Projects

Agricultural Waste Solutions, Inc.
San Jacinto Biofuels Production #1 in Riverside County, California

Agricultural Waste Solutions (AWS) will partner with Scott Brothers Dairy to assemble, operate and test a modular, skid-mounted demonstration pilot plant that will convert dairy waste to renewable diesel. The diesel produced in this process will be tested through use in their dairy farm vehicles. If successful, AWS will partner with the 26 dairies in the Western Riverside Agricultural Coalition to plan for the commercial scale application of this technology in the Moreno Valley area.

This project will demonstrate the feasibility of a modular technology for converting dairy waste to liquid fuel that includes a proprietary solids separation process, a solids gasification process, and a Fischer-Tropsch process for conversion of syngas to renewable diesel. The conversion technology also provides the potential to alleviate the waste water discharge, air quality, and salt emissions impacts associated with dairy waste disposal in California. By testing the use of the renewable diesel in their dairy farm vehicles, AWS will demonstrate the feasibility of a ready-made market for their fuel.

Grant Amount

The Energy Commission is providing $658,220.

Match Funding

The project participants are providing $1,082,937.

Project Participants

AWS principals have seven years experience in developing and demonstrating this technology in southern California. Scott Brothers Dairy is a 4th generation dairy farm which actively engages in environmental stewardship in its operations.

Project Benefits

Successful completion of this project could provide the foundation for significant dairy waste-to-fuel production capacity in both Moreno Valley and throughout California. At commercial scale, the technology could produce 6.8 million gallons of renewable diesel per year from the 35,000 dairy cows in Western Riverside County Agricultural Coalition (WRCAC). Each of the 3- to-5 commercial facilities needed to serve these 26 farms would result in 10 full-time jobs for facility operation, which will help stabilize local on-farm employment . At commercial scale, the diversion of manure from the 35,000 cows in WRCAC would result in reductions of 851,050 tons/year CO2E of methane and 720,666 tons/year CO2E of nitrous oxide.