La valorisation des effluents et produits d'exploitation par la méthanisation. Exemple d'un cas concret dans le Loiret : le GAEC Beets

Utilization of effluents and of products from farms for the production of methane. Actual case in the département of Loiret : a farm run by Messrs Beets in co-operation

The production of methane is a new way of creating renewable energy which may be applicable to farms. In the département of Loiret, a methane-producing unit with a capacity of 150 kW-hour was set up by farmers, Messrs Beets, working in co-operation. Its main source of raw materials is constituted by farm effluents 'farmyard manure, slurry), complemented by agricultural products and waste. Thanks to a high-performance co-generator and to the utilization of the heat emitted, electricity could be produced and resold at 0.136 euros per kW-hour. The residues of the process were analysed in 2009 and the results showed how the composition of the substances changed during the production of methane and how the nitrogenous compounds varied with the dry-matter contents of the residues. Trials with maize and sorghum (as annual crops or as catch-crops) were set up to assess their possible use in this way.