Poultry farms in Georgia will use aerobic bioreactor technology to decompose waste, according to a report in Biomass magazine. The resulting methane will be used to produce electricity for the farms.
The newly patented technology – developed by American Technologies Inc. – was tested at five locations. The aerobic bioreactors generated clean energy and reduced greenhouse gases and leakage from landfills to almost zero.
Alicia McDonald, director of research, ATI's clean energy division, said the technology uses less odorous components than anaerobic digestion and decreases sludge. Microbes, like bacteria, degrade the waste mass which is broken down into a safe, odor-free and nutrient-rich organic fertilizer.
The bioreactor can run on wood chips, manure and carcasses from the poultry farms and can decompose 504 metric tons of chicken manure, 1,500 metric tons of wood chips and 54 metric tons of defeathered chicken carcasses per cycle.
