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----------------------------------------------------------{ November 11, 2008 }Renewable Energy from Organic Recycling
By: Tom Kurtz, Kurtz Bros.
Kurtz Bros. is a third generation family business located in Ohio that began as a commercial topsoil company. In the late 1970s the company began to focus on organic recycling and mulch production. In the early 1990s, Kurtz Bros. was one of the pioneering companies in the colored mulch business and eventually sold Amerimulch to ChromaScape.
The mulch business saw moderate success until the advent of color enhanced mulch products in the early 1990s. It has grown significantly since that time. Composting became a big part of the business when diversion of yard waste from Ohio’s landfills was mandated in the late 80s. The composting business model has always been a little unique. Get paid to take it, get paid when you sell it. But unlike the mulch business, there are not large markets for compost unless you are in a related business like topsoil. The mulch business, in recent times, has proven a little challenging as the supply of feedstocks in Ohio has diminished because the timber industry is depressed due to housing and other economic factors.
A new venture that Kurtz Bros. has been pioneering in the United States the past several years is the Biogas industry. Biogas is created in a controlled high solids Anaerobic Digestion (AD) process. Creating biogas from AD has been around for decades, primarily in the waste water industry. High solids AD is somewhat new. Biogas is about 60% methane (natural gas being 100%). Organic waste is broken down by bacteria that consumes about half the solid mass and generates biogas. This gas can be used in several applications:
• Boiler Fuel
• Electricity - Combined heat and power
• Natural Gas – if the gas is treated
• Compressed gas for motor vehicle fuel
The business model is driven by tipping fees for processing the waste. Other revenue besides the tipping and energy include the solids (topsoil, etc.) that remain at the end of the process, and good potential for fertilizer value from the liquid and solids that remain. Carbon credits and renewable energy credits can also be monetized.
This industry has proliferated in Europe producing renewable energy. It is primarily driven by converting corn and other grains into biogas. In the mid 1990s there were less than 300 biogas plants in Germany. Today there are almost 4,000, and growing.
Kurtz Bros. partnered with a German company, Schmack Biogas AG, to share technology and develop the market in North America. A new company, Schmack BioEnergy LLC, has been created to develop this market.
The first plant constructed and operating in the United States in cooperation with Schmack, is in Akron, Ohio operated by KB Compost Services Inc. Kurtz Bros. is under contract to build a second plant in Columbus, Ohio.
Not only is the renewable energy aspect of the business exciting, processing organic waste materials in a controlled system through digestion has many environmental benefits. Most organic wastes such as waste water solids, food waste, animal waste, fats, oils, grease, etc. are either land filled, land applied, composted or incinerated. In these processes there are always concerns with air and water pollution. Biogas plants manage these concerns.
As our markets and customer needs continue to change, innovation with a renewable energy component, makes for a good bet in today’s economy. If you would like more information about the biogas industry and its opportunities you can contact Jeff Moore at 800-527-6457 Ext. 32 for more details.
Posted at 03:19 PM | Link to this Article