New Methane Digester Technology for Cattle Feedlots

Methane digesters are one way to leverage manure to generate gas. Big Horn Renewables is a company that designs and manufactures methane digesters for cattle feedlots. CEO, Mike Pardun explains how a digester works.

“It's an accelerated decomposition, we add bacteria to the organic matter we're digesting ours happens to be beef cattle manure and that bacteria adapts to that feedstock adapts to that food source. And through being excited through heat and moisture, we're able to get those bugs to do their job and make gas for us.”

In addition to selling direct to utility companies, Pardun says there are several emerging markets that will buy and use the gas generated from the digester.

“There's a lot of hype today around things like renewable hydrogen, renewable methanol, for example, low carbon methanol, low carbon, hydrogen, low carbon, liquefied natural gas for export to Europe, all of these industries are emerging. There's also a macro sort of business trend referred to as ESG, where people companies voluntarily by what amounts to be much more expensive renewable natural gas to offset their fossil purchases fossil gas purchases.”

While making the renewable energy gas in the form of methane, the digesters also make CO2 as a byproduct, which is a greenhouse gas. Thus he says they inject it into the ground, making it inert.