(JP)Hokkaido plants transform livestock waste to energy

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http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20020319wo73.htm

 

Hokkaido plants transform livestock waste to energy

19 March 2002

 

Isamu Mishima Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

 

A government project to convert livestock waste into a

valuable energy source has been launched in Hokkaido,

home to about half the nation's dairy cows.

 

Two biogas plants have been operating at full capacity

since last year creating methane gas from manure.

 

In the past, livestock waste was often used as

fertilizer, but as dairy farms have become bigger and

employ fewer workers, farmers have opted for less

labor-intensive means to remove the waste, such as

piling it up or dumping it in holes in the ground.

 

Dealing with livestock waste has been a headache for

dairy farmers because when it is left untreated it

infiltrates the ground and pollutes ground water and

eventually small waterways and rivers.

 

In order to avoid such contamination, the government

enacted a law regarding the treatment of livestock

waste in 1999.

 

Waste disposal is a big concern in Hokkaido, where

livestock waste amounts to 20 million tons annually.

 

Since the 1980s, biogas plants have been operating in

Denmark and Germany, where measures to cut back on

fossil fuels have been carried out.

 

A bureau of the Hokkaido Development Agency built two

biogas plants in the late 1990s. One was in Bekkaicho

and the other in Yubetsucho, at a total cost of 1.3

billion yen. The two plants started operating at full

capacity last year. The plant in Bekkaicho has a

capacity to treat waste collected from 10 dairy farms,

with a total of 1,000 cows, while the plant in

Yubetsucho has a capacity to treat the waste collected

from four farms, which have a total of 200 cows.

 

The Civil Engineering Research Institute of Hokkaido

(CERI), an independent administrative organization

that operates the plants, said each plant houses

methane fermentation tanks, generators fueled by

methane gas and fertilizer-fermentation facilities.

 

During the conversion process, livestock waste is

transported from a dairy farm and dumped in a

methane-fermentation tank. It is then fermented by

bacteria and other means.

 

The biogas generated from the waste consists of about

60 percent methane gas and 40 percent carbon dioxide.

But there are traces of hydrogen sulfide, which is

harmful to humans but can be destroyed through a

process of desulfurization.

 

The methane gas is used as fuel for engines that

generate electricity and hot water, which is in turn

used to warm the fermentation tank to accelerate the

fermentation. It also heats the management building

and a greenhouse in which vegetables are grown.

 

Liquid and solid residue left over from the

fermentation process is used as fertilizer.

 

Akira Komai, CERI agricultural development department

chief, said the plant in Bekkaicho processed 7,700

cubic meters of livestock waste and generated a total

of 140,000 cubic meters of biogas from the beginning

of the operation last May to December. The Yubetsucho

plant generated 30,000 cubic meters of biogas from

1,600 cubic meters livestock waste from February to

December, he said.

 

" Methane gas fermentation was said to be difficult in

cold areas. However, improved technology regarding

insulation and control has enabled the operation to

run smoothly, even in winter, " Komai said.

 

The head of the agency's Hokkaido Development Bureau,

Noriyoshi Konzo, said the government needs to address

the needs for investment for new facilities and

cost-effective means of transporting livestock waste

from farms to the facilities.

 

Kazutaka Umezu, associate professor of Obihiro

University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine,

said: " The government should encourage the development

of biogas plants by buying electricity from the plants

and ensuring their profitability. The introduction of

more plants is welcomed, because they're very useful

in terms of helping the environmental protection as

well as promoting agriculture. "

 

Copyright 2002 The Yomiuri Shimbun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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