Cayuga County New York

CH4 Energy is an energy plant in Cayuga County, New York that uses cow manure and food waste from neighboring dairy farms to produce energy. CH4 Energy currently has two previously purchased Jenbacher JGS 312 cogeneration units (CHP). One unit currently has inconsistent run time with limited scrubber capability. The other engine has been installed but is yet to be commissioned. CH4 Energy needed a solution in which they could meet the warranty needs of their newly purchased engines. CH4 Energy produced about 1000-2000ppm of bio gas and wanted to reduce their energy costs, maintain efficient production while preventing corrosion caused by emission of H2S. Without the removal of H2S, production efficiency is reduced and repair costs are greatly increased.

CH4 Energy has very high concentrations of H2S in the biogas emitted from their digester which led Martin Energy Group to propose a bio scrubber sized for 400 SCFM of bio gas. Their primary objective was to meet warranty needs of newly purchased bio engines, while their secondary objective was to lower the cost of operations while extending equipment life and reducing the amounts of H2S that was emitted into the environment. Martin Energy proposed installing an Energy Cube Bio-Scrubber. The solution would be to install the biological scrubber directly after the digester to scrub all bio gas being produced.

Martin Energy Group installed a full High level scope of supply. Eg. Biological scrubber, Flares, MEG Jenbacher CHP system, associated pipe, wire and skids which successfully cleaned the bio gas. Cayuga’s site has only a few months of run time. However, the site manager specifically requested an Energy Cube bio scrubber with their new CHP order. For the last several years he has operated unsuccessfully, a Blue electron scrubber. He was aware of the harmful effects of H2S, not only on the engine but on the entire facility which led to purchasing a scrubber along with service from Martin Energy Group. Currently, Martin Energy Groups scrubber is processing an average 125 SCFM of bio gas, reducing H2S from 900ppm to 25-50ppm.

What is Bio Scrubber Technology?

BioSrub (biological scrubber) represents a breakthrough in biogas energy recovery because it captures the H2S from the gas stream without adding any off-site products. This not only reduces on-going operating costs, but also avoids adding an additional waste stream. No consumable media is added. The H2S is simply transferred from the biogas back to its source. BioScrub uses oxygenated effluent as the reactor medium. As the biogas passes through the Biological Scrubber reactor, the H2S is absorbed into the activated effluent and is in turn, converted to elemental sulfur. The sulfur-laden effluent then returns to the lagoon. BioScrub lowers the H2S content in the gas stream to within engine manufacturer’s warranty requirements. It reduces maintenance costs by extending the intervals between oil changes and engine overhauls; and it adds years to the life of your engine.