power stakes in other large U.S. poultry regions are flocking to this northern town in the heart of turkey country to get a closer look at the facility.
From Union Jack to Stars and Stripes
SOURCE: Fibrowatt LLC
mination of 15 years of work originating in the U.K., where people from Benson traveled to understand more completely how this type of a plant affects the surrounding community. Now that Fibrominn is operational, people with
Herbaceous biomasses have fueled boilers for a long time. Animal wastes like poultry litter have a different makeup, however, that cause fouling and slagging during the combustion process. “Animal biomass is more alkaline,” Fraser says. “Alkalines behave differently under high temperatures—they get sticky and foul up
with ash…many who have tried to combust, gasify or heat-treat animal manures have found significant challenges.” In 1989, Rupert Fraser and his father, Simon, set out to overcome these challenges. In doing so, they changed the way people think of power and stinky poultry litter. The elder Fraser’s experience in forest residue combustion in Scotland, and family ties with a United Kingdom turkey farmer, were the basis of the proprietary technologies used in Benson. “We didn’t design the fuel to fit the plants, we designed the plants to fit the fuel,” says Rupert Fraser, referring to the three power plants he and his father engineered
Fibrominn’s 55 megawatt power plant, fueled by poultry litter, recently began producing electricity in Benson, Minn.
18 BIOMASS MAGAZINE 7|2007