Energy prices in the US and around the world have escalated dramatically. Whether in the form of electricity, petroleum hydrocarbons (gasoline, diesel fuel, natural gas) or coal, all forms of carbon-based energy are at historic highs.

The economic impact of this rise in energy costs, combined with America’s desire to seek energy independence from foreign oil, cannot be overstated. When combined with the need to reduce carbon emissions hazardous to the environment, the opportunity is great for innovation and implementation of a new paradigm.

Integrated Organic Energy has capitalized on this opportunity and applied innovative strategies and technology advances to create a paradigm shift in energy from CAFO animal wastes.

In 1976, the Resource Conservation and Recycling Act set standards for emissions of many bi-products of production and processes in the US. One section of this act specifically deals with Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). In the past, livestock production was largely ignored or exempted from many of the specific regulations enforced on industry, and thus was not forced to adequately control discharges of toxic material into the atmosphere and water. This special allowance has lead to widespread abuses and significant long-term problems affecting society and the environment, both water and atmospheric.

Over the past 5 years, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has begun enforcing the regulations pertaining to CAFO regulations, and of late has signaled an inclination to eliminate ‘grandfathered’ exempt status for existing operations.
 

The significant advantages and opportunities in CAFO animal wastes are as follows:

 In the U.S. alone, dairy cows emit 5.5 million metric tons of toxic methane gas per year into the atmosphere--20 percent of the total U.S. methane emissions. And with 1.5 billion dairy cows and cattle on earth, that number is expected to grow rapidly as earth's hungry population expands.
 

·         Methane gas emissions are 23 times more harmful to the climate and the air we breathe than C02.
 

·         An inexhaustible supply of fuel from animal wastes from CAFOs exists in the US and worldwide. Even more so, this infinite supply of fuel for energy production renews itself every 3 hours. It is an continuous source of FREE or almost FREE fuel.
 

·         Most of the methane gas, CO2 and nitrogen (as ammonium, ammonia & protein) are released to the atmosphere through existing inefficient manure handling processes of these CAFO dairy’s.
 

·         Livestock manure from CAFOs is often spread on cultivated fields, but the loss of manure nitrogen (often over 50%) through ammonia volatilization and leaching makes the ratio of nitrogen to phosphorous too low for balanced and appropriate crop application.
 

·         Traditional technologies and methodology are often designed merely to mask or trick testing, and capture a low percentage of the energy and nutrients in the manure.
 

·         Methane burned through methane gas generators emits the same amount of carbon to atmosphere, reducing the methane to renewable power and thus converting the methane to C02 creates a less harmful carbon emission.
 

·         C02 can be captured from gas turbines and distributed into algae production which is a very effective means of converting CO2 to usable vegetable proteins thereby eliminating the C02 carbon emissions.
 

·         The demand for sustainable, renewable, green" electricity is at an all time high and Federal Renewable Energy Production Mandates will continue to drive demand for many years into the future.
 

IOE addresses the core elements of the CAFO opportunities and transforms conventional technologies into sustainable, renewable energy solutions as follows:

·         Captures energy from the anaerobic digestion, conversion and recycling portions of the process to produce sustainable, renewable green energy from renewable sources.
 

·         Embraces both the spirit and the letter of the US EPA’s RCRA laws by reusing and recycling animal waste materials into new uses while converting them to useful products and improving the environment.
 

·         Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from animal wastes and renewable power generation.
 

·         Improves water quality by reducing contamination of groundwater resources caused by the disposal and ground leaching of animal production wastes.
 

·         Recover valuable resources for conversion to vegetable proteins and minerals for animal feeds, cosmetic, pharmaceutical products, nutraceutical products and biodiesel.
 

·         Convert waste polluted water into benign and reusable water.