The Viability of Methane Production by Anaerobic Digestion on Iowa Swine Farms

Energy production and use has long been a major policy concern in Iowa. The 1990 Comprehensive Energy Plan for Iowa established two statewide goals around which current energy policy is structured: • To meet all future demand for energy by increasing efficiency rather than supply • To increase the use of alternative energy resources from 2% of Iowa's total energy consumption to 5% by the year 2005 and 10% by 2015 While much of the current interest in Iowa concerning new applications of anaerobic digestion focuses on agriculture, the primary application of the process in the United States has been to treat wastewater from industrial sites. These applications include slaughterhouse, dairy and cheese, distillery, and starch production processes. This report begins with a general discussion of anaerobic digestion and then moves to two primary focal points: the first examining an anaerobic digester in a swine (livestock) production setting, and the second focusing on an anaerobic digester within a packing plant (industrial) setting. The report ends with a summary of key considerations in the viability of methane production by anaerobic digestion. Copyright © 1999 by the authors. All rights reserved. Readers may make verbatim copies of this document for non-commercial purposes by any means, provided this copyright notice appears on all such copies. IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. Vietnam Era Veteran. Any persons having inquiries concerning this may contact the Director of Affirmative Action, 318 Beardshear Hall, 515-294-7612.