Calif. Dairy Converts Diesel Big Rigs to Run on Biomethane Made From Cow Manure
By Scott Doggett February 23, 2009
Three days before Christmas, we joyously reported
that Idaho was looking to convert mountains of manure into natural gas for vehicles and homes.
Today, we're delighted to report that Hilarides Dairy of Lindsay, California, has gone a step farther: It's converted two of its diesel 18-wheelers to run on clean-burning biomethane made from the dairy's formidable stockpiles of cow crap.
In addition to curbing the amount of greenhouse gases that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere as the manure decomposed, by producing biomethane from cow waste the dairy is reducing the nation's dependence on foreign fossil fuels.
And the production will "give us some protection from volatile energy prices," said owner Ron Hilarides (pictured). Who'd have thunk so much good could come from cow patties.
The bio-gas making process begins with flushing manure from stalls housing 10,000 cows into a covered lagoon, where bacteria breaks it down. The resulting methane gas is then pumped to a refinery that removes carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and other impurities.
The purified methane is pressurized - made into compressed natural gas - before being pumped into the 18-wheelers, which are fitted with Cummins engines that have been converted from compression-ignited diesels to spark-ignited methane-burners.
The dairy generates 226,000 cubic feet of bio-gas per day - enough to slash the dairy's diesel consumption by 650 gallons a day, Hilarides said, adding that he intends to convert five pick-up trucks to run on biomethane.
The project was paid for with a $600,000 grant from an alternative-fuel incentive program administered by the California Air Resources Board. The same dairy has used methane from its cows for electrical power generation since 2004.
Methane is a natural byproduct of the microbial process that breaks down sewage, and it is emerging as a viable alternative to gasoline and diesel. City officials in Oslo, Norway, recently announced they will convert 80 municipal buses to run on methane generated from human waste.
Dairy emissions are a significant contributor to global warming. In a 2005 study, California air-quality officials estimated that the state's dairies generated 23.5 tons of greenhouse gases every day.
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Something doesn't add up here. If it generates the equivalent of 650 gallons per day, it will pay for itself in a couple years. Why was grant money needed?
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