PETR 138

After more than seven years of research and development, Smithfield Bioenergy, LLC, a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods Inc., has successfully developed a proprietary system that converts manure to biodiesel. Four mesophilic digesters were designed for biogasification of swine manure from 23 finishing operations totaling 257,000 head in Utah to produce about 35,000 cubic meters (1.2 million cubic feet) per day of biogas. This gas is fed to a biomethanol plant where it is scrubbed of hydrogen sulfide, and steam reformed into synthesis gas consisting mainly of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The synthesis gas converted into biomethanol through a catalytic, thermo-chemical process similar to the Fischer-Tropsch process. The Biometahnol is then used to produce biodiesel through trans-esterification using 1:6 ratio of biomethanol:oil. Two commercial scale plants that produce biomethanol and biodiesel with capacities of 26,000 L (7,000 gallons) and 132,000 L (35,000 gallons) per day, respectively have been installed. The biomethanol plant was built and commissioned in 2004 in Utah, and the biodiesel plant went into production early this year. This paper will present the conception, design, permitting, operation and commissioning of the manure-to-biodiesel production plants.