V.MFS.0006 - Assessing priority biogas opportunities within the dairy and meat industries

Summary

Following the MLA Waste-2-Profit cross sectional program, a smaller collaborative program lead by Dairy Australia will assess co-digestion opportunities from animal industry feedstocks in regional areas. This project will map hotspots particularly in regional areas, for the development of bioenergy projects based on co-digestion of waste streams from the dairy, red meat, pork and chicken meat industries.

Objectives

This research assessment project will identify viable Victorian bio-hubs to identify the most promising opportunities for the development of bioenergy projects based on co-digestion of costly and problematic waste streams from the dairy, red meat, pork, and chicken meat industries.

The dairy, red meat, and chicken meat industries currently generate large volumes of wastewater and organics which are high in biomethane potential and nutrient loads, particularly at the point of processing. Often this is discharged to trade waste or treated onsite with little/no energy or nutrient recovery, at significant cost to the food processor.

By identifying viable Victorian bio-hubs, then articulating their commercial potential, this project aims to enable significant resource recovery, generating bioenergy and nutrient dense digestate from waste.

Key findings

The deliverables of this project will include:
o Database of current dairy and meat industry waste streams of interest to co-digestion projects in Victoria which includes; volume, location, composition, any known biomethane potential (BMP) results, disposal route, disposal costs, community concerns etc.
o GIS heat maps which show the general location and BMP opportunity of co-digestion feedstocks from the Victorian dairy and meat industries.
o BMP testing for feedstocks from Victorian dairy and meat industry which are not well understood within current ADAdvisor biogas calculation tools or other industry/service provider databases.
o Up to two Victorian locations selected for detailed techno-economic evaluation of the business case for co-digestion of available feedstocks (Assumes that suitable locations are identified. If not, this milestone serves as a go/no go stage gate).
o Techno-economic feasibility studies completed for up to two priority locations in Victoria. Outputs would include; technology review & selection, preliminary engineering design and cost estimates, financial modelling.
o List of key stakeholders necessary to project implementation developed and their positions with respect to the project formally established (via MOUs or Letters of support/intent etc.).
o Summary report that provides details of the project findings and outlines the recommended path forward.

Benefits to industry

The objective of the proposed project is to identify the most promising opportunities within Victoria for the development of bioenergy projects based on co-digestion of costly and problematic waste streams from the dairy, red meat, pork, and chicken meat industries.
The project would achieve this via collaboration and knowledge-sharing across six industry service bodies and draw on the specialist support from the Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity (A2EP).

MLA action

MLA $15k investment led and contracted by Dairy Australia, under a collaborative agreement. There is no requirement for MLA to be a member of the steering committee. MLA not nominated as a member of the project team but are noted as a formal partner and will have access to all reports and licences. This will enable provisions for MLA to continue to collaborate with AMPC (who are also parties to this cross sectoral initiative) as part of the planned transition of off-farm sustainability initiatives during Y24/25.

Future research

These feasibility studies will be provided to key biogas project developers operating in the market and they will be offered the option to further progress to implementation.