Converting Waste Agricultural Biomass into a Resource - UNEP

1. The Fibrowatt operation starts on the farm, where poultry house
cleaning and litter removal are coordinated with the farmer.
2. Poultry litter is transported in tightly covered trucks on pre-arranged
routes to the plant's fuel storage building. Truck routing is designed to
minimize the biosecurity risk to existing poultry operations and reduce
truck traffic impact on local communities.
3. Trucks unload the litter within a specially designed fuel storage
building, which typically holds five to ten days' worth of fuel. The
building is kept at negative pressure to prevent the escape of odors
and, as a result, odors are undetectable beyond the plant site's
boundaries.
4. From the fuel storage building, fuel travels on a conveyor system to the
boiler. Fans draw air from the storage building into the boiler, where the
litter is combusted at more than 1,500°F, ensuring the destruction of
pathogens and complete combustion.
5. Water is heated in the boiler to produce high-pressure, hightemperature
steam, which drives a turbine and generates electricity.
6. Renewable energy from poultry litter and other biomass, unlike fossil
fuel-generated energy, results in no new carbon dioxide releases.
Because Fibrowatt plants utilize a clean-burning fuel and advanced
pollution-control equipment, the plants meet strict limits for each of the
major gases emitted by the combustion process. Air emissions are
regulated and monitored by a Continuous Emissions Monitoring
System (CEMS) that logs and reports on emission performance.
7. Fibrowatt sells its renewable energy to electricity providers. The
Fibrominn plant produces enough green electricity to serve 40,000
homes.
8. When poultry litter is combusted to produce electricity, a nutrient-rich
by-product is produced in the form of ash. Fibrowatt plants recover this
ash for processing. The fertilizer can be used to fertilize row crops,
provide nutrients to managed forest farms, and in various other ways.
Main Products
Electricity
Environmental Considerations
Fibrowatt is the only experienced developer of power plants fueled by poultry
litter and other agricultural biomass in the world. Its technology results in a
variety of positive environmental impacts, including using locally abundant
biomass, producing renewable energy, preventing over-application of poultry
litter and recycling valuable nutrients.
Biomass used by the technology include:
animal waste and bedding (such as poultry litter)
dedicated energy crops
agricultural by-products
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