Midwest Biogas plant to use ethanol byproducts, animal waste

Biomass Magazine February 2010

Minnesota-based Midwest Biogas LLC plans to construct a biogas plant in northern Iowa, a project that will mark the company’s renewable energy debut.

Plans are to break ground at the Albert City, Iowa, location in early 2010, said Midwest Biogas President Nick Nelson. Buena Vista BioEnergy will be located near and utilize byproducts from an ethanol plant, as well as waste materials from a nearby egg producer, to produce biomethane, electricity and fertilizer. “In essence we will be getting three types of renewable energy—ethanol, biomethane and electricity—from one crop of corn, and we are able to return most of the nutrients back to the farm for the next crop,” Nelson said.

Nelson told Biomass Magazine that because of the size of the project, which is currently estimated to be about $120 million, it will be completed in phases. The first phase is anticipated to begin operations in early 2011 and the entire project will be on line some time in 2012. According to Nelson, when complete these plants will produce about three times as much biomethane as the largest plant in the world in Gustrow, Germany, which Nelson said he toured in November during a due diligence study of the company’s biogas upgrading technology.

Read the full story