MODE by Duryea Technologies Makes Biogas a Better Option
Biogas is a potential clean energy solution that makes a usable product out of a waste product, but it’s not been readily or rapidly adopted. Biogas, created from anaerobic digestion of biodegradable materials, especially animal manures and municipal waste, has potential to be a bigger part of our clean energy future, whether in transport or used in on-site generators for farms or municipal waste stations.
The following press release comes from Duryea Technologies, makers of a new generator set that deals with some of the flaws of biogas.
Biogas, a byproduct of anaerobic digestion, can be combusted in an engine to generate electricity. And the primary component – manure – makes biogas an excellent alternative energy source for farms or any place with an excess of waste.
Utilization of biogas has often been problematic and inefficient. Straight from the digester, biogas is corrosive, laden with moisture, and has only half the methane content of pipeline natural gas, leading some livestock and dairy farms to forego subpar power generation and flare biogas instead – wasting a valuable energy source.
Seeing this waste as an important resource, Duryea Technologies, a motor and engine manufacturer, designed the MODE (Modular On-Demand Energy) Power System. Prototype images will be available in one month.
MODE is a new generator set intended to handle the inherent liabilities of biogas. Duryea has sold its first production run of MODE units, and the sites will be online and running throughout Pennsylvania dairy country by the end of 2017.
Dan Sodomsky, CEO of Duryea Technologies, says, “The product’s most important feature is its separate lubrication system, sealed from acidic combustion gases, which will eliminate frequent oil changes and reduce the rate at which parts wear.”
He also notes Duryea’s substantial investment in tough surface treatments and materials like ceramics and stainless steel for engine components in contact with biogas.
While confident that farmers will be pleased with the MODE Power System’s low-maintenance protocol, Sodomsky acknowledges the challenges of convincing the market to try something new.
“Farmers are skeptical because of their prior frustrations with biogas engines. We’re doing our best to mitigate their risk by providing all 2017 sites with five years of service, parts, oil, and a product guarantee so the cost of ownership is a known quantity.”
Feasibility for small-scale agriculture, a market that faces more difficulty in making waste-to-energy profitable, was also a design goal. The smallest installation size is 16kW and requires 8,000 cubic feet of biogas per day, typically produced by a herd size of 100 cows. By adding modules, a system is infinitely scalable into the megawatts, but Duryea Technologies fields the most inquiries from dairy farms with 400-800 cows that require 60–200kW.
On matters of efficiency, the company touts the incorporation of Duryea brushless (BLDC) generators. The DC output can be fed directly into a standard inverter, simplifying interconnection and freeing the engine from the task of grid synchronization so it can operate at a speed optimized for fuel efficiency and durability.
At off-grid locations, or where exporting power is not feasible, Duryea BLDC generators, historically used in hybrid vehicle applications, are suited to charging battery banks or can be configured with VFDs to power equipment directly.
About Duryea Technologies: Founded in 1996, Duryea Technologies is located in Reading, Pennsylvania and manufactures all products in the United States utilizing a local supply chain. More information to be found on their website.
*This press release is a paid contribution
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Latest CleanTechnica.TV Video
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.
