Renewable Energy
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iBioBooster(iBB) Process: History
Origins in Italy 2010-2017.
In Italy, a feed-in-tariff (FIT) rate for biogas-to-electricity projects limited to delivering <1 MW (99.999kw) stimulated development of industrial-scale anaerobic digesters fueled by energy crops to produce biogas for powering small generators.
The digesters were biologically unstable and underperforming, reducing power deliveries and FIT revenues. Costs of varying seasonal energy crop feedstocks, commercial non-indigenous microbes, lab analyses, nutrients and micronutrients to support the full digester biomass all reduced margins.
Bioengineer Luciano Pesce and Italian company Biobooster srl, with support of Italy Research Centre for Animal Production and University of Perugia, developed a new approach to maximize digester operator net revenue under the FIT.
The solution increased and stabilized digester biological processes, lifted and sustained biogas production / power delivery nearer the tariff limit, and reduced costs per produced unit of biogas in all categories.
- iBB System. The Italy project solutions evolved into the iBioBooster (iBB) process, applying bio-acceleration and bio-automation to increase and stabilize a digester’s methanogen populations, methanogenic process, and biogas production with high methane content.
China iBB Projects, 2015 to present.
Eng. Pesce led the first China iBB process demonstrations at industrial digesters processing separated wastewater from manure of 10,000 pigs, and wastewater from a major cassava-to-alcohol distillery. At both, iBBs increased and sustained biogas quantity and quality (higher methane content, lower CO2 and H2S).
Since 2021, under its 14th and 15th Five-Year Plans, China has added medium‑ and large‑scale biogas and biomethane projects to its national renewable energy, carbon reduction, energy security, and agricultural economy program portfolios. Biogas projects for livestock, agricultural, and integrated waste treatment biogas digester systems now are supported by significant direct and indirect incentives and disincentives. Fn. 1, 2
Eng. Pesce advises a Chinese company on optimizing biogas production and environmental performance at existing and new digesters in China. Projects featuring iBB and related systems include:
- first deployments at manure wastewater digesters among 30 owned by China’s largest food and agriculture company now upgrading to increase biogas production; co‑digestion with other organic materials where feasible
- conversion of identical side‑by‑side CSTR digester tanks to a two‑phase digester system processing separated pig‑farm manure wastewater
- conversion of liquid animal manure lagoons into biogas digesters
- planning / development of new horizontal digester system projects