1	MSC Anaerobic Plug-flow Hard-top Methane Digester Dr. Walid H. Shayya School of Agriculture & Natural Resources Morrisville State College Last Updated on May 7, 2007
2	Dairy Complex Background The free-stall Dairy Complex at Morrisville State College was built in 2001.
3	Dairy Complex Background The free-stall Dairy Complex at Morrisville State College was built in 2001 with a free-stall barn that houses 200 milking cows, and a double-eight herringbone, rapid exit milking parlor equipped with an automatic cow identification system.
4	Dairy Complex Location The free-stall Dairy Complex is located about a mile southwest of the center of campus.
5	An Evolving Facility Several exciting new additions to the dairy complex were made over the past three years: Two barns for heifers, dry cows, and bred heifers were constructed in 2004. Milking cows housing facilities were consolidated on campus with the 60-cow tie-stall barn being closed and the animals moved to the Dairy Complex. Two calf barn constructed as student instruction projects (one constructed in 2004 and a second scheduled for completion in 2007). A show barn built as a student instruction project in 2006. A plug-flow anaerobic digester and an equipment building constructed in 2006. What was missing (until recently) from the manure management perspective? The Dairy Complex did not include long-term manure storage (a three-month storage tank was constructed in late 2006). Only a 3-day manure storage tank was built with the dairy complex. The daily-haul method is used to spread manure on college fields (should no longer be followed starting from early 2007).
6	An Educational Facility The Dairy Complex is a teaching facility where technical practices will emulate commercial dairy operations. Facility intended to train the students in the area of feeding, herd health, dairy herd management, and manure and nutrient management. Practical research and demonstration was also envisioned with the facility to address questions relative to dairy herd and animal waste management.
7	MSC Anaerobic Digester Background A feasibility study funded by the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets was initiated in 2000 to select an environmentally-sound and economically-feasible waste management system for the Dairy Complex at Morrisville State College. Anaerobic digestion was found to be a feasible and a promising method for treating the dairy manure and other organic waste generated on campus!
8	Reasons for Anaerobic Digestion at MSC Treatment of organic waste. Odor control. Biogas generation and energy production. Environmental benefits. Economic benefits. Potential for using the anaerobic digester as a demonstration project to New York farmers and dairy producers. College’s mission of educating students and providing them with hands-on experiences using state-of-the-art facilities.
9	Process Followed to Secure Funding A proposal was submitted to NYSERDA in 2001 to have the project funded on cost-share basis ($300,000 were awarded). Through collaborations with NYSERDA and NYPA, another $155,000 were secured from the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets. Another $198,000 were secured from Federal sources through Congressman McHugh’s office (congressional earmarked funds administered by the DOE Golden Office).
10	Building the Digester Funding was provided to build the digester and conduct some applied research on the system. Dave Palmer of Cow Power was hired in 2002 (through a Request for Qualifications) to design the system. The first design was completed in 2003 and a competitive bidding process for a contractor was initiated. Two additional revisions to the design and bidding processes had to be followed in 2004 and 2005 before the current contractor, Paul Yaman Construction, was awarded the contract in 2005 as the lowest bidder.
11	Anaerobic Digester Design Design calls for a dual-chamber, hard-top, plug-flow digester (90.67x37x11.67”). Digester to handle manure from an equivalent of 400 milking cows. Manure handled by the digester is to fit within the CAFO plan for the dairy operation developed by the Dr. Adam Khan, an Agronomist at MSC and a certified AEM Planner.
12	Progress Made on the Project The construction contract was awarded to Paul Yaman Construction in early August and the contractor mobilized to the site on August 3, 2005. Site preparation and excavation for the construction of the two-sided tank was completed in early August, 2005.
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15	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) The forms were then done and the concrete for the digester floor and walls was poured in late August, early September, 2005.
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32	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) The pre-cast concrete planks were installed on the 10th of October, 2005. The joints of the concrete planks were then sealed and a 4”-concrete top coat applied. The heat loop inside each of the two chambers of the digester as well as the heat exchangers inside the grit chamber of each side of the digester were also installed in early October, 2005.
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55	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) The outside of the walls of the digester as well as the digester top were insulated using polyurethane and a top black coat applied to protect the insulation from UV light damage. The back-fill and packing of the soil behind the outside walls of the digester was started at the end of October. The inside of the top of the digester was finished and coal tar epoxy coating was applied in early November to seal the insides of the two chambers of the digester.
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61	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) The outlet bay of the digester was formed and poured in November, 2005. The back-fill and packing of the soil behind the outside walls of the digester as well as the area around the CHP building was completed during the week of the 26^th of November.
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72	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) The installation of insulated steel pipes for heated water that connect the CHP to the influent side of the digester was completed and pressure-tested at the end of November, 2005. More back-filling and packing of the soil behind the outside walls of the digester as well as the area around the CHP building was completed.
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90	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) A PVC pipe was installed to connect the manure storage tank to the digester so that a pump can be used to move the influent to the digester.
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95	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) Work on the CHP building continued. Several pieces of equipment were assembled in CHP building.
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104	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) The engine/generator set was assembled by Martin Machinery (the supplier of the CHP system and heat exchangers, located in Latham, Missouri).
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108	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) The equipment/generator set equipment were then delivered to the site on several skids.
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111	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) The existing 3-day storage was subdivided into two compartments. The subdivision of the tank was accomplished through an 8” concrete dividing wall that was formed and poured. The profile of the existing manure storage tank allowed for its subdivision without the need to stop the flow of scraped manure from the barn and wash water from the milking parlor.
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115	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) A bypass of the footbath was constructed. The bypass involved the installation of 6”-PVC pipe (used to intersect the existing drain pipe in the dairy barn) that connected to the 36” effluent pipe from the digester (located between the CHP building and the digester), thereby completely bypassing the system. The 36” effluent pipe that was already installed along the SW side of the digester was extended to reach the new effluent compartment of the existing storage tank.
116	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) Arrangements of the various mechanical and electrical components of the system were made within the CHP building. The flare system was installed and the biogas lines were connected to the CHP building during the middle part of May, 2006.
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125	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) Control wiring was connected to several equipments in the equipment building. The exhaust from the internal combustion engine was installed along with radiator set to dump excess heat from the engine.
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131	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) The grading of the area around the digester and existing manure pit and the spreading of a layer of top soil over the entire disturbed construction site (including the digester) followed by seeding and mulching.
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140	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) A polyurethane layer and a poly-urea coating were applied to the inside of the digester on the 29^th of August, 2006. Applications were made to the ceiling of the digester as well as the inside walls of both chambers to a level of about a couple of feet below the liquid line in the tank. Applications were intended to provide a gas-tight digester.
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142	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) The digester was filled with water and pressure-tested for leaks. The tests resulted in a drop of less than 0.15 inches of H₂O column per hour (<0.15 in/hr), an acceptable criterion which is below the 0.25 in/hr threshold set within the design manual as the upper limit for an acceptable test.
143	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) A propane tank was installed and connected to the boiler that will be used for heating the digester during startup. A new website on alternative energy projects at Morrisville State College was developed and posted to the web around the 18^th of September, 2006. The website focuses primarily on the methane digester and the 10-kW wind turbine projects.
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147	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) The aluminum covers at the effluent side of the digester and the access ports were installed. The process of digester startup was initiated on the 21^st of September, 2006. Within a period of 10 days, the influent that was pumped into the grit chamber of the SW side of digester reached about few inches below the baffle on the effluent side of the digester. Since the permanent pump was not installed yet, a temporary six-inch pipe was installed to pump the influent using an existing tractor-driven pump.
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151	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) A Sampling, Testing, and Evaluation Plan (STEP) on the project was prepared and discussed during a Project Advisory Group (PAG) meeting held at the Dairy Complex on Friday – September 22, 2006.
152	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) One setback on the project involved the digging up of the heat-loop valves on the influent side of the digester to have those replaced after a leak was discovered. The heating of the digester was started on October 11, 2006. The boiler was run at a temperature of about 100ºF until October 23, 2006 A water leak was discovered in the system which required the cessation of heating of the SW side of the digester. It took about a week to fix the problem!
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159	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) A total of 100 lb of inoculant was added on the 1^st of November (2006) at four locations within the SW side of the digester. Within six days of the application of PIM, the biogas pressure in the digester developed from about 0.5 inches of water column to 6.6 inches as measured on November 7, 2006. The gas pressure in the digester dropped to less than 0.5 inches on the 9^th of November following the increase of temperature in the digester to an average of 108ºF. This was the result of attempting to find the right temperature setting on the boiler to provide an optimum temperature of 98ºF within the digester. Within a couple of days of attempting to address this problem, the temperature in the digester returned to the 96-103ºF range and the pressure increased again to about 6 inches as measured on November 15, 2006.
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162	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) The concentration of CO₂ in the generated biogas was measured at 55-60% on the 15^th of November (2006). The process of installing an electric pump to load manure into the digester was completed on November 28, 2006. The process involved the installation of an electric control box, the fabrication and installation of a platform, and the actual installation of the pump which took place after the influent compartment of the existing manure storage tank was emptied and cleaned during the morning of November 28, 2006.
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167	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) The construction of a 725,000-gallon long-term storage tank was initiated in mid October, 2006 and was completed towards the end of November, 2006. The circular tank has a height of 19 ft and a diameter of 81 ft. The walls of the cylindrical tank were constructed of heavy-duty glass-fused steel with a cement floor. The project also involved the installation of a PVC pipe that connects the NW compartment of the existing 3-day storage tank after the effluent is conveyed from the digester. A pump to be used in moving the effluent to the long-term storage tank is expected to be in place by the end of January, 1007. Once installed, the pump will provide for conveying the effluent from the digester to the long-term storage tank thereby eliminating the need to utilize the daily-haul method for handling the effluent.
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174	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) The process of filling the NE side of the digester was started on the 29^th of November and completed in mid December, 2006. During the process, half of the collected manure was feed to the NE side of the digester with the remaining half being feed to the SW side of the digester that had already produced biogas for at least four weeks. The effluent from the SW side of the digester was also pumped into the NE side of the digester to provide the inoculant to startup the anaerobic digestion process as well as fill up the NE side of the digester as quickly as possible.
175	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) Production of biogas started soon after the two sides of the digester were filled with the effluent from the dairy complex. Biogas production became consistent starting from December 17, 2006. Flaring the biogas started on December 20, 2006, and went on until the internal combustion engine/generator set was started briefly on the 9^th of January, 2007.
176	Progress Made on the Project (continued…) Flaring the biogas continued until the interconnect with the power grid was approved and the combined heat and power generation (CHP) system was authorized to start on February 27, 2007. The system has been in operation since February 28, 2007. It has been consistently generating electrical power close to the system’s capacity of 50 kW since that date.
177	What is Left of the Project Start the implementation of the Sampling, Testing, and Evaluation Plan (STEP)!!