Butte, Mont.-Algae Aqua Culture Technology (AACT) has a $350,000 grant from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to go ahead with a commercial-scale greenhouse system that will grow algae to break down wood waste into organic fertilizer at a Montana lumber operation. The algal system will also produce methane through anaerobic digestion of the waste wood to generate power at Stoltz Land and Lumber Co.’s Columbia Falls sawmill. AACT and Stolz agreed in Jan. 2009 to develop a model bioprocessor to demonstrate how mill and logging waste can be incorporated into a closed loop system to generate high value byproducts that will provide additional revenue streams for the lumber industry. AACT expects what it calls the “Green Power House” will serve as the design for the full-scale prototype capable of providing heat for the kilns and more than enough electrical power to run the mill. According to AACT, since the system produces no waste, the byproducts are turned into valuable high grade organic fertilizer and soil amendments. AACT reports that the system is ideally suited for the production of biodiesel, methane, and hydrogen that can be used as fuel for transportation and farm equipment, or converted to electrical power.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain