Project title: Modelling of anaerobic systems and potential yield of methane for subsequent energy generation.
Industry partner: Rivalea (Australia) Pty. Ltd. is a leading Australian agri-business supplying approximately 20% of the domestic fresh pork market. The company is headquartered in Corowa, NSW and has piggery operations in Corowa, Albury, Deniliquin, Bendigo and St Arnaud in western Victoria. Rivalea has stock feed mills and meat processing facilities in Corowa and Laverton, Melbourne. Rivalea’s operations are energy intensive both in the milling of feed, rearing livestock and meat processing operations. The introduction of the Federal government carbon abatement programs and large increases in energy prices in recent years has incentivized the company to build out its own energy generation plant using farm and plant resources. Rivalea recognizes that biogas generated in the waste water treatment lagoons is a potential source of energy in the operations of the farm and processing facilities.
Project aim: The aim of this research is to design a model using BioWin software to represent the lagoon system at the Corowa site. This model can then be calibrated with the known effluent parameters and methane generation. This will allow for as assessment of the accuracy of this modelling. If the model is found to be a good fit to the site, then it can be used to simulate a range of hypothetical scenarios. Adjustments of lagoon temperature can be made within the model to assess the significance of heating the lagoons, and how this might then in turn affect the methane generation.
IMAGE: Pat M2007. Frosty Morning. Flickr.com. https://www.flickr.com/photos/patmilphotos/14945466672/ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic Licence.
