Pig Waste Receives Renewable Investment

Hoffland Environmental Inc employs a process called Bio’Lec (which is a combination of the words biofuel and electricity), which uses anaerobic digestion of pig manure to produce a medium Btu biogas. The Cyprus plant has the flexibility to handle other organic waste and silage to boost efficiency by improving both biogas and electricity output.

The company recently revealed that it is now introducing its process/power technology into the United States with the first 1-MW facility in North Carolina near the city of Goldsboro.

The biogas produced is introduced into a unique spark-ignition engine in order to generate power, which differs from other systems that often use a less-efficient, pressure-ignition diesel generator set. Hoffland Environmental Inc holds several patents in anaerobic technology and water pollution control equipment that are utilised in the process and the company declares that “the power output can easily be expanded to two or more megawatts depending upon the feedstock-fuel that is available”.

The biogas produced by Bio'Lec is cleaned and dehydrated to maximise fuel efficiency and to avoid pollution and the resulting electricity is fed directly to the grid through a transformer system. “Swine manure can be supplemented with material from the local farming community to include olive oil waste, poultry litter and other feedstocks,” said the company in a recent press release. An additional bonus is that water from the process is an excellent agricultural irrigation water containing nitrogen and phosphorous and also micronutrients.

According to the Charlotte Observer, North Carolina's electric utility, Duke Energy, is testing a Bio’Lec generating system at a 9,000-head pig farm in Boonville, about 70 miles north of Charlotte. Methane gas captured from barn waste will fuel a small turbine that should generate enough electricity to supply about 50 homes.

Hoffland Environmental Inc is an employee-owned company founded in 1978 with the purpose of providing the design, manufacturing, installation and operation of environmental equipment and biological treatment systems that are utilized in the agricultural, process, power and petroleum industries. The company has successfully developed and patented economical treatment systems for toxic metals, oil and grease, hydrocarbons, dissolved and suspended solids, animal waste and biofuels (gas, liquid and solids). Its engineering and manufacturing facility is located in Conroe, Texas.