gas from grass

[brackwell]

http://www.waterbriefing.org/home/technology-focus/item/10663-ecotricity-to-use-anaerobic-digestion-to-generate-gas-from-grass

[stannn]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/18/could-gas-from-grass-rival-fracking-to-heat-uk-homes

[Nickel2]

There was a discussion about this on "Farming Today" this morning. Interesting article about alternative crops, then skip to 06:00 for named article.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08296nm

[dhaslam]

There is a different approach domestic gas in Holland.  It seems that there may be legislation to prevent  gas being supplied to new homes and  eventually to end the supply of gas to houses.   
 
https://www.e-domotica.com/en/news/living-without-gas-more-popular-in-the-netherlands

Food production is just as important as renewable energy and  the world may already have exceeded the population that can be maintained when  artificial fertilizers become more scarce.     Switching land from  grass based animal production to crops is necessary to avoid richer countries taking over  land in poorer countries, it is already happening on a large scale  and some land leased is in countries with  population growth that has gone out of control.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/nov/27/african-land-uk-investment

[oliver90owner]

Cows eat grass and have been making methane for a looong time.  It is just another of the ways that greenhouse gases have increased due to human activity!

[TDH]

While I am aware this is an old post.....

I do a bit of tractor driving in the summer grass cutting season helping out the dairy farmer next door. This is on the very flat area of the Gwent Levels between Cardiff and Newport.

They do 3 or 4 cuts a year on around 400 acres...weather dependent and make silage for dairy cows.
This area is fertilised with cow slurry ( the wet stuff) cow manure ( the dry stuff) and a powder Nitrogen fertiliser.
If this isn't done you will get only 1 cut per year!!!
So let's start looking at the numbers, each acre needs chain harrowing, rolling, muck spreading, fertiliser spreading, Cutting and turning, picking up, unloading, storing and the loading the AD. So busy May to September, then what are you going to feed the AD with from October to April? Easy you need to store some of it in a clamp under the correct conditions... more time and money.

Total cost ( from my farmer mate) £150 per acre per cut so £ 600 per acre per year based on 4 cuts.

What is the gas production per acre per year?

Also price up the kit you need just for the grass management (not the AD) kit. Tractors 4off, trailers 4off, mower, forage harvester, spinner, roller, muck spreaders tile handlers.... one tractor £50k minimum, forage harvester £200k+

Man hours, really really loads, diesel, loads, breakdowns, loads.

A side line.... each cow needs about 1.5 acres, so water on our cereal from now on. In fact no, grass for breakfast, lunch and dinner.... grass, grass, grass and grass or is that spam, spam, spam and spam.

I wish them all the best but unsure about the math, need to find the feasibility study and have a read.

Regards
TDH