Dive Brief:
- An $80 million hog manure waste-to-energy plant is in the works in Missouri. The facility will capture biogas, or renewable natural gas, from hog farms using anaerobic digestion technology.
- The companies behind the facility, Roeslein Alternative Energy (RAE) and Smithfield Foods subsidiary Murphy-Brown of Missouri (MBM), tout the project as the biggest of its kind.
- The gas will be used for vehicle fuel or within the natural gas grid system. Byproducts of the process, including solid residue and water, may be used by local farmers for fertilizer and irrigation.
Dive Insight:
RAE and MBM anticipate natural gas operations will begin later this year. RAE says it will also create renewable natural gas from grass and crops harvested between growing seasons. Rudi Roeslein, the president and CEO of Roeslein & Associates, says the project demonstrates the environmental and economic benefits of using manure in a variety of ways.
In June 2014, a farm in Michigan installed a manure treatment system capable of recycling waste into clean water. The system can also extract valuable nutrients from the waste, which can be used as fertilizer. The system creates zero waste as every bi-product is reused.
