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| October 2003 Port of Tillamook Bay, Tillamook, OR, 8 farms combined 2,000 cow regional digester, 240 kW, building heat, separators |
The Port of Tillamook Bay has installed a regional digester to process manure from surrounding dairies. The digester is designed to
biologically process the manure from 4,000 of the county's 30,000 dairy cows. The goal of the project is to take value from manure
processing while recovering and redistributing nutrients. The project has been many years in development as MEAD (Methane Energy and
Agricultural Development). The facility, owned and managed by the Port, utilizes simple, proven cost-effective plug flow digester, solids
separation and biogas-to-electricity technology currently being employed at dozens of RCM digester sites in the US.
Three of four digester cells have been commissioned to treat the waste from 3,000 cows. There are 8-10 participating dairies. The 4th
digester should be open by next spring.
The manure at the dairy farms is collected by a trucking contractor, delivered to the Port for treatment in the digester. About 80 per cent
initial volume including about 80% of the nutrients are returned to participating farms for fertilization. Digested solids are recovered after
digestion. Transportation costs are offset by sale of over 5,000 kWh/d of electricity as "green power". Some biogas is used to dry digested
solids for bedding and for sale of as potting soil. The digested solids are composted to produce premium potting soil. System benefits to the
Tillamook community include: reductions in odors, pathogenic organisms, weed seeds, manure quantities and nutrients to be land-applied.
The project is publicly funded with participation from the Tillamook Peoples Utility District, Tillamook County Soil & Water Conservation
District, the Oregon Department of Energy and the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
biologically process the manure from 4,000 of the county's 30,000 dairy cows. The goal of the project is to take value from manure
processing while recovering and redistributing nutrients. The project has been many years in development as MEAD (Methane Energy and
Agricultural Development). The facility, owned and managed by the Port, utilizes simple, proven cost-effective plug flow digester, solids
separation and biogas-to-electricity technology currently being employed at dozens of RCM digester sites in the US.
Three of four digester cells have been commissioned to treat the waste from 3,000 cows. There are 8-10 participating dairies. The 4th
digester should be open by next spring.
The manure at the dairy farms is collected by a trucking contractor, delivered to the Port for treatment in the digester. About 80 per cent
initial volume including about 80% of the nutrients are returned to participating farms for fertilization. Digested solids are recovered after
digestion. Transportation costs are offset by sale of over 5,000 kWh/d of electricity as "green power". Some biogas is used to dry digested
solids for bedding and for sale of as potting soil. The digested solids are composted to produce premium potting soil. System benefits to the
Tillamook community include: reductions in odors, pathogenic organisms, weed seeds, manure quantities and nutrients to be land-applied.
The project is publicly funded with participation from the Tillamook Peoples Utility District, Tillamook County Soil & Water Conservation
District, the Oregon Department of Energy and the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
| Port Of Tillamook Bay Regional Digester |
