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Data Protection Declaration
Imprint
Use of naturally available methane to power agricultural machinery (MethAnLand) Using the example of a cow barn model, methods are being researched to first enrich the resulting methane-air mixture in such a way that methane can be separated at economic cost. In addition, the processes necessary for the use of methane on agricultural farms are examined. (MethAnLand)
Project
Project code: 28N200501
Contract period: 01.06.2021
- 30.05.2023
Budget: 291,791 Euro
Purpose of research: Applied research
Keywords: emissions, climate (climate relevance, climate protection, climate change), agricultural engineering
As a contribution to climate protection, the project aims to reduce methane emissions from livestock farming into the environment by using them for energy generation through extraction at the point of origin for the operation of agricultural machinery. Specifically, the research project will investigate the possibilities of separating methane from barn air and respiratory air from cows and examine them with regard to economic use. The focus here is on the liquefaction of methane from cattle farming for its use in agricultural machinery by cooling it and bringing it below the boiling point from an atmosphere. Calculations on the Mobima shall show from when cooling is economically viable. At Mobima a diffusion test rig will be set up to analyse the enrichment processes both in the synthetic gas mixture and the bovine respiratory gases from a respiration chamber of the FBN depending on the geometry, the type of supply, the residence time and the withdrawal of the enriched atmosphere. The aim is the enrichment of the methane content so that an economical methane separation is possible. The enrichment and separation of methane from the oxygen, carbon dioxide and ammonia containing exhaust air of respiration chambers for large ruminants at FBN is further tested in an experimental approach on a model scale depending on the composition of feed for cows and volume flows through the chambers. Based on the results of the previous work packages an economic analysis and a process evaluation will be carried out and a detailed documentation of the results will be prepared. The project starts with a compilation of the basic possibilities for meteorological separation. However, since the methane concentration in the stable air is very low, methods of enrichment are investigated in the research project. This should enable an economic separation of the methane. The methane enrichment is investigated in the project both with a synthetic atmosphere and with a real one from respiration chambers. Experiments on diffusion processes are planned, so that an increased methane concentration is produced in a defined area. This concentration will be deducted and used for further experiments. Furthermore, an increase of the methane content is investigated by feeding experiments, in which cows are fed with high raw fibre. According to the current state of the art, the feeding is more appropriate to the species, so that animal welfare is particularly taken into account here. According to the current state of knowledge, the methane should be separated by cold traps, since the methane should also be used in liquid form in agricultural machinery. Based on the sample tests, the economic efficiency will be estimated in a final step. A detailed documentation of the results concludes the project.
Section overview
Subjects
- Animal Husbandry
- Climate Change
