In August of 2013, Earth By Design completed a demonstration project for animal mortality mitigation on-farms through the use of a proprietary, portable anaerobic digester. The self-contained system was a grid independent solution for animal mortalities on farms, in forests, and other locations where the leaching of nitrates and other toxins into the soil (and subsequently the water table) from unprocessed animal carcasses required mititgation. This project served as a demonstration of Earth By Design's interests in not only protecting the environment and various habitats, but also in our ability to be a diverse, clean energy technology solutions provider.
The self contained system was designed for portability and scalability using innovative solutions in reclamation techniques to fully capture the resources available from anaerobic digestion. The typical process of converting organic products (such as crops) into a usable biogas usually loses opportunities for capturing clean water and nutrient-rich soil (effluent) that can later be utilized on crop lands. Water captured in this process can either be used as irrigation water for crops (re-using an invaluable resource and providing water conservation), or re-used in the process of anaerobic digestion. Effluents, whether processed for dry application or as a liquid-based (ready-to-go) product, is valuable both to farmers on their own croplands and as a saleable product to other ranchers and farmers. Additionally, the portable anaerobic digestion system developed by EBD provides cleaner air, noise-free operations, light-pollution free operations, and a long-term, sustainable resource for crop lands.
Anaerobic Digestion is an oxygen-free process of breaking down solids (read more here). While animal mortality mitigation is usually limited in scope due to concerns about virus and bacteria in the remains of animals, EBD's technology employs a series of advanced handling techniques ranging from high temperature processing to cyclic strategies that all ensure quantifiable strategies for overcoming these obstacles. The digester, lovingly named "R2D2" by the staff (for its unique design), provided substantial results in the demonstration project that validated the digester system's overall effectiveness in the areas of cost, biogas production, by-product production (effluent and clean water), and other factors.
Partnering with the Wyoming, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Earth By Design provided valuable data and feedback for the benefits to farmers for using our proprietary systems on their farms. You can download the 2013, Best Environmental Management Practices for Farm Animal Production Brochure for a brief overview of the results. For a more detailed report, please see our presentation: Capturing Available Renewable Energy Resources Through Improved Mitigation of Environmental Protection On-Farms. If you're interested in how our portable anaerobic digester (PAD) system can work for you, please refer to our comprehensive report, or feel free to contact us.
