Farm Bill Funded Project
Emerling Farms
| Location |
Perry, New York |
| Project Type |
Farm Scale |
| Animal Type |
Dairy |
| Population Feeding Digester |
1,200 |
| Baseline System |
Storage Tank or Pond or Pit |
| Digester Type |
Horizontal Plug Flow |
| System Designer |
RCM International, Inc. |
| Biogas Use |
Cogeneration |
| Generating Capacity |
230 kW |
| Receiving Utility |
New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG) |
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Photo: Cornell University
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Reducing electricity costs was the primary reason for constructing an anaerobic digester at Emerling Farm. Since installing the digester, owners have experienced fewer electrical expenses related to fan loads and have generated revenue from sales of excess electricity.
The digester processes 48,000 gallons of waste each day. Manure and used bedding is either scraped or pumped into a gravity flow system that leads to the anaerobic digester influent pit. Wastes in the pit are mixed on a timed schedule using an impeller agitator before being pumped into the plug flow digester.
Biogas is used to fire an engine-generator set and excess gas is flared. The farm utilizes power generated on site and sells the remainder to a local electric company.
Emerling Farm's digester project includes the following benefits:
- Odor and pathogen reduction
- Reduced electricity costs
- Revenue from excess energy sales
- Conversion of nutrients from organic to inorganic form for use as a natural fertilizer
Digester effluent is transferred to a screw-press separator. Separated liquid manure is stored and recycled for land application. Solid manure effluent is used for freestall bedding at the facility.
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