Digester generates energy & value (Canada)

[jpak]

http://www.agcanada.com/custompages/stories_story.aspx?mid=192&id=1194

The idea of building an anaerobic digester has been percolating in Len Jewitt’s belly for a long time.

He first saw methane gas captured for energy on a trip to Nepal in 1977. “I came across a little latrine with concrete cylinders buried like well casings,” he says. “There was a steel drum in the casing. Every day they’d pump manure and capture the methane gas. They ran a little line from the drum to a Bunsen burner and used the gas for cooking.”

Twenty-five years later, Jewitt is a middle-aged poultry producer based near Gowanstown, Ont., which is just north of Listowel. He has worked as a feed sales rep and owned broiler quota for a long time. Four years ago he showed his faith in supply management by purchasing another poultry operation consisting of layer, pullet, broiler and turkey quota.

Jewitt owns 400 acres and rents the land out. That leaves him with a lot of manure and a limited area on which to spread it. The memory from Nepal still resonates with Jewitt, who plans to build an anaerobic digester this year to create valuable energy from biogas and to help with manure management on his operation.

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