Fabrizio Adani, University of Milan
AGRICULTURAL INFRASTRUCTURE SUSTAINABILITY — DIGESTION, BIOENERGY AND OPPORTUNITY
Presentation discusses a protocol in the Lombardy Region of Italy developed to address manure management challenges, excess nitrogen and nutrients in the watershed, direct emissions of methane and VOCs, and odors. The three key components are anaerobic digestion, agronomic use of digested manures and digestates and testing and analysis of new technologies to feasibly solve the nitrogen and nutrient surpluses. The protocol is creating a pathway to environmental, economic and social sustainability of agriculture and farming.

Fabrizio Adani, a Professor of Soil Chemistry and of Use and Recycling of Biomasses, leads DiProVe (Department of Vegetable Production) at the University of Milan, Italy. His research is focused on soil and environmental chemistry, biomass recycling and renewable energy production. Dr. Adani has 170 published papers.

Ron Alexander, R. Alexander Associates, Inc.
INCREASING DIGESTATE VALUE BY "GOING ORGANIC"
Owners of anaerobic digesters (AD) are looking to increase the value of their liquid and solid digestate products. One approach is to ensure that AD products can be used on certified organic farms, as nutrient values for "organic" nutrients are greater than chemical forms. A comparison will be made, as will a breakdown of the current "organic" marketplace.

Ron Alexander is a horticulturist with over 27 years of experience working with compost and other organic recycled products, including digester by-products. He is the President of R. Alexander Associates, Inc., a consulting company specializing in product and market development for organic recycled products. He has completed over 400 related projects since becoming a consultant, has been responsible for the distribution of millions of tons of organic recycled products and is author of the The Practical Guide to Compost Marketing and Sales (second edition published by BioCycle).

Christie Allen, SUMA America Inc.
POLITICS, SUSTAINABILITY AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Presentation follows up on Wildpoldsried, Germany W.I.R. 2020 program as presented in the August 2011 issue of BioCycle. Highlights include the next generation of research for community windmills and biogas; WiWaLaMoor, the natural wetlands wastewater system; Composting and trash management; District heating and biomass and passive house; and Wildpoldsried philosophy, politics, EEG Laws, enterprise development and Project IRENE.

Christie Allen is the International Sales and Business Development Manager for SUMA GmbH and SUMA America Inc., a biogas mixer and agitation manufacturer. She has over 15 years of experience in international sales with software, hardware and technology providers for Fortune 500 companies. In 2009, she moved to Germany and began teaching English to local companies while learning the German language. She was asked by the Wildpoldsried Village Council to provides tours in English, which inspired the article in BioCycle (August 2011). Ms. Allen holds a B.A. in Sociology and Entrepreneurship from the University of Iowa.

Peter Anderson, RecycleWorlds Consulting
STEPS TO INCREASE CURBSIDE COLLECTION
OF RESIDENTIAL ORGANICS
Cost-effective strategies to source separate and divert organics from landfills will be discussed. In today's economic climate, the synergies need to be captured when diversion exceeds two-thirds to three-quarters of waste generation, and most putrescibles have been separated, which makes less-than-weekly rubbish collection possible, halving collection costs, which in turn incentivizes noncooperators to cooperate, doubling diversion. Learn how this can be done.

Peter Anderson is President of RecycleWorlds Consulting, Executive Director of the Center for a Competitive Waste Industry, Project Director for the multi-state Plastic Redesign Project, Senior Lecturer at the University of Wisconsin Department of Applied Economics on recycling systems and chairperson of the National Recycling Coalition Landfill Subcommittee. Previously, he has operated a buyback and processing center. He received his BS in economics from Cornell University and his MS in solid waste planning and industrial organization of the solid waste industry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Paolo Baragetti, Deep Blue NRG
BIOGAS INJECTION INTO NATURAL GAS GRID
An overview of biogas to biomethane grid injection projects will be discussed, highlighting key ingredients for success. An analysis of the costs and benefits of grid injection as a viable biogas market, as well as the need for pipeline injection standards, will be presented.

Paolo Baragetti is President of Deep Blue NRG, an engineering consulting company that offers services in the renewable energy sector. He has previously held a number of management positions in Technology and Business development at Enbridge and IBM/Celestica, and was on the board of the Natural Gas Technology Center in Montreal and on the Gas Technology Institute in Chicago. Most recently, he has spearheaded a biogas to biomethane report for North American utilities to set injection standards. He has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University.

Jerry Bingold, Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy
NEW BUSINESS PARADIGM TO TRANSFORM
DAIRY DIGESTER INDUSTRY
In December 2009, USDA and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy signed a MOU to work with the dairy industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from dairy farms by 25 percent by 2020. This presentation will focus on developments since the MOU was signed to overcome barriers to anaerobic digester adoption on U.S. dairy farms, including: Changes in USDA programs for digesters; Increased opportunities for biogas from organic waste feedstock; Emerging markets for fiber, CNG and carbon offsets; and New "project finance" business model for digester systems. Two recent business case examples that offer economic and environmental benefits to digesters installed on individual farms and as community digester operations will be presented.

Jerry Bingold is Director of Renewable Energy for the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. He is responsible for analyzing and communicating information to strategically develop national market analysis and business modeling while coordinating industry volunteers and providing overall project support. Jerry has experience in renewable energy, energy efficiency and power contracts with rural electric cooperatives, investor-owned utilities and large commercial and agricultural companies. He has a B.S. in biology from the University of Oregon.

Secretary Ben Brancel, Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
WELCOME TO WISCONSIN
Secretary Ben Brancel welcomes Conference participants to Wisconsin. He will highlight the opportunity for bioenergy production to help diversify Wisconsin's changing agricultural landscape and provide additional income streams for farmers and agribusiness while helping increase the state's ability to generate homegrown power, heat and fuel.

Ben Brancel was appointed Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) by Governor Scott Walker in January. Mr. Brancel previously served as the DATCP Secretary under Governor Tommy G. Thompson from 1997-2001, after which he was appointed Wisconsin state director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Services Agency. He has a degree in animal science from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, and managed his family's dairy operation for 22 years. Secretary Brancel now raises registered Angus beef cattle. He served in the Wisconsin Assembly for 11 years and most recently served as the state relations liaison for UW-Madison's College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, where he helped support the Wisconsin Agricultural Research Stations.

Eric Camirand, Electrigaz Technologies Inc.
PHYSICAL AND ENZYMATIC PRETREATMENT OF
ORGANIC FRACTION OF MSW FOR BIOGAS PRODUCTION
The lignocellulosic fraction of organic MSW (grass, branches, leaves) presents significant biological and mechanical issues for anaerobic digestion. Lignocellulosic material does not degrade in the digestion process, diminishing reactor volumes and creating swimming layers in the digesters. In this study, the mixed organic fraction of MSW (lignocellulosic and food waste) was pretreated with steam and enzymes to convert cellulose into sugars therefore increasing biogas yield. The methodology and results of this experiment will be presented.

Eric Camirand, President of Electrigaz Technologies Inc., has been active in the renewable energy sector for over five years. He founded Electrigaz Technologies in 2005, a firm specializing in the study, design and realization of biogas energy systems. Electrigaz provides biogas studies and project development services to clients such as food processors, farmers, waste management companies, government agencies and municipalities. Mr. Camirand holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from McGill University in Montréal.

Mike Casper, Homeland Biogas Energy LLC
MAXIMIZING BIOGAS PRODUCTION FROM
FARM AND FOOD PROCESSING BY-PRODUCTS
Presentation will discuss processes and proprietary technology to maximize biogas production from agriculture and food processing by-products. Operation experience, feedstock management, enzymes and temperature will be covered.

Mike Casper has more than 20 years of experience in the energy industry. During the past eight years, he has managed the development, start-up, commissioning and operation of renewable energy digester facilities. His past experience includes work as a development manager, consultant and project engineer in the power industry. Mr. Casper is currently employed by Homeland Biogas Energy as Vice President of Project Development. He has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the UW–Platteville and an MBA from DePaul University.

Caroline Chappell, BIOFerm Energy Systems
CONTAINERIZED DIGESTER FOR SMALL-SCALE DAIRIES
An emerging need has been identified for AD at small dairy farms. In response, a standardized, small "plug and play" complete mix plug flow digester system has been developed. Presentation will describe the system, which is well-suited to dairy farms that utilize a dry scrape manure management system with bedding such as straw or hulls; energy crops such as corn silage may be codigested.

Caroline Chappell is an Application Engineer at BIOFerm Energy Systems, a technology provider for anaerobic digestion systems. She received her B.S.E. in Industrial and Operations Engineering from University of Michigan. She is an active member of the American Biogas Council's Education and Outreach Committee. BIOFerm is part of the Viessmann Group, a manufacturer that has long been active in the renewable energy sector, including biogas plants.

Alessandro Chiumenti, University of Udine, Italy
BRINGING SIMPLICITY TO DIGESTATE TREATMENT
Findings of research studies that monitored variety of technologies to treat digestate and farming effluents will be presented. Testing evaluated performance, quality of input and output streams of each process, mass flows, nutrient flows and energy consumption and monitoring of emissions where applicable. Technologies evaluated were: nitrification-denitrification, liquid/solid separation, membrane filtration, digestate drying, vacuum concentration and an unconventional composting process of liquid digestate.

Alessandro Chiumenti, PhD, is a researcher in Agricultural Mechanization at the University of Udine, Italy. He received his doctorate from the University of Padua in Italy. He has conducted a wide variety of basic and applied research on various aspects of solid and liquid waste treatment, primarily in the area of farm residues. Treatment processes include anaerobic digestion of swine and cattle manure, composting of similar residues and advanced wastewater treatment of liquid residues including reverse osmosis.

Allison Costa, US EPA AgSTAR
THINGS ARE LOOKING UP!
There are signs that a transformational change is occurring in the digester industry — one that would create a vibrant and sustainable industry realizing hundreds of successful digester systems annually. Learn about technical, policy and financial tools necessary for this change to occur. Also, hear an overview of the current status of the US digester market, profiles of new and innovative projects, state and nationwide efforts to advance digester systems and current EPA/USDA initiatives.

Allison Costa works across the U.S. and internationally to provide outreach and technical assistance related to anaerobic digestion of livestock and agro-industrial wastes through EPA's AgSTAR program and Global Methane Initiative. She is responsible for outreach in the northern and eastern regions of the US, as well as maintaining the website and FarmWare programs. She is also involved in the development of technical guidance related to AD and for performance evaluation of AD systems. Allison holds a BS in Biology and Politics from Wake Forest University and an MS in Geography and Environmental Engineering from Johns Hopkins University.