Stillage management can be a challenging task for distilleries and ethanol plants. The common practice of using stillage to create animal feed (dried distillers’ grains) is not only energy-intensive and expensive, but also requires a farmer customer base for transport and purchase. However, implementing anaerobic digesters and biogas upgrading systems can effectively manage stillage while providing numerous financial and environmental benefits to your operation.
By using stillage as feedstock for an anaerobic digestion system, you can achieve a sustainable stillage management solution while simultaneously producing renewable energy. The produced biogas can be used to generate electricity, upgraded for injection to the natural gas grid, or further upgraded and liquefied for vehicle fuel. Furthermore, with the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, tax incentives are now available, making these systems even more appealing and cost-effective.
Another benefit is that the digestate output can be processed into useful applications, such as nutrient-rich fertilizer and animal bedding. Implementing anaerobic digesters and RNG upgrading systems also demonstrates your commitment to sustainable leadership. By incorporating renewable energy sources into your operation, you can significantly reduce your carbon footprint and lessen your dependence on traditional heating and electricity sources.
BIOFerm Solutions for Distilleries & Ethanol Plants
CSTR Digester
Improve your facility’s CI score by producing biogas that can be utilized on-site for your operation’s heat & power needs.
Gas Upgrading
Process your biogas to valuable pipeline-quality renewable natural gas (RNG).
Combined System
Utilize any of your facility’s byproduct streams as feedstock for anaerobic digestion, producing biogas that is then upgraded to renewable natural gas (RNG).
Featured project – combined system
During their production expansion, Jack Daniel Distillery was looking for a solution to handle their large quantity of stillage byproduct.
After researching their options, they decided that BIOFerm was the best partner to design and install both an anaerobic digester and gas upgrading system that would handle the byproduct in an environmentally-friendly manner while also reducing their expenses.
The RNG produced from the combined AD and BUP facility will be injected into the utility pipeline for the sale of high-value gas. Simultaneously, BIOFermʼs combined system also reduces the distilleryʼs operation and storage costs for their stillage by eliminating the need for disposal services.