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Guide to Anaerobic DigestersAs of April 2008, AgSTAR estimates that there are 114 farm-scale digesters operating at commercial livestock farms in the United States. Four of these installations are centralized systems that provide manure treatment for multiple farms.
In 108 of the 114 operational systems, the captured biogas is used to generate electrical power, with many of the farms recovering waste heat for the electricity generating equipment for on-farm use. These systems generate about 182,000 MWh of electricity per year. The remaining six systems use the gas in boilers, upgrade the gas for injection into the natural gas pipeline, or simply flare the gas captured gas for odor control. In total, the combustion of biogas at the digesters prevents the emission of about 36,600 metric tons of methane annually (768,600 metric tons of CO2 equivalent). In addition, this biogas utilization displaces the use of fossil fuels, thus achieving additional emissions reductions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants. Many of the operational, planned and under construction digester systems included in the database were funded by USDA Rural Development through the 2002 and 2008 Farm Bills. Some of these Farm Bill funded projects are highlighted in the Farm Project Profiles section below. Anaerobic Digester DatabaseThe Excel spreadsheets below provide basic information for anaerobic digester systems in the United States. The spreadsheets show projects in the following stages: planning, design, construction, startup, steady state, shutdown, and cancelled. Download XLS viewer.
These data were compiled from a variety of sources. AgSTAR cannot guarantee the accuracy of these data. AgSTAR encourages farm operators, project developers, financers, and others involved in the development of farm digester projects to provide updates and corrections to these data by contacting AgSTAR. Farm Project ProfilesAnaerobic digester systems can be installed successfully at commercial scale operations that collect manure as a liquid, slurry, or semi-solid. Existing farms use a variety of different types of digester designs and energy use technologies. Read profiles of successful anaerobic digester projects that are enjoying the environmental and economic benefits of incorporating anaerobic digesters into their manure management system.
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