By SHELLY STRAUTZ-SPRINGBORN
Michigan Correspondent

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Studies to convert waste into usable resources are the focus of a new Michigan State University (MSU) research facility.

The 6,000-square-foot Anaerobic Digester Research and Education Center (ADREC), located on College Road, across from the MSU Dairy Teaching and Research Facility, is expected to play a key role in expanding Michigan’s bioeconomy as researchers work to advance the science and technology of anaerobic digestion (AD).

Anaerobic digesters take waste products such as manure and food waste and store it in a tank that is deprived of oxygen. This allows the waste materials to decompose quickly and produces methane that can be used as biogas. Biogas is composed primarily of methane, a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Emitted from digesters, biogas is collected and used to produce electricity, heat or vehicle fuel.

“Anaerobic digestion has proven to be a feasible technology to convert waste to a resource while minimizing negative impact on the environment,” said Ajit Srivastava, chairperson of the MSU Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering.

“However, due to the high cost it can only be afforded by large dairy operations. Therefore, the goal of the ADREC is to develop off-the-shelf anaerobic digestion technology so it becomes cost effective for small to medium-size farms (200 to 499 milking cows). Since there are more than 2,200 dairy farms in Michigan that fall in this range, the potential of AD technology in converting animal manure to energy, all-the-while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, is huge.”

Construction of the building was completed this spring. Half of the facility features laboratories, conference rooms and offices for researchers, while the other half boasts a high bay for pilot-scale research projects.

“This facility actually brought together resources that we had spread across four different laboratories on campus,” said Dana Kirk, who manages the facility. “And so by building this facility we’re able to bring those researchers, the graduate students, the undergraduates and the faculty and staff together under one roof where we can share instrumentation and work back and forth and share resources.”

The high bay end of the facility houses a variety of anaerobic reactors, ranging in size from 2 liters to 200 liters, as well as a temperature-controlled room, which is vital to work with anaerobic digestion.

“We think MSU can play a very critical role in this industry as it evolves in this country because of the research we have both in the faculty, staff and now in the laboratory facilities,” said Steve Safferman, associate professor of biosystems and agricultural engineering.

Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the USDA announced a new interagency agreement promoting renewable energy generation and slashing greenhouse gas emissions from livestock operations.

The agreement expands the work of the AgStar program, a joint EPA-USDA effort that helps livestock producers reduce methane emissions from their operations. The collaboration provides $3.9 million over the next five years, expands technical assistance efforts, improves technical standards and guidance and expands outreach to livestock producers to assist with pre-feasibility studies.

The EPA estimates that there are currently 150 on-farm manure digesters now operating at livestock facilities across the country.

In addition, EPA estimates there are about 8,000 farms across the country that are good candidates for capturing and using biogas.

If all 8,000 farms implemented biogas systems, methane emissions would be reduced by more than 34 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent a year, roughly equal to the annual emissions from 6.5 million passenger vehicles. In addition, these projects could generate more than 1,500 megawatts of renewable energy.

“The methane gas can be used for any of our conventional energy sources,” Kirk explained.

“It can be used to directly replace natural gas – if we scrub out the impurities – it actually can be inserted in the pipeline and burned at your house. Typically and historically, methane gas has been converted into electricity by using it as the fuel source for a turbine or an internal combustion engine.”

Tours of the facility were offered during Ag Expo, held July 20-22 at MSU, during which participants got a first-hand look at how the anaerobic digestion process works. Safferman explained that manure collected from barns at the MSU Dairy Teaching and Research facility, as well as food scraps from the Brody Hall cafeteria, is being used in working models in the lab.

“Everything has to be in balance,” he said. “We’re doing a lot of studies on blending. It’s incredible how much more gas you can produce and how much more money you can make by finding the right mix.

“This can make the difference between losing money and making money,” he said.

In addition to university studies, the researchers are also testing different materials for several commercial clients.

“Instead of waste being an environmental burden to the environment, now it becomes an asset and a very much needed commodity,” Safferman said.