Utilization of the nutrients from an anaerobic digester treating animal waste

A multi-disciplinary team of Utah State University researchers is working to develop a sustainable biofuels research program that integrates via a business model, basic science, fundamental, and applied engineering research, pilot scale research facility, and commercial demonstrations of biofuel technologies. Biofuels are combustible gases or liquids (such as methane, alcohols, biodiesel, or hydrogen) that are the product of biological processes. The biological process is either a fermentation of biomass or the photosynthetic conversion of sunlight into the combustible gas or liquid product. Biofuels are attractive because they are renewable as long as there is sunlight and/or biomass (animal waste, food waste, garbage or any other organic material) and because they produce fuels that can be used in existing or slightly modified engines, boilers, and turbines. Further, biofuels are net CO2 neutral, consuming as much CO2 as is produced. Utah State University is focused on this approach to meeting our future energy needs. This presentation will report the first six month's progress on this multi-year initiative. We will report results of pilot studies indicating efficaciousness of using the nutrients in effluent from an induced blanket reactor (IBR) anaerobic digester, treating animal waste, to grow microalgae for biodiesel.