April 10, 2023: Bringing decades of experience and his patented gasification technology to market, Michael McGolden and his co-founder Adam Ferrif have broken ground on a sustainable, carbon negative biosolids and poultry manure processing facility in Bethel, Pennsylvania. “The goals of this facility are to reduce the dumping of biosolids into local landfills and to reduce the land application of poultry manure to avoid the runoff of harmful nutrients into the Chesapeake Bay,” said Mr. McGolden. The facility will consist of two gasifier trains that will have the capacity of processing 87,600 wet tons of biosolids per year in addition to egg layer feedstocks provided by local agricultural resources.
The continued land application of biosolids is an environmental issue that is gaining attention across the United States. Emerging contaminants, microplastics, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contained within municipal biosolids have the potential to contaminate ground and surface water and can result in contamination of food sources. “Wastewater treatment plant managers have responded to these recent trends by looking for new economically viable options for biosolids management and disposal,” added Mr. McGolden. “Earthcare’s gasification technology will provide a reliable, long-term biosolids management solution with the key differentiators of higher throughput and lower total capital costs.”
The Chesapeake Bay is one of the most endangered estuaries in the U.S. The watershed includes runoff from parts of 12 different states and is heavily regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”). The primary concern is the volume of nutrients discharging into the Bay, which nutrients are creating algae blooms and harming the Bay. “This facility could reduce the discharge by over 2 million pounds of nitrogen at a very reasonable capital cost,” added Mr. McGolden.
The gasification technology used by Earthcare provides a clean, environmentally friendly conversion of biosolids, manures and organic waste into a marketable high carbon content biochar in a thermochemical process. As a carbon-activated byproduct of the gasification process, the unique biochar produced via the Earthcare gasification process (EcocharTM) has several beneficial uses including agronomic applications as a soil amendment, soil remediation, stormwater filtration and as a bedding supplement to reduce moisture and ammonia content for odor control.
Completion of the facility is expected in October 2023 with full-scale operations expected in early 2024.
