Pocket Digestion: inventory of techniques making energy from manure on a small scale

In Flanders, as in many EU countries, only a small share (3,48% of total N) of manure is energetically valorized today. Especially for the manure that remains on farm for fertilization of crops later on in the growing season, the valorization potential remains large but also very disperse. As is valid for most investments, in the biogas sector as well there is an economy of scale which causes a higher investment cost per kW for smaller biogas installations. Until 2011 small scale AD was assumed non-profitable in Flanders. Nevertheless, novel insights have emerged since then… In 2011 a new technology came to the market aiming at mono-digestion of cattle slurry with a CHP engine of 10 kW electrical power. Because of the favorable system in Flanders with reversing electric counters (allowing small energy producers to inject their electricity for the same price as they pay for electricity under the condition that the amount of energy produced doesn't exceed their energy consumption) together with the green electricity & heat saving certificates, this technology has proven to be a profitable investment for dairy farmers. In about 4 years more than 100 farmers invested in an installation. Since anaerobic digestion is also frequently mentioned as a technology helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions originating from manure management (Amon et al., 2006), in 2015 the Flemish government has also started to stimulate new investments through an investment subsidy for side equipment of small scale AD. Due to the technology being limited to one type of biomass (cattle slurry), it is the role of Inagro as a research & advice centre in agri- & horticulture and other cooperating organisations like Biogas-E, VCM, Ghent University & DLV to inform farmers about the technical possibilities (e.g. expansion of small scale AD towards pig slurry, crop residues, other players on the market, …) they can invest in. So far e.g. no success stories of mono digestion of pig slurry on a small scale were found, though the study put together an interesting inventory of techniques available on the market today.

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