SEAI RD&D Research

GEBTechTM(Green Energy Boosting Technology) – A novel treatment for farm slurries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to generate energy.

Westway Health, together with partners – NUI, Galway and Teagasc, are undertaking an exciting 36 month research project, GEBTech, funded by SEAI under their Research Development & Demonstration (RD&D) funding programme (2018). The programme aims to:

  • Accelerate the development and deployment in the Irish marketplace of competitive energy-related products, processes and systems
  • Support solutions that enable technical and other barriers to market uptake to be overcome
  • Grow Ireland’s national capacity to access, develop and apply international class RD&D
  • Provide guidance and support to policy makers and public bodies through results, outcomes and learning from supported energy projects

GEBTechTM

The proposed project will involve the use of GEBTechTM, a natural, broad-spectrum, antimicrobial agent, which may be used as an additive to reduce natural decomposition and methane emissions from stored slurry and manures, thus significantly increasing the energy potential of these materials when used as a feedstock for anaerobic digestion (AD). This project proposes to investigate the effect of GEBTechTMas an additive for farm slurries on:

(i) biogas production, (ii) greenhouse gas emissions from stored slurry and (iii) the potential for the resultant digestate for use as a natural, enhanced low-carbon fertiliser. The proposed research will optimise GEBTechTMreaction cocktails for inhibition of methanogenesis and ammonification in slurries and manures. The most appropriate means of delivery of the technology to slurry during storage will be determined and the emissions of GHG and NH3during winter storage of slurry treated with GEBTechTMwill be measured at a specialised slurry storage facility located in the Teagasc Johnstown Castle Research Centre. The biogas potential of treated and untreated stored slurry during batch and continuous AD will be determined at bench-and pilot-scale at NUI Galway. Following this, the emissions of GHG, NH3and agronomic performance following land-spreading of resultant (AD) digestate to grassland will be measured.