Hurst Boiler is commissioning one of the first boiler systems in the U.S. designed and engineered specifically to be fueled by poultry litter.

The company is installing a 1,600-hp boiler as part of a cogeneration facility that will support Prestage Farms' turkey operations in Clinton, North Carolina.

A 1,600-hp boiler will support Prestage Farm’s turkey operations. Image credit: Hurst Boiler. According to Hurst, litter is different from other biomass fuels due to its high ash content and ash characteristics, which traditionally have posed a challenge to its use in boiler systems. The company says this required it to put controls over each aspect of the boiler's operations, from the way that the litter arrives to the material handling (fuel receiving) equipment to the method for treating emissions.

Although this is one of the first U.S. applications of the technology, Hurst installed a poultry litter-fueled unit in Central America in 2013.

According to the company, using poultry litter as boiler fuel can offer advantages as the ash from the litter is rich in available potassium and phosphorous.

“By concentrating these nutrients in ash, these systems can transform the potential risk of phosphorous regulation into an economic asset for companies,” the company says.