Research focuses on renewable energy

By Ben Sutherly
Staff Writer
Sunday, July 15, 2007

Fuel cell research under way in Ohio might someday save farmers and food processors headaches in disposing of waste.

It might even help them make money by turning that waste into renewable energy — specifically electricity. And it could help dairy farmers cut odors from cow manure and improve relations with neighbors.

The Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster received $1.5 million in state Third Frontier funding in 2005 for research into converting food-processing leftovers into renewable energy. And OARDC is receiving an unspecified amount of U.S. Department of Energy funding to find similar ways to convert manure into energy.

"You could come up with a very significant part of the energy needs of Ohio," said OARDC researcher Floyd Schanbacher.

Key to that research is a fuel cell developed by Cleveland-based Technology Management, Inc., Schanbacher said.

He said he's pleased so far with the fuel cell's reliability. While many fuel cells are finicky and must use highly refined hydrogen, Schanbacher said the TMI fuel cell can use fuels with sulfur contaminants — contaminants often present in food-processing and livestock waste.
"We think it's got a good prospect for success," he said.

Bobby Moser, dean of Ohio State University's college of food, agricultural and environmental sciences, said the technology could reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil.

TMI has about 20 full-time employees and has been developing fuel cell technology since 1990, said Benson Lee, TMI's president.

The fuel cell, which runs on hydrogen extracted from methane given off by animal waste or other decomposing organic matter, is relatively compact. Measuring 16 inches by 16 inches and 32 inches high, it weighs about 100 pounds, Lee said.

If enough fuel-cell systems are commercially produced, Lee anticipates the price per fuel-cell system could drop below $500 — making the systems affordable for dairy farmers and food processors, whose waste is expensive to dispose of.

"Small scale is where Ohio could be a world leader in the use of this technology," he said.

But significant hurdles remain. TMI's fuel cell technology so far has been tested only in laboratories. Lee hopes to raise $2 million to $3 million to engineer the fuel cells so they can run outside the lab for a long time. He said field testing won't begin for up to three years.

And there currently isn't a market for the fuel cells. Ohio's regulatory landscape traditionally hasn't provided much incentive for farmers and food processors to generate renewable energy, though the Public Utility Commission of Ohio is working to change that. As a result, Ohio lags in renewable-energy projects, Schanbacher said.

TMI has received more than $22 million in federal and state grants and contracts, according to Lee.