In the Netherlands, biomass combustion and biogas technology providers HoSt has announced that it has received an order for the turn-key delivery of its proprietary Microferm Green Gas concept within the ‘Jumpstart’ initiative of dairy cooperative FrieslandCampina. This time for the Van der Wal dairy farm in the Frisian Boornbergum.
HoSt’s patented Microferm digester enables the production of renewable natural gas (RNG) solely by using the manure generated by the 550 dairy cows at the Van der Wal dairy farm. This is done by means of anaerobic digestion (AD) – a controlled fermentation process in a gastight tank – after which the produced biogas is upgraded in a biogas upgrading system to biomethane (RNG).
From the manure, the micro-digester and upgrading plant will produce 40 Nm3 of biomethane per hour that will be injected into the local gas grid. The volume of biomethane is sufficient to supply the gas demands of up to 980 average Dutch households. That is 1.5 times the number of households in Boornbergum.
This project is a nice continuation of the first series of our Microferm projects in collaboration FrieslandCampina within the Jumpstart initiative. This way we contribute to an increasingly sustainable Dutch agricultural sector, said Sjaak Klein Gunnewiek Sales Manager Biogas at HoSt.
Low-emission cow shed
The new cow shed at Van der Wal was put into use during 2019. The design of the shed also took into account provisions for the installation of a manure fermenter. The dense, low-emission floor with a manure scraper and deposit basements on either side of the shed makes for an ideal configuration for manure fermentation.
The manure is pumped fresh from the depository into the digester on a daily basis so that as little gas as possible is lost. The combination of manure fermentation and the low-emission shed will reduce ammonia and methane emissions from the dairy farm
Microferm Green Gas
Manure is a valuable product. HoSt’s mission is to get as much energy as possible from this valuable product in the most sustainable way possible. Within the Jumpstart initiative of FrieslandCampina, HoSt is the only qualified supplier of the manure digester including a biogas upgrading system: the Microferm.
According to HoSt, using manure to produce biomethane with its Microferm Green Gas system offers a dairy farm the possibility of generating up to 50 percent additional income while reducing emissions from the farm to almost nil, producing bio-fertilizers and manure with less nitrogen.
