Agriculture Business Week

The dairy farm of the Philippine Carabao Center at Central Luzon State University (PCC at CLSU) in Science City of Munoz, Nueva Ecija generates an average of 630 kilograms of fresh carabao manure daily. Several years back, these wastes created disposal problems due to its bulkiness resulting in air and water pollution in the area.

Today, that is no longer a problem as the center has found an alternative waste management system through the adoption of biogas technology. And the other good news is that the center saves about 25 percent on its monthly cooking gas expenses by utilizing the biogas fuel (methane) generated from the biogas facility.

The biogas project was initiated in cooperation with the Provincial Science and Technology Center by Dr. Felomino V Mamuad, who is the director of :he PCC at CLSU and is currently the PCC deputy executive director. Called “Establishment of Biogas Digester as an Alternative Efficient Waste Management System,” it aimed to reduce pollution by creating awareness on the safe and effective waste management system for the increasing volume of carabao manure in the center.

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Posted on July 6th, 2009 under Technology. Tags: Biogas, Manure, Waste. Comments: 4

Controlling the odor from pigpens has been the challenge for many swine raisers, especially in urban areas. Unknown to many, PCAKRD’s Magsasaka-Siyentista (MS) Felimon `Boy’ Santander from Mandug, Davao City, a swine raiser and a biogas advocate, has come up with an alternative and environment-friendly farming technology to combat.

MS Santander constructed his own modified biogas digester in his backyard in 1995. It eliminated the unpleasant odor coming from the pigpen, at the same time provided a free source of cooking gas. He also started to promote biogas and provide free file] to his neighbors. Consequently, other pigpen owners requested Santander’s assistance in constructing their own biogas digester.

MS Santander’s modified digester’s features are simple. It uses concrete materials. His digesters range from 2m3 to 20m3. Through his modified biogas digester, Santander has proven that biogas technology can also be used in small-scale backyard pigpens.

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Posted on May 2nd, 2009 under Livestock, Technology. Tags: Biogas, Digester, Pigs, Swine. Comments: 17

Imagine a pigpen that does not emit foul odor, and a household that enjoys free cooking gas and robust crops grown without chemical fertilizer. These are among the many benefits that Felimon “Boy” O Santander of Mandug, Davao City is enjoying nowadays, thanks to biogas technology that he has adopted.

Santander is one of the Magsasaka Siyentista, a part of the Farmer Scientist Bureau under the Techno Gabay Program which is one of the banner programs of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology.

In 1997, Santander, a Political Science graduate, has ventured into his own full-time hog project after being employed at the city government for 11 years. Today, he is concentrating in providing breeding services in his community and in neighboring towns and provinces. He maintains four boars that serve as a source of quality semen for use in artificial insemination services, and few heads for fattening. He is also into piglet and sow dispersal.

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Posted on April 17th, 2009 under Livestock, Technology. Tags: Biogas, Digesters, Pigs, Pigs/Hogs. Comments: 12

In these challenging times, the name of the game in agribussiness is reducing the cost of production without sacrificing quality of the end product. Besides lowering cost, the strategies should also be environment- friendly and sustainable.

That’s exactly what the owners of Brookside Farm, a big piggery operation in Bamban, Tarlac, have been pursuing with great success. One of the most remarkable steps they took a few years back was the construction of a giant biogas system in their newer and bigger piggery (2,000-sow level) in Capas, Tarlac. The biogas system which was built by an outside contractor cost them a fortune, some P11 million, but they are thankful because it is providing them a lot of benefits.

The owners, the Ho family who used to be in the cosmetics business (Kukuryu), also decided to put up a similar biogas system in the Bamban farm (1,500 sowlevel) with their own crew of engineers. They were able to build it at a cost of only P5 million. Chito Ho, the chief executive officer, said that thanks to the two biogas systems they have significantly lowered their cost of production, plus other advantages.

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Posted on March 8th, 2009 under Livestock, Technology. Tags: Biogas, Pigs/Hogs, Sow, Wastes. Comments: 8

Agri-waste could be a valuable resource.

Take the case of Cecilia Stock Farm (CSF), a large-scale piggery in Barangay Mahayag, Bunawan District in Davao City that sources its power from the methane gas emitted from pig manure.

Teresita Pascual, the CSF’s general manager said the bio-methane plant recently established in their farm can produce 300 kilowatt of electricity per day from the manure of 15,000 pigs.

Since the establishment of their farm in the `80s, Pascual said they had seen the potential of converting pig manure into renewable energy.

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Posted on November 22nd, 2008 under Climate Change, Going Green, Livestock. Tags: Biogas, Energy, Manure, Pigs/Hogs, Wastes. Comments: 2

It is true that one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. In agriculture, farm wastes such as rice straw, bio-solids, from vegetables, grasses, biodegradable feedstock, and manure are not immediately dispose as these could he alternative sources of fuel energy.

These agricultural wastes are converted into biogas fuel through an anaerobic process. Biogas, which is comprised primarily of methane and carbon dioxide, could be used as fuel for generating electricity at homes and farms particularly in remote areas where electricity is limited. These could be burned directly for cooking, heating, lighting and process heat, and absorption refrigeration.

But how will we generate biogas fuel from these agricultural wastes? This is possible with the Portable Biogas Generator or Portagas.
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Posted on August 13th, 2008 under Technology. Tags: Biogas, Portagas. Comments: 8

How that nature is horrendously unleashing its wrath due to man’s neglect, insensitivity and “sins” of environmental commission and omission, the agricultural world is joining the call not only to save the planet, but also to create measures to maintain our food security and power use. Biogas, the alternative fuel made from certain organic materials, has never been more relevant than now. And in the world of biogas technologies, particularly bio-digesters, one company stands out-PhilBIO.

For more than six years, Philippine Bio-Sciences Co., Inc. (PhilBIO) is at the helm in the design, installation of waste-to-energy (WTE) at farms, industrial plants and municipal waste facilities. A subsidiary of AsiaBioGas Co. Ltd, headquartered in Thailand, PhilBIO and its four other companies, have successfully implemented over 30 waste-to-energy systems using proprietary in ground bio-digester techniques known under the brand name “Covered Inground Anaerobic Reactor (CIGAR). The company’s systems treat wastewater effectively through the proper cultivation of microbial sludge to remove significantly the BOD and COD in wastewater, thereby capturing the biogas for on-site power use.

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Posted on August 6th, 2008 under SPOTlight, Technology. Tags: Biogas, Digesters. Comments: None

The possibilities of pig producers have by using the technologically advanced Thermo W hot water tile to gain a significant economical benefit from the use of piggery wastes, are endless.

How is it possible to gain an economical benefit from using a Thermo W hot water tile?
Today, there is an ecological imperative to install biogas systems to get rid of smelly effluent which is offensive to neighbors and impacts on the earth’s ecosystem.

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Posted on August 4th, 2008 under Livestock, Technology. Tags: Biogas, Pigs/Hogs. Comments: None

It is true that one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. In agriculture, farm wastes such as rice straw, bio-solids from vegetables, grasses, biodegradable feedstock, and manure do not immediately find themselves into the garbage as they could be potential alternative sources of fuel energy.

These agricultural wastes are being converted into biogas fuel through an anaerobic process. Biogas comprised primarily of methane and carbon dioxide which could be used as fuel for generating electricity at homes and farms particularly in remote areas in the province where electricity is limited. These could also be burned directly for cooking, heating, lighting and process heat, and absorption refrigeration.

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Posted on July 20th, 2008 under Technology. Tags: Biogas. Comments: 2

After a few months of having not seen the Wellisa Farms in Bantayan Island and Consolacion, Cebu, there have been a lot of new developments on biogas generation and Durabloom bio-organic fertilizer production.

At the commercial hog farm in Bantayan, for instance, we immediately noticed a large machine imported from China that uses methane gas for the generation of electricity for the farm. The machine immediately became an attraction to the visiting barangay captains from Pangantucan, Bukidnon who were on a visit for first hand information on the manufacture of Durabloom bio-organic fertilizer. With this new machine, energy generation is now more efficient and economical.

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Posted on June 26th, 2008 under Special Report. Tags: Biogas. Comments: 2