The Baltimore Sun
By Mike Tidwell
Not long after President Barack Obama promised to fight climate change in his inaugural address, temperatures soared to 70 last week in Baltimore — in late January. Our weather continues to be unrecognizable. Last summer was the hottest ever recorded at Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport. And across the 48 contiguous states, 2012 was the warmest on record by a huge margin. Globally, the heating trend — fueled mostly by the combustion of fossil fuels — proceeds apace. The years 2000-2009 were the warmest decade in 120,000 years.
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We Are All from New Orleans Now: Climate Change, Hurricanes and the Fate of America's Coastal Cities
The Nation
By Mike Tidwell
The presidential candidates decided not to speak about climate change. But climate change has decided to speak to them. And what does a thousand-mile-wide storm pushing 11 feet of water toward our biggest population center want to say just days before the election? It is this: We are all from New Orleans now along the U.S. east coast. Climate change – through measurable sea-level rise and a documented increase in the intensity of Atlantic storms – has now made 100 million Americans virtually as vulnerable to catastrophic impacts as the victims of Katrina seven years ago.
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Hurricane Sandy: The worst-case scenario for New York City is unimaginable
What might Hurricane Sandy do to New York City? See excerpts below from my 2006 book The Ravaging Tide: Strange Weather, Future Katrinas, and the Coming Death of America’s Coastal Cities (Simon and Schuster/Free Press). It’s a depressing title meant to help shock us into preventing these worst-case scenarios from coming true via global climate change. But it might now be too late for parts of imperiled New York. As you read, keep in mind that as of Sunday night October 28th, the National Hurricane Center was forecasting that the storm could hit anywhere between Delaware and Rhode Island, with a surge tide as high as 11 feet in some places. Even if New York City avoids a direct strike, it is still facing a potentially “worst-case scenario” in terms of surge tides.
Travelers Insurance: Extreme Weather Has Come to Main Street
I want the major candidates – Obama, Romney, Kaine, Allen – to explain my homeowners insurance mailing last month. Travelers – that friendly red umbrella company – sent me a terrifying color flier with my bill. It depicted an all-American home (two stories, garage) with ominous storm clouds bearing down on it and a full-blown tornado roaring toward a direct strike. Millions of customers like me got this you-could-be-Dorothy-in-Kansas-soon image under this headline: “How the Property Insurance Marketplace is Evolving.”
Evolving? How? Well, next to the twister about to hit the house, Travelers lists some raw stats on the flier: Federal natural disaster declarations set a record in 2011. Thunderstorms alone cost $25 billion, doubling the previous annual mark. And winter storm losses have almost doubled since the 1980s.
300 Miles on my Bike: Testing My Body in a World of Extreme Weather
What was the hardest part about pedaling a bike 300 miles from Manhattan to Washington, D.C.? The head winds in central New Jersey certainly weren’t a picnic. The horse poop along Amish country roads was a challenge. Then there were the rain-slippery bridges near St. Peter’s Village, PA and the seemingly endless hills of Maryland’s northern horse country.
But honestly, the rural scenery was so stunningly beautiful all along the way that the hardest part was just knowing that this pastoral east-coast landscape is in danger of disappearing – soon – because of the unfolding calamity of climate change.
The Climate Impact of Poultry Waste Disposal Practices and Manure-to-Energy Power Systems
A White Paper from the
April 2012
Contact: Mike Tidwell, director, 240-460-5838, mtidwell@chesapeakeclimate.org
The Climate Impact of Poultry Waste Disposal Practices and Manure-to-Energy Power Systems
The volume of manure produced by
OVERVIEW
The intensive poultry production system on
GREENHOUSE GASES (GHGs) AND LITTER
The primary mechanism through which poultry litter influences the climate is through release of the greenhouse gases (GHGs) methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), both of which have many times the ability of carbon dioxide (CO2) to trap heat in the atmosphere. Over a 20-year time frame, CH4 is a staggering 72 times more powerful than CO2 at trapping heat, and N2O is 298 times more powerful than CO2 over a 100-year frame.[7] Many sources, including the US EPA, consider decomposing poultry manure to be CO2 neutral, since the process recycles carbon which already existed in the atmosphere before being sequestered into the plant matter in poultry feed.[8]
Nitrogen and nitrous oxide: Poultry manure is nitrogen (N) rich;[9] however the amount of manure N which actually becomes converted to climate-damaging N2O through the nitrogen cycle depends on the way in which it decomposes in/on the soil. Many complex variables shape this process, including the litter’s source (content of poultry feed affects litter’s nutrient content) and when it is applied, crop rotation, tillage and drainage of soil, and climate (temperature and precipitation).[10] One study observes N2O emission rates of between 0.5 and 1.9 percent of the total N[11] applied; [12] however much further research is needed to better understand how manure decomposition on fields influences the climate.
CH4 (Methane): Unlike swine and cattle manure, poultry manure tends to be stored in solid form, in which the anaerobic environment hospitable to CH4 emissions is comparatively rare. [13] [14] [15] One study estimates methane emissions for poultry are less than 0.2 lbs per animal per year. [16]
EXCESS MANURE
Poultry litter can be a feasible and economical substitute for synthetic fertilizers on many farms. If poultry litter which has an alternative, appropriate use as a fertilizer is diverted to power an MTE operation, the unmet nutrient needs of crops will likely be satisfied by synthetic fertilizers. The Haber-Bosch process used in creating synthetic fertilizers relies heavily on natural gas.[17] This implies that MTE is only climate-appropriate if it employs excess manure and does not introduce additional fossil fuels into the system through fertilizer production.
Most sources agree that excess poultry manure is produced on
REDUCING GHGS BY REPLACING FOSSIL FUELS: MANURE TO ENERGY
Poultry production uses intense amounts of (fossil-fuel derived[21]) energy, particularly in providing for the heating and cooling needs of poultry houses. [22] If MTE can meet these needs using waste material it has the potential to generate a positive effect on climate. Some sources estimate that 85-90 percent of the 3-6,000 gallons of propane [23] being used annually by an average grower to heat poultry houses could be met by an onsite MTE operation.[24] As a relatively local fuel source, poultry waste may also eliminate some of the energy consumed in transporting fossil fuels.
METHODS
Poultry manure can be transformed into useful energy byproducts through the application of heat, or through ba
cterial digestion. Combustion, gasification and pyrolysis employ various ratios of heat and oxygen to alter waste material, while bio-digestion (anaerobic digestion) does so through the actions of microbes. Importantly, poultry litter’s chemical and physical composition is generally less consistent than fossil fuels or biofuels like wood. This irregularity, as well as variation in MTE operation sizes, emissions-capture technologies, and byproduct quality, makes it difficult to state definitively which MTE technique is most climate appropriate. [25]
Combustion processes burn litter material using great amounts of both oxygen and heat (3600 F)[26] to produce heat, CO2, H2O, and ash. This ash is generally a valuable fertilizer, high in phosphorous, potassium and other micronutrients.[27] The ash embodies the nutrients in a form that is greatly concentrated in both mass and volume compared to raw litter, making it more feasible to transport.[28]
Combustion technologies can be used to produce space heat for poultry growers, or on a larger scale the fuel can be burned in a boiler to produce steam heat and run a turbine to generate electricity. Since combustion occurs in a high oxygen environment, NOx emissions may be a greater concern with this technique than with others if the appropriate capture technologies discussed in the next section are not used.[29] Combustion may also be the most economically feasible at the small scale.
Gasification is similar to combustion but employs lower temperatures (1100 to 1800F) and lower (or insufficient) amounts of oxygen to burn poultry litter. Gasification produces CO, H2, ash, and a biogas with a heating value equivalent to 10-20 percent that of natural gas (100-200 Btu/cubic foot). The controlled burn and lower amounts of oxygen involved in the process may lower its risk of NOx production.[30]
Pyrolysis is the process through which organic matter is converted into charcoal (a concentrated form of fixed carbon). It employs almost no oxygen and very low temperatures (between 390 and 1100 F) to create a fixed carbon byproduct called bio-char.[31] The char acts to sequester carbon permanently, though its value as a traditional fertilizer appears low. [32]
Pyrolysis can produce a medium-value gas up to half the heating value of natural gas (350 to 550 btu/cubic foot).[33] Other useful energy products include bio-oils which could be refined further to create a bio-diesel. Some studies claim that poultry manure is particularly well suited to pyrolysis because of its relatively low moisture content;[34] however pyrolysis may demand more expensive technology than combustion or gasification. Little to no oxygen involvement in the burn reduces the likelihood of producing NOx gases; furthermore using biochar as carbon-sequestering soil amendment may improve the climate profile of this technique. [35]
Bio-digestion/Anaerobic Digestion uses bacteria to convert manure into methane gas (60-70 percent), carbon dioxide (30-40 percent) and waste water. The methane has 60-80 percent of the energy value of natural gas (600-800 Btu/cubic foot) and can be used for heating, electricity generation, lighting or cooking.[36] [37]
The emissions profile for anaerobic digestion appears to be relatively low; [38] however, unlike the thermal processes which transform manure nutrients into more usable forms, digestion produces a large quantity of nutrient-rich waste water that must be refined further for use in agriculture.[39] Digestion also appears better suited to swine or cattle manures which have higher moisture contents,[40] and its technical requirements may make it less economical for small operations.[41] [42]
CAPTURING AND REDUCING EMISSIONS
The thermal or biological techniques used to transform poultry manure into energy are not without emissions. In order for manure to be considered a potentially renewable and climate-appropriate fuel, producers must make use of the best available technologies for capturing or reducing these emissions.
Two of the most effective techniques for reducing NOx gases are Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction (SNCR) and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR). SNCR involves the injection of ammonia or urea into the incineration furnace during combustion to reduce NOx emissions. One report anticipated the efficiency of this capture method to be 25-50 percent; [43]however some concern exists that a modest amount of ammonia may escape during this process (“ammonia slip”[44]). SCR involves an additional control device to manage the injection of ammonia into flue gases and may have a capture efficiency of up to 90 percent. SCR, though more expensive, appears to be the most efficient capture method where technologically feasible.[45]
Other capture technologies to address air-quality concerns include a fabric filter or “bag house” which can control emissions of small particles[46] and “scrubber” techniques to capture 80 to 99 percent of sulfur dioxide and hydrogen chloride.[47] [48]
FURTHER RESEARCH
CCAN’s preliminary literature review is not intended to be an exhaustive, scientific accounting of the issues surrounding poultry manure disposal and climate change. Nevertheless, areas where further data is necessary did present themselves during the course of our research.
- We found few studies giving estimates of the precise amounts of N2O -a powerful GHG- which can result from poultry litter spread on soils, and those which did tended to be contradictory and conditional. Several researchers at area universities confirmed that N2O emissions from decomposing poultry litter under a range of circumstances (including different storage processes) are not well understood. Further research is needed to better understand the emissions profile of poultry manure, specifically concerning greenhouse gases.
- The amount of excess poultry manure which actually exists in any area is sensitive to a range of variables. This issue would also benefit from further study to ensure MTE functions as a climate-appropriate fuel option.
- Our investigation pointed to a scarcity of reliable, comprehensive and comparative reviews of the technological options for MTE, which have the express goal of measuring the GHGs each process produces. A majority of the literature available evaluates a specific technique (often by its proponents) and does not focus on emission
s from a global warming standpoint. CCAN feels that an independent and impartial review of the emissions profile of MTE techniques under comparable conditions is necessary before a reasoned endorsement can be reached for any single MTE technique.
We at CCAN feel MTE holds significant potential to be a tool in Maryland’s fight for a renewable and climate-safe energy base. In order to confidently move forward we advise industry leaders to accept the need for caution, utilize the best possible technologies, and continue to pursue a deeper understanding of poultry waste’s climate implications.
NOTES
[1] Landers and Ridlington 2011, p. 2
[2] Lichtenberg, Lynch and Parker 2002, p. 3
[3] Kleinman 2009, p. 5
[4] Landers and Ridlingon 2011, p. 1
[5] Kleinman 2009, p. 5
[6] Ibid
[7] Dunkley 2011, p. 3
[8] Alternative Resources 2001, p. 16
[9] Most of this N is excreted as uric acid – an organic form of N which is inaccessible to plants.
[10] Dr. Josh McGrath, 3/9/2012 (email)
[11] Lori 1999, p. 1 (The typical N content of litter is around 2-4 percent of total weight.)
[12] Kuikman, Oenema and Velthof 2003, p. 221
[13] Desjardins et al 2009, p. 213
[14] Dunkley 2011, p. 3
[15] Zhao 2007, p. 2
[16] Bicudo et al 2003, p. 18
[17] Bartels and Pate 2008, p. 4
[18] Baranyai and Bradley 2008, p. 10
[19] Ibid, p. 7
[20] Lichtenberg, Lynch and Parker 2002, p. 34 table 3
[21] Desjardins et al 2009, p. 219
[22] Dunkley 2011, p. 6
[23] Kristen Hughes 3/1/2012 (email)
[24] Wimberly, Jim. 2008, p. 7
[25] Baranyai and Bradley 2008, p. 16
[26] Ibid, p. 17
[27] Echols and Habetz 2006, p. 4
[28] Costello 2007, p. 12
[29] Baranyai and Bradley 2008, p. 17
[30] Ibid, p. 28
[31] Bassilakis et al 2002, p. 589
[32] Ibid.
[33] Baranyai and Bradley 2008, p. 34
[34] Bassilakis et al 2002, p. 590
[35] Dunkley 2011, p. 6
[36] Cherosky, Li and Mancl 2011, p. 1
[37] Chesapeake Bay Commission et al 2012, p. 12
[38] Dr. K.C Das 2/29/12, (phone conversation)
[39] Darby, et al 2010, p. 11
[40] Ibid
[41] Dr. K.C Das 2/29/12, (phone conversation)
[42] Darby, et al 2010, p. 11
[43] Alternative Resources 2001, p. 7
[44] Ibid
[45] Ibid
[46] Ibid
[47] Echols and Habetz 2006, p. 6
[48] Alternative Resources 2001, p. 7
REFERENCES
- Alternative Resources Inc, .2001. A Review of the Expected Air Emissions for the Proposed Fibroshore 40-MW Power Plant to be Fueled with Poultry Litter and Wood. Maryland Environmental Service.
- Baranyai, Vitalia and Sally Bradley. 2008. Turning Chesapeake Bay Watershed Poultry Manure and Litter into Energy: An Analysis of the Impediments and the Feasibility of Implementing Energy Technologies in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed in Order to Improve Water Quality. Chesapeake Bay Program.
- Bartels, Jeffrey R. and Michael B. Pate. 2008. A Feasibility Study of Implementing an Ammonia Economy. Iowa State University.
- Bassilakis, Rosemary, Erik Kroo, Michael A. Serio, and Marek A. Wójtowicz. 2002. Pyrolysis Processing of Animal Manure to Produce Fuel Gases. Advanced Fuel Research, Inc. Fuel Chemistry Division Preprints 2002, 47(2), 588
- Bicudo, Jose R., Richard S. Gates, Steven J. Hoff, Larry D. Jacobson, David R. Schmidt and Susan Wood-Gay. 2003. Air Emissions from Animal Production Buildings. International Society on Animal Hygiene (ISAH).
- Cherosky, Phil., Yebo Li and Karen Mancl. 2011. Manure to Energy through Anaerobic Digestion. Ohio State University Fact Sheet: AEX-653.1-11.
- Chesapeake Bay Commission, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Maryland Technology Development Corporation, Farm Pilot Project Coordination, INC. 2012. Manure to Energy: Sustainable Solutions for the Chesapeake Bay Region.
- Costello, Thomas A. 2007. Feasibility of On-Farm Broiler Litter Combustion. University of Arkansas, Cooperative Extension. AVIAN Advice (2007) 9(1), 7-13.
- Daniel, T. C. and D.R. Edwards. 1992. Environmental Impacts of On-Farm Poultry Waste Removal- A Review. Bio-Source Technology, (1992) 41, 9-33.
- Darby, Paul, Rangika Perera, Priyan Perera, and Richard P. Vlosky. 2010. Potential of Using Poultry Litter as a Feedstock for Energy Production. Louisiana Forest Products Development Center Working Paper #88.
- Desjardins, R. L., J. A. Dyer, X. P. C. Vergé and D. Worth. 2009. Long-Term Trends in Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Canadian Poultry Industry. Poultry Science Association.
- Dunkley, Claudia S. 2011. Global Warming: How Does it Relate to Poultry? University of Georgia Cooperative Extension: Bulletin 1382.
- Echols, Richard and Darren Habetz. 2006. Development of Successful Poultry Litter-to-Energy Furnace. American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) Annual International Meeting.
- Kleinman, Peter J.A. 2009. Direct Incorporation of Poultry Litter into No-till Soils to Minimize Nutrient Runoff to Chesapeake Bay. Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology: Final Report.
- Kuikman, Peter J., Oene Oenema and Gerard L. Velthof. 2003. Nitrous Oxide Emissions from Animal Manures Applied to Soil under Controlled Conditions. Biol Fertil Soils 37 (2003)221–230.
- Landers, Tommy and Elizabeth Ridlington. 2011. An Unsustainable Path: Why Maryland’s Manure Pollution Rules are Failing to Protect the Chesapeake Bay. Environment Maryland Research and Policy Center.
- Lichtenberg, Erik, Lori Lynch and Doug Parker. 2002. Economic Value of Poultry Litter Supplies in Alternative Uses. Center for Agricultural and Natural Resource Policy.
- Lory, John A. 1999. Sampling Poultry Litter for Nutrient Testing. Agricultural MU guide, Missouri University Extension: G 9340.
- Owens, P.R. and D.R. Smith. 2009. Impact of Time to First Rainfall Event on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Following Manure Applications. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, (2010) 41, 1604–1614.
- Wimberly, Jim. 2008. A Review of Biomass Furnaces for Heating Poultry Houses in the Northwest Arkansas Region. Winrock International.
- Zhao, Lingying. 2007. Understanding Air Emissions from Animal Feeding Operations. Ohio State University Fact Sheet: AEX-721-07.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
CCAN is also grateful for the expert guidance provided by the following individuals:
- Dr. K.C. Das, University of Georgia
- Dr. Tom Fisher, University of Maryland
- Dr. Robert E. Graves, Penn State University
- Roy A. Hoagland, HOPE Impacts, LLC
- Kristen Hughes Evans, Sustainable Chesapeake
- Dr. Joshua McGrath, University of Maryland
- Dr. Paul Patterson, Penn State University
- Jason Perry, University of Georgia
- Dr. Casey Ritz, University of Georgia
- Hank Zygmunt, Resource Dynamics, Inc
- Josh Tulkin, Maryland Sierra Club
Dominion's bait and switch
The Virginian-Pilot
By Mike Tidwell
Imagine a teenager’s very messy room. Family members plead for a clean up. Finally, for a $10 “incentive” payment, the teen straightens up, declares compliance and dashes off to the 7-11 for $10 of snacks and soda. But sadly, family members enter the room only to find mounds of dirty dishes, soiled clothes and used tissues stuffed under the bed. A con job.
Now imagine that the room in question is Virginia’s historically polluted air and our over-reliance on dirty, unsustainable fossil fuels. Who’s the take-the-money-and-run offender in this case? Why, it’s Dominion Virginia Power.
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U.S. Energy Policy is Reversing 50 Years of Peace Corps Progress
The U.S. Peace Corps marked its 50th anniversary in late September with festivities all across the nation’s capital. Former employees like Bill Moyers and Chris Matthews hosted elegant parties as the storied agency took a celebratory bow.
And with good reason. Founded by John F. Kennedy in the idealistic sixties, the Peace Corps has lived on to send more than 200,000 Americans overseas to help feed, clothe, and better educate the poorest of the poor in 139 countries.
But as a former Peace Corps volunteer myself, having lived in a mud-hut village for two years in the Congo, I find it hard to celebrate right now. That’s because our current charismatic and youthful president – Barack Obama – is threatening to undo much of the good work achieved by the Peace Corps over the past half century.
It’s not widely appreciated, but here’s the undeniable fact: Energy policies embraced by the Obama White House are bringing direct harm to every poor village on the face of the planet, from the highlands of Papua New Guinea to the rainforests of South America to the arid plains of Obama’s own ancestral Kenya. And the biggest threat of all is yet to come. It’s an international “tar sands oil pipeline” from Canada to America which, if approved by the Obama Administration, will affect all nations, but especially the impoverished of the world.
Saying "NO" to the tar sands
Commentary by Mike Tidwell
I went to the White House and got arrested last week because I don’t like hurricanes — and I really didn’t like Irene. The storm knocked out power to my Takoma Park home from Sunday to Monday and it took off the top of my chimney.
Jailhouse Rock: Activists Score Victory Over Police in Tar Sands Pipeline Fight – The Inside Scoop
Crossposted from Climate Progress.
If you want to know just how determined activists are to stop the proposed tar sands oil pipeline from Canada to Texas, listen to this:
Last Saturday morning, August 20th, more than 50 activists were arrested in front of the White House. They were handcuffed, stuffed into blistering-hot paddy wagons, and informed that they would spend two nights in a crowded, harsh DC jail. The U.S. Park Police Continue reading