He's Turning Chicken Manure Into Fuel

He's Turning Chicken Manure Into Fuel MANURE HANDLING Equipment 22-1-40 A Maryland entrepreneur says he knows what to do with the tons and tons of chicken manure produced by U.S. poultry producers every year - burn it. Steve Vayda of Vayda Energy Associates Inc., Hampstead, Md., has developed a new burner that can be used to heat broiler houses using the birds' own manure as fuel. Vayda's first manure furnace is slated to be installed at a chicken farm in Virginia early this year. The first-of-its-kind furnace uses what Vayda calls a "Fluidized Bed Combustion" (FBC) system to make the manure burn. The bottom portion of the furnace is filled with a sand-like material that's heated to 1,500 degrees F. which causes it to boil. Chicken manure is fed into the bubbling sand off a conveyor belt or auger. It combusts almost instantly, and the resulting heat is drawn off to heat the building. "The manure burns cleanly and efficiently with no odor and almost no smoke," says Vayda, a mechanical engineer. Volume is reduced by 90 percent. The residue that drops out the bottom is high in potassium and potash as fertilizer, he says. The first of Vayda's systems will be in-stalled between two 25,000-bird houses. Cost of the 1.25 million BTU system is $20,000 to $30,000, with price expected to drop as the company goes into full production. Vayda says the system can also be used to burn other organic waste material, including dairy and beef manure and sludge from the bottom of oil tanks. The company has the financial backing of the state of Maryland as well as the USDA. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Vayda Energy Associates Inc., 18707 Upper Beckleysville Road, Hampstead, Md. 21074-2835 (ph/fax 410 374-6599).

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