeappliedasfertilizerinadjacentcropproduction
plots.Thethirdsiloalsohasadoublemembraneroofwhichservestoholdexcessbiomethane
whichisawaitingfiltering,pressurizing,andinjectionintothegasmainframefromtheanaerobic
digestionfacility.Thegasfromthesilosispipedtoanadjacentmembranousgasfiltering
buildingwhichcontainsequipmentthatpurifiesthebiomethane.Thedigestionprocessusedfor

ourdesigntypicallycontains5070%biomethaneandmustbefilteredtoremovecontaminants
priortoinjectionintothegasgrid.

Anofficeandmaincontrolroomcontainingequipmentforheatingandregulatingthe
digestateliebetweenthedigesterandpostdigester,andalargebiomassstorageandstagingarea
laynorthofthemainfacility.TherearevariousBMPsinplaceonsitethatregulaterunoffflow,
erosion,andhydrologyofthesite.Thesecatchmentsensurethatthefacilitywillnotcontributeto
pollutioninneighboringwaterways.Ourproposedsystemdesignisestimatedatabitmorethan
$5.1milliondollars,andwilloutput1.9MCMbiomethane,or6.8millionkWhperyear.

PaybackPeriod

a.CalculatingCapitalandOperationCost
Tocalculatecapitalcostandoperationalcostofouranaerobicdigestionsystem,weused
researchfromtheAustraliangovernmentsRuralIndustriesResearchandDevelopment
Corporation.Thiscorporationresearchedtheconversionofwastetoenergyinthechickenmeat
industry.ThedigestionsystemforacentralizedplantbuiltbytheAustraliangovernmentuseda
digesterthatprocessed61,358tonsofinputperyearcosting$28,622,000(
RuralIndustries
ResearchandDevelopmentCorporation,2013)
.Theanaerobicdigesterweareproposing
processes30tonsofinputperdaywhichisequivalentto10,950tonsperyear.Thecostofthe
ourdigestionsystemisestimatedtobearound$5.1million
(seeFigure2a)
calculatedfromthe
previousmodelperformedbytheAustraliangovernment.Theyearlyoperationcostwasalso
derivedfromthesameAustralianresearchthatprocessed61,358tonsofinputperyearwithan
operationalcostof$1,869,776ayear(
RuralIndustriesResearchandDevelopmentCorporation,
2013)
.Theoperationcostofourproposeddigesteris$333,681peryear.
(seefigure2b)

b.CalculatingBiogas/MethaneOutput
Tocalculatetotalchickensthatwouldbeprovidingmanure,theproductionofmanureper
chickenwasfirstcalculated.Thevalueof80poundsofmanureperdayper1000poundchicken
unit,takenfromtheNaturalResourceDefenseCouncil,wasusedtodeterminethat0.32pounds
ofmanurewasproducedperchickenperday.Theinputvalueof45,000poundsofchicken
manureintooursystemwasdividedbythevalueof0.32poundsofmanuretoequal140,625
chickens(SeeFigure1a.).
Tocalculatebiogasoutputforchickenmanure,weusedaninputof22.5tonsperdayor
45,000poundsperdaywhichwas75%ofthe30tonsofinputintoourdigestersystem.This
valueof45,000poundswasmultipliedbyavolatilesolidspercentageof57%,avalueprovided
3
by
PoultryScience
,andtheresultwasmultipliedbyavalueof8.6ft
perpoundofvolatilesolids
destroyedgiveninapublicationfromStanfordUniversitysDepartmentofAgricultural
Engineering.Wedeterminedthemethaneproductionfromthechickenmanureinputtobe

3
52,334,977.5ft
peryear.Incalculatingthebiogasoutputforthefoodwaste,ourinputwas25%
ofthe30tonsofinput,whichis
equivalentto7.5tonsperday.AccordingtoCaliforniaEnergy
3
Commission,theaveragevolatilesolidsdestroyedinfoodwasteis80.57%,biogasyieldis9.6ft

perpoundofvolatilesolids,andaveragemethanecontentis73.14%
(CaliforniaEnergy
Commission,2005)
.Figure1a.showsthevolatilesolidsdestroyed,biogas,andmethane
productionfor25%foodwaste.Wedeterminedthemethaneproductionfromthefoodwaste
3
3
inputtobe30,973,028.79ft
peryear.Intotal,ourdigesterproduced2,359,017.8m
ofmethane
peryear.

c.CalculatingEnergyProductionandIncomefromDigester
3
Themethaneproductionproductionofourdigesterwas
2,359,017.8m
peryear,andto
calculateenergyproductionthisvaluewasfirstconvertedtoBTUsthenkWhperyear.Thetotal
electricalenergyproducedwas8,104,155.8kWhperyear.Theelectricityproducedperyearwas
multipliedbythecurrentcostofelectricityinMarylandtakenfromPEPCO,$0.09,andthe
incomeofoursystemwasfoundtobe$729,374.02
(Figure2bFigure3a).

d.ProjectedPaybackPeriodWoo
Thedigesterhasbeencalculatedtooffset8,104,155.82kwhperyearwhichisequivalent

to$729,374.02peryear,wherethepriceofenergyis$0.09perkwh(PEPCO,2015).Therateof
returnforthedigesterwithoutthediscountrateoranyincentivesappliedisestimatedtobe
around12.9years.TherateofreturnwiththediscountrateandnoMarylandincentivesappliesis
approximately18.59years.
Figure3a
showsthecalculationsofrateofreturnwithnoincentives
applied.
TheMarylandEnergyAdministration,MEA,offersagrantprogramcalledAnimalWaste
toEnergyGrantProgram(AWEGrantProgram)thatprovidesgrantstoinstallanimalwasteto
energyprojects(MEA,2015).Theprogramisopentobusinesses,governmentagencies,and
nonprofitsinMarylanditoffersmaximumof$1,200,000.
Figure3b
showsthecalculationsof
rateofreturnwithAWEGrantprogramapplied.Therateofreturnwiththegrantprogram
withoutthediscountrateisestimatedtobe9.88years.TherateofyearwithAWEgrantandthe
discountrateisprojectedtobe14.22years.

FinalRecommendations
Limitsondigester:Manyuncertaintiesstillexistinindustrialscaleanaerobicdigestion,and
maintenanceandgasoutputpressureandvolumevarygreatly,evenovershortperiodsoftime.
Frequentlydigesterprojectsarenotprofitableandhavenothadaspositivereceptioninthe
UnitedStatescomparedtocountrieslikeGermanyandFrance.

Thisdigesterisbasedonafullyoperational,currentworkingreactorinFrancethatisontrackto
fulfillthepaybackperiod,possiblyevenaheadofschedule.
WewouldrecommendthatPerdueAgriRecycleinvestthe$5milliondollarsinordertoexplore
asustainable,renewableenergysource.
TeamContribution
Sarah:Iwasresponsibleforcalculatingbiogasoutputandelectricityproductionofoursystem.I
alsoassistedWoowithcalculatingoursystemscapitalandoperationcosts,aswellasthe
paybackperiodforoursystemwithandwithoutdiscounting.WooandImetseveraltimestogo
throughourcalculations.Iprobablyspentabout20hoursonthisproject.

Jaspreet:Titlepage,Executivesummary,andDescriptionofTechnology

Jack:

Nihil:OverviewofClientandDescriptionofSystem

Woo:Iwasresponsibleforthecalculationsoftheoperationcost,digestercostandthepayback
periodofoursystemwhichincludedfourdifferentcalculationswithandwithoutdiscountrate
andMarylandIncentives.Inaddition,IsharedmyresearchwithSarahforthebiogasoutputand
electricityproduction.SarahandImettocompareourresearchandourcalculationstomakesure
ournumbersarecorrect.Ispentaround20hourstodothecalculationsandresearch,itincludes
thetimeImetwithSarahtogothroughthecalculations.

Figures
1a.BiogasOutputCalculationsforChickenManure

TotalChickens

Units

140625

Weightperchicken

lbs

Manureperchicken

0.32

lbs/chicken/day

%VolatileSolids

0.57

Biogas

3
ft
/lbVS

8.6

%ofMethane

0.65

Manure(22.5tons/day75%)

45000

lbs/day

VolatileSolidsDestroyed

25650

lbsVS/day

Biogas

3
ft
biogas/day

220590

MethaneProduction

80515350

3
ft
biogas/year

52334977.5

3
ft
biogas/year

1b.BiogasOutputCalculationsforFoodWaste

Units

TotalFoodWaste(25%)

7.5

tons/day

15000

lbs/day

%volatilesolids

0.8057

VolatileSolidsDestroyed

12085.5

Biogas

9.6

%ofMethane
Biogas

0.7314

lbsVS/day
3
ft
/lbsVS

116020.8

3
ft
biogas/day

42347592

3
ft
biogas/year

MethaneProduction

30973028.79

%Efficiency

0.35

3
ft
/year

2359017.811

79027096667

BTU/year

23154730.93

kWh/year

ElectricityProduction

8104155.826

kWh/year

3
m
methane/year

Figure2a.DigesterCalculations
61,358t/yr
28,622,000dollars

10,950t/yr
xdollars

313, 410, 900, 000 = 61, 358x

x = 5, 107, 906, 06dollars
Figure2b.OperationCost
61,358t/yr
1,869,776dollars

10,950t/yr
xdollars

20, 474, 047, 200 = 61, 358x

x = 333, 681.79dollars
Costs
Figure3a.PaybackperiodwithoutMarylandIncentives
NoMarylandIncentives

DigesterCost

OperationCost

0.09
$5,107,900
$333,681.78

NoDiscountRate

$/kWh

$/year

Incomewithoutoperatingcost

$729,374.02

$/year

Incomewithoperatingcost

$395,692.24

$/year

RateofReturn

DiscountRate

12.9

years

5%

15

Incomewithoutoperatingcost

$729374.02

years
$/year

$490,358.40

$7,355,376

RateofReturnwithDiscountRate

18.6

$/year

years

Figure3b.PaybackPeriodwithMarylandIncentives
Marylandincentives

Grant

$1,200,000

DigesterCost

$3,907,900

OperationCost

NoDiscountRate

Incomewithoutoperatingcost

$729,374.02

$/year

Incomewithoperationcost

$395,692.24

$/year

RateofReturn

DiscountRate

5%

15

Incomewithoutoperatingcost

$729,374.02

$/year

$375,158.40

$/year

$5,627,376

RateofReturnwithDiscount
Rate

References

$333,681.78

$/year

9.9

years

14.2

years

years

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