Germany's largest biogas producer, EnviTec Biogas, has been leveraging chicken manure for the production of biogas, renewable natural gas (RNG), and bio-Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) for 23 years.
The company is now actively exploring opportunities in the growing US market for the anaerobic digestion of poultry manure, aligning its expertise with the increasing demand for sustainable waste-to-energy solutions.
Olaf von Lehmden, CEO of EnviTec Biogas AG is aware of the market potential associated with chicken farming and egg production. Von Lehmden, through ventures EiPro and Deutsche Frühstücksei, is responsible for the production of approximately 7.5 million eggs per day.
Recognising the environmental and economic challenges of managing large-scale poultry operations, von Lehmden founded EnviTec Biogas to harness the multifaceted benefits of biogas as a sustainable solution for monetising and mitigating poultry waste. By utilising residual materials like poultry manure as feedstock for anaerobic digestion plants, the company demonstrates its commitment to innovation and sustainability.
“The market for the profitable utilisation of chicken manure in biogas and gas upgrading plants is currently underdeveloped in the US,” said Timothy Logan, president of EnviTec Biogas Construction.
“Chicken manure is already a valuable fertiliser in its unprocessed state, which naturally results in less exploration of treatment via AD. Coupled with the fact that dairy manure AD plants have developed at a much faster rate due to the higher commodity value and easier digestibility of dairy manure, it’s not surprising that chicken manure AD plants have progressed more slowly.”
The market potential for chicken manure in the US is so significant that, combined with EnviTec’s extensive expertise in processing this specialized feedstock, several projects are already in the planning stages, according to the company.
“Available research suggests there are over 30 million tons of broiler and layer manure generated in the US each year. This is an incredible figure that equates to a potential of over 400 million British thermal units (mmBtu) per day, which equals the heating demand of approximately 3.7 million homes,” added Stefan Dehne, general manager of EnviTec Biogas Construction.
Based on current D3 RIN pricing, the market potential of the gas alone in the US approaches 4.5 billion dollars per year, the biogas expert said.
“We’re excited in the US to be buoyed by the EnviTec story in Germany. Indeed, with our innovative integration of ammonia stripping technology, we have the potential to create an additional revenue stream of ammonium sulfate in the US. When you stack this value with the gas and the nutrient dense compost from the manure, the economics begin to look particularly profitable,” Logan explained.
A reliable technology partner with deep operational experience
One large-scale example of utilising chicken manure for the production of renewable energy and sustainable green fuels for the transportation sector is Germany’s largest fully integrated bio-LNG liquefaction plant in Güstrow.
EnviTec Biogas acquired the Güstrow biogas plant in 2021 and retrofitted the facility to process chicken manure as its primary feedstock.
The plant currently processes over 110,000 tons of chicken litter feedstock annually.
The resultant biogas is upgraded via membrane technology to RNG and compressed to LNG at the facility and the CO2 rich off- gas from the upgrading plant is further refined and condensed into liquefied CO2 (LCO2).
EnviTec is continuing to expand the revenue streams from the plant by incorporating an innovative ammonia scrubbing system to the digestate, creating an additional revenue stream in ammonium sulfate as well as reducing the amount of make up water required for the anaerobic digestion process.
EnviTec Biogas AG owns and operates 87 plants as part of its own-operate portfolio, with at least 12 of those plants utilizing chicken manure as a feedstock.
EnviTec plans to leverage this experience to support the developing chicken manure to AD industry in the US.
EnviTec Biogas to focus on chicken manure-to-biogas in US market
