Community Association for Restoration of the Environment Inc et al v. Cow Palace LLC Doc. 396 Att. 3

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1 Community Association for Restoration of the Environment Inc et al v. Cow Palace LLC Doc. 396 Att. 3 Project Memo DATE: 3/13/15 ECS PROJ. NO.: P242 BY: Tim O Neill PROJECT NAME: Dolsen Dairy Compost Improvement TO: Levi Gassaway COPY TO: Adam Dolsen SUBJECT: Current Operations, Project and Compost Pilot Overview RESPONSE REQUESTED: Yes X No Hard Copy X Phone Call Current Operations Currently the Cow Palace Dairy composts approximately 110, ,000 tons per year of straw manure in turned windrows on approximately 50 acres in the three ares shown outlined in red in the figure below. The majority of this material is generated during the four wet months of November through February when the cows shelter in the Loafing Sheds on straw bedding. An estimated average of 22,500 tons/month of straw manure produced during these months. The balance of straw manure is produced sporadically during the rest of the year during wet weather periods. The compost produced the Cow Palace Dairy complies with WSDA and national guidelines for organic compost. This compost is broadly distributed to local agricultural customers for beneficial reuse. P th Ave West, Seattle, WA 98199, USA Page 1 of 4 Dockets.Justia.com

2 Project The high-level goals of this project are to improve the thermal/biological efficiency of the process so that finished compost can be produced more quickly. A shorter processing time will in turn allow the same annual tonnage to be processed in a smaller, more efficient area. ECS has helped other windrow composters improve efficiency by adding controlled aeration to their facilities. The likely reduction in the area required is between 40% 70%. The specific process goals are: 1. Meeting the time/temperature requirements posed by the WSDA guidelines. 2. Reducing the moisture in the product more quickly. 3. More rapidly producing a similarly stable material as the current process. 4. Reducing the particle size of the straw so the vast majority of the compost falls through as fines in the screening process. Compost Pilot System The proposed pilot will measure the improvements gained by adding forced aeration and additional process control and monitoring to primary composting (first 2 6 weeks). This pilot will increase the Oxygen levels, speed up moisture removal, and provide temperature control. Controlling these process variables always improves the efficiency of the composting process. Every feedstock is however somewhat unique. The goal of the pilot is therefore to characterize how much additional efficiency is realistically possible. The pilot program will use parametric testing it identify the best value approach for aeration rates, aeration periods, initial mix optimization, and how best to combine agitation (turning) and aeration. The pilot system will provide controlled and repeatable rate of air flow through a temporary aeration floor. This floor will be designed to allow both static (un-turned) and agitated (turned) composting over the top of it. The system will have two zones that are 50 ft long x 14 wide (approximate volume 80 cy, weight 60 tons). A drawing of the pilot system is attached. The system will provide automatically controlled and monitored forced aerated composting in two zones. The control system will be linked to the Cow Palace office via a wireless network and connected to the web. This will enable management to track the testing, save data files, and change settings. This same connectivity will allow ECS direct access from Seattle to provide prompt support for training, tuning the system and optimizing operations. P th Ave West, Seattle, WA 98199, USA Page 2 of 4

3 Initial Test Plan The test plan outlined below should be considered as a starting point; these plans will evolve as more is learned about how the feedstocks respond to an aerated system. Also during a pilot program it is common to need to stop a test early, change some parameters, t hen re-run. The test period per batch will generally be between days. Some feedstock characterization tests will also be required in addition to the data acquired by the automated control system. This will include density and moisture tests, and a few lab tests. Test # 1 Start-Up, Zone #1 Fill Zone #1 with as-received straw Use default ECS aeration control settings Test # 2 Start-Up, Zone #2 Fill Zone #2 with as-received straw Use tuned aeration control settings Test # 3 Amended Mix Test #1 Fill zone with a mix of 10% dryer finished materials and the as-received straw Check out system Discover straw manure s response to aeration/tune control system Check out system Measure un-amended straw manure s heat generating capacity and drying rate Measure straw manure s heat generating capacity and drying rate after being lightly amended with finished product Test # 4 Amended Mix Test #2 Fill zone with a mix of 30% dryer finished materials and the as-received straw Test # 5 Combined Turning & Aeration #1 Turn with WR turner every 3 days during the first 15 days Measure straw manure s heat generating capacity and drying rate after being modestly amended with finished product Measure the effect of combining aeration and turning on the heat generating capacity and drying rate of the as-received straw P th Ave West, Seattle, WA 98199, USA Page 3 of 4

4 Test # 6 Combined Turning & Aeration #2 Turn with WR turner every 6 days during the first 18 days Measure the effect of combining aeration and turning on the heat generating capacity and drying rate of the as-received straw Test # 7 Super Aeration #1 Put fan on maximum output for first 3 days of process, then return to automatic temperature control Measure the drying effect over aerating initially on the longer term heat generating capacity and drying rate of the as-received straw Test # 8 Super Aeration #2 Put fan on maximum output for first 7 days of process, then return to automatic temperature control Measure the drying effect over aerating for a longer initial period on the longer term heat generating capacity and drying rate of the as-received straw P th Ave West, Seattle, WA 98199, USA Page 4 of 4

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