Customer Profile: A dairy farm, located in Jasper, Indiana, specializing in crafting artisan cheeses from locally sourced milk worked with Stark Tech to implement compression equipment to upgrade their gas processing. The farm includes a 22,000-square-foot underground cellar for affinage or the refining of cheese products. The facility caters, not only to their own production needs, but also for other cheese manufacturers.
Customer Challenge: The customer faced a unique predicament with a biogas compression skid from a waste digester, which operated at near atmospheric pressure. While already utilizing Stark Tech’s skid systems, they encountered a challenge in maintaining a consistent dew point at the skid exit. Fluctuations in the digester’s inlet pressure led to unpredictable changes in the exit dew point, demanding a solution with rapid turnaround and a compact footprint.
Stark Tech Solution: Our Compression Solutions team installed a back-pressure regulator at the skid exit to ensure a steady pressure release from the dehydrator. Additionally, a recycle line was routed back to the compressor inlet to relieve any excess pressure upstream of the regulator. These modifications enabled the system to maintain a consistent dew at point post-gas chilling and dehydration.
Equipment Utilized: Stark Tech’s electrical engineers designed and supplied the skid control panel, which included motor Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs), and Allen Bradley programmable logic control (PLC), and a touchscreen human machine interface (HMI) to monitor and control the equipment. The solution also included a Ro-Flo compressor, elevating pressure to 35 pounds per square inch (PSIG) for seamless pipeline transport. Complementing this. an aftercooler, dehydrator, and re-heater were installed to prevent condensation in underground pipelines.
Project Result: The Ro-Flo Compressor was engineered for longevity with a lifespan exceeding 50 years with minimal maintenance requirements. The Dairy Farm’s installation garnered the prestigious American Biogas Council Innovation of the Year Award in 2018. This accolade recognized the integration of sulfur and carbon dioxide removal technologies, facilitated by Stark Tech’s compression skids, driving enhancements not only in efficiency but also in overall cost-effectiveness.
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Stark Tech is a market leading technology provider, delivering turnkey solutions with master systems integration, equipment, and service, and building analytics that drive sustainability goals and keep facilities on their mission. Stark Tech also manufacturers large, skidded equipment that decarbonizes and reduces greenhouse gas emissions through renewable energy sources and by converting waste into renewable natural gas.
