I See London…
TCT Expands Product Range in the U.K.

“I see London, I see France,
I see viable, scalable, modular, Containerized anaerobic digesters”

When I was but a wee lad, certain boys used to tease the girls with the preceding taunt.  Or words to that effect.  My wife likes to remind me that my memory is not what it used to be and it is perhaps a bit affected by recent events. 

The recent event to which I refer was our trip to Southampton, England (via London) to attend training at the facilities of SEaB Energy.  SEaB Energy is a relatively new and exciting company founded by Nick and Sandra Sassow.  The Sassows are a very interesting, multi-cultural and technologically diverse couple who have created two new renewable energy products: the Windbuster and the Muckbuster.  It is the Muckbuster anaerobic digester that prompted our trip “across the pond”.

We initially stumbled across the Muckbuster at the 1^st annual AWEA small wind event in Detroit, MI in 2009.  Representatives of SEaB, decked out in their distinctive neon green vests, were displaying images of two new products.  As long time installers of wind turbines, we were familiar with the small, vertical axis Windbuster.  However, it was the curiously named Muckbuster that caught our eye.  We had been looking to diversify our product line to include additional renewable energy technologies, and we had done some preliminary research into small scale anaerobic digestion.  From that initial research we discovered two facts: One, technologically advanced AD units were not units at all, but multi-million dollar, multi-acre facilities.  Two, small scale AD units, that have been around for thousands of years, are mostly not approved for use in the US and are not very useful in cold weather climates.  While the Muckbuster was in the early stages of design and testing, it appeared as though this unit completely “busted” our preconceived notions of what was possible with anaerobic digestion.

What SEaB Energy has done is to take a modern, fully automated, three acre anaerobic digestion facility and containerize it in a recycled 40ft. steel shipping container.  You, as the end user, basically just need to load in your feedstock and remove the lignin (solid material) and digestate liqueur (liquid material).  The Muckbuster does everything else automatically, plus regulates its own temperature, thus allowing it to function effectively even in cold northern winters.  The lignin can be used as mulch or animal bedding and the liqueur can be used as a high quality fertilizer.  Both byproducts are fully pasteurized, making them virtually odor and bacteria free.  The type and amount of feedstock that you input, which can vary from french fry grease and baked goods to grass clippings and horse manure, determines the amount of methane gas that is produced.  The greater the amount of methane, the more electricity that will be produced by the CHP (combined heat and power generator).  For example, 10 horses will produce enough daily waste to allow the unit to produce around 15,000 kWh of electricity annually.  Food waste will produce much greater results.  And seeing how this unit is scalable, thanks to its modularity, an excess of 200,000 kWh annually would not be unheard of.  Additionally, this entire process can be both monitored and controlled remotely from your iPhone.

Fast forward to late 2010.  TCT Renewable Energy has become the first reseller and installer of Muckbusters in the United States.  As such, December saw us leaving snowy Ohio and flying to snowy England to participate in SEaB’s first training class for the sales, installation and maintenance of the Muckbuster.  Joining us in this inaugural class were two Scotsmen, a Russian, a Frenchman, an Egyptian and a South African.  And no, we did not walk into a bar.  At least not during training.

Now that we are fully factory certified, we expect to receive and commission our first unit by the end of January at our own facility.  Many more will follow shortly there after.  If you happen to be in the vicinity of North Jackson, OH, stop in and maybe we will let you throw in a few shovels full of horse manure.