TACKLING THE CLIMATE CHANGE CHALLENGEAs a conservation organization, Cecil Land Trust takes the threats, challenges, and opportunities presented by climate change seriously. Educating the community about climate change means a better response more quickly for our community.
KILBY FARM, PROTECTED BY A CONSERVATION EASEMENT, PROACTIVELY ADDRESSES CLIMATE CHANGE
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The Kilby Farm methane digester converts greenhouse gas (methane) produced from cow waste and organic products to green energy to run the farm.
Running a Methane Digestor:
The manure from Kilby Farm dairy cows is flushed into a lagoon using recycled wash water. The solids are separated from the liquid with the goal of capturing the methane-containing solids (“volatile solids”) from the manure. The volatile solids are transferred to another lagoon that is tightly covered because it is an anaerobic digester, meaning that the oxygen must be eliminated.
The manure from Kilby Farm dairy cows is flushed into a lagoon using recycled wash water. The solids are separated from the liquid with the goal of capturing the methane-containing solids (“volatile solids”) from the manure. The volatile solids are transferred to another lagoon that is tightly covered because it is an anaerobic digester, meaning that the oxygen must be eliminated.
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The volatile solids are transferred to a liquid form and mixed with food waste (cranberry juice and cafeteria leftovers) to feed bacteria that produce methane. The lagoon is like a giant stomach and we want it to produce methane gas. The absence of oxygen makes that possible because if oxygen was present, the bacteria would produce different gases.
The methane gas is pumped from the lagoon to a nearby motor. The similarity of methane gas to natural gas allows Kilby farm to run a natural gas motor to produce electricity that powers their facilities. Kilby farm is converting gas from the decomposition of cow manure and food waste to electricity. The farm also creates biomethane that they send to the natural gas grid, which then gets bottled and put into the tractors that run Kilby farms. This means that the farm’s methane digestor helps produces less greenhouse gas emissions from the cow waste and from the farm’s daily operations. |
Methane-Powered Tractor:
Kilby farm has purchased a Bennaman tractor that is 100% powered by methane. This means that Kilby’s system is almost completely a closed-loop system.
The tractor is designed to minimize emissions and maximize profitability and productivity, without sacrificing performance. The engine is powered by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), which creates a low operating cost – saving farmers up to 30% compared to using diesel. The methane tractor also reduces pollutant emissions by 90%, and CO2 emissions by 10-15% against diesel. And the tractor was designed with high reliability in mind, so it is built to last.
The tractor is run by Biomethane – a kind of biogas that has been scrubbed of any impurities or other gases so that it can be used in the natural gas grid. On Kilby farms, they can create biomethane through the methane digestor, but do not have the bottling capabilities – so they send the biomethane off to the natural gas grid, and purchase fuel for the tractor from public CNG stations. Biomethane that is created from liquid manure – the kind that Kilby farm produces – produces 180% less greenhouse gas emissions than diesel, from creation of the methane to distribution and eventual use of the biomethane in the tractor.
Kilby farm has purchased a Bennaman tractor that is 100% powered by methane. This means that Kilby’s system is almost completely a closed-loop system.
The tractor is designed to minimize emissions and maximize profitability and productivity, without sacrificing performance. The engine is powered by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), which creates a low operating cost – saving farmers up to 30% compared to using diesel. The methane tractor also reduces pollutant emissions by 90%, and CO2 emissions by 10-15% against diesel. And the tractor was designed with high reliability in mind, so it is built to last.
The tractor is run by Biomethane – a kind of biogas that has been scrubbed of any impurities or other gases so that it can be used in the natural gas grid. On Kilby farms, they can create biomethane through the methane digestor, but do not have the bottling capabilities – so they send the biomethane off to the natural gas grid, and purchase fuel for the tractor from public CNG stations. Biomethane that is created from liquid manure – the kind that Kilby farm produces – produces 180% less greenhouse gas emissions than diesel, from creation of the methane to distribution and eventual use of the biomethane in the tractor.
KEY FEATURES |
KEY BENEFITS |
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Sustainable solution ensuring lower CO2 and pollutant emissions (virtually zero CO2 emission, or even negative, when using bio-methane) |
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High productivity, thanks to diesel-like performance with minimum fuel consumption |
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Low operating and maintenance costs and maximized uptime |
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Simple, compact and maintenance free ATS |
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Effective, robust and reliable architecture |
Benefits of Methanization:
A farm with a methane digestor comes with a lot of benefits. For starters, the production of fuel can provide a new source of income for farmers. Biomethane, electricity, heat, and biofuel can all be sent to the department of energy for use on other farms, which farmers can be paid for. The use of cow manure in the methane digestor reduces the greenhouse gas emissions that would otherwise be produced in livestock operations. And methane digestion is cost-effective, so farmers may be more likely to put their land under an easement, creating more conserved farmlands. This keeps the land in the hands of the farmers, and prevents development now and in the future.
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