Stahlbush Island Farms
CONSTRUCTION DETAILS
Digester Dimensions: 91’ Diameter, 11.5’ Depth
Capacity: 70,700 gallons
Pit Dimensions: 40′ x 40′, 11’8″ High
Time: 3 days
Location: Corvallis, Oregon
Notes: Fully insulated with a concrete roof
“There is no such thing as waste, only underutilized resources.”
Bill Chambers – Owner Stahlbush Farms
Bill and Karla Chambers, started with 2 crops, about 300 acres, and a dream in 1985. Today, Stahlbush Island Farms cultivates 5,000 acres in Oregon and offers the freshest individually quick-frozen fruits, vegetables, grains & legumes available.
Stahlbush was the first farm to build a biogas plant that generates electricity using agricultural by-products in North America. They were also the first farm ever to be certified sustainable by the Food Alliance.
Utilizing Octaform Biogas Tanks, Stahlbush generates electricity from fruit and vegetable by-product, things like corn husks and cobs, through anaerobic digestion.
The biogas plant not only generates electricity, which they use to power the processing plant, but it also generates steam that they use in their boilers which generate hot water for sanitation and hot air to dry their pumpkin seeds. The leftover material from this process leaves the farm with water for irrigation and a rich fertilizer that they spread back into the fields to nurture next year’s crops.
Curious about just how much waste Stahlbush converts? Here are some fun facts:
- The biogas plant has converted 324,679 tons of agricultural by-products from 2009 to 2020.
- This agricultural by-product is used to fertilize the fields and is ORGANIC!
- The crop that generates the most electricity is SPINACH. It generates 1,650 kWh per ton.
“After many years of use, I would definitely recommend Octaform to anyone seeking a biogas tank solution. When we are ready to expand our facility our solution of choice will be Octaform.”
Bill Chambers – Owner Stahlbush Farms