By Carolyn Dunn
One million cows in Wisconsin produce a lot of manure — about 26.5 million tons a year. And no matter how well a farm’s system is managed, some manure components make their way into the environment. In Greenleaf, a first-of-its-kind biorefinery is working to reduce manure volume and combat phosphorous runoff in the lower Fox River watershed.
BC Organics, the biorefinery built, owned and operated by Menasha’s Dynamic Renewables, is providing 11 Northeast Wisconsin farms with a more sustainable manure management practice. Karl Crave, executive vice president of special projects at Dynamic Renewables, says the 16 anaerobic digesters at BC Organics will produce renewable natural gas and fiber bedding as well as clean water, which is the main benefit to the partner farms.
“We are taking manure from local farms and turning it into clean water, which will offset 40% of the farms’ water needs. And their animals will also benefit from the fiber bedding byproduct,” Crave says. “There are only a handful of plants in the U.S. that do that.”
Unlike other anaerobic digesters, the water filtration technology makes BC Organics unique. The process uses several steps of filtration to convert digested manure into usable byproducts. The participating farms will receive clean water and fiber bedding provided by the plant in exchange for the manure from their 30,000 cows. BC Organics is one of the largest biorefineries in the country.
Crave says the company was awarded a $15 million grant through the state’s Focus on Energy programs to develop a community digester facility. “The plant opened in November 2022, and we will implement operation in phases,” he says.
Once fully operational, more than 960,000 gallons of manure will be processed at the biorefinery each day, resulting in 1,630 MMBtus (1 MMBtu=1 million BTU) of renewable natural gas, 400,000 gallons of clean water and 135 tons of fiber bedding.
BC Organics may be the largest project Dynamic Renewables has launched to date, but the company has been establishing biorefinery sites across the Midwest since 2011, with completed projects in Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin.
The company works individually with clients conducting site visits, analyzing technologies, designing systems and integrating them into each client’s facility. Many of Dynamic Renewables’ projects involve smaller-scale sites, like single farms or groups of two or three farms.
Although their work is concentrated in the region surrounding Wisconsin, where dairy and food waste is easily acquired, he says projects are beginning to branch further east and south.
The company currently has 50 employees but anticipates doubling that number in the coming year.
“We look for people who fit our culture and are good troubleshooters who are eager to learn about our industry,” Crave says. “Because every project has different needs and goals, each person can use their skills to help put more systems online, ultimately bringing clean water and renewable natural energy to more communities.”
