The number of pigs or dairy cows in an operation makes manure digesters economical - or not.

Iowa farmers considering the adoption of anaerobic digester systems now have valuable data to guide their decision-making process, thanks to recent research from Iowa State University (ISU).

ISU doctoral student Luke Soko has examined the farm size required for anaerobic digesters to become economically viable.

He presented findings on potential design options and challenges scaling up anaerobic digestion projects during the second session of a three-part webinar titled "Emerging Science of Anaerobic Digestion" on Nov. 12.

Profitability model

In his research, Soko developed a profitability model to evaluate manure-to-renewable compressed natural gas (R-CNG) projects using covered manure...