For many years, Frank’s home town Sint-Oedenrode had the highest cow manure surplus per hectare in the whole of the Netherlands. And Frank van Genugten’s dairy farm is located on top of a high-pressure gas pipeline. That gave him the idea to make green gas from cow manure.
Now, Van Genugten collects the cow dung from 18 local dairy farmers every day. The biogas goes into the digester and is upgraded to biomethane using technology from Bright Biomethane. This gas is pumped into the regular gas grid and goes to local households. The thick fraction from the manure becomes a phosphate-rich soil improver with lots of organic matter that goes to arable farmers domestically and abroad and is sold to consumers as pellets for the garden. The thin fraction, high in nitrogen and potassium, goes back to participating dairy farmers as a fertiliser substitute. The remaining gas-free, dried and odourless cow manure is processed into wood panels for insulation purposes. It is an ideal biobased construction material. The plant-based glue used in the panels is grown by Genugten himself. Details about this are considered a trade secret.
Pioneer
Frank van Genugten’s approach is receiving interest from home and abroad. In the US, the first monogist breeders have now been made following the example of the Dutch pioneer.
The Agrifoodplume is an award with which the Province of North Brabant stimulates innovative entrepreneurship. Van Genugten won the award because his activities contribute to full circular agriculture and the competitiveness of the region.
For more information, visit the website of the Province of North Brabant.
Image: Province of North Brabant/Vimeo
