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ES2010
May 17-22, 2010 Phoenix, Arizona, USA
ES2010-90219
DESIGN OF FARM WASTE-DRIVEN SUPPLY SIDE INFRASTRUCTURE
FOR DATA CENTERS
Ratnesh Sharma, Tom Christian, Martin Arlitt, Cullen Bash, Chandrakant Patel
Hewlett-Packard Laboratories
1501 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, CA
ABSTRACT States has created opportunities for the proper disposal of the
In this paper, we design a supply-side infrastructure for large quantities of manure generated at dairy, beef, swine and
data centers that runs primarily on energy from digested farm poultry farms. Specifically, pollutants from unmanaged
waste. Although the information technology and livestock livestock wastes degrade the environment. The major pollution
industries may seem completely disjoint, they have problems associated with these wastes are surface and ground
complementary characteristics that we exploit for mutual water contamination and surface air pollution caused by odors,
benefit. In particular, the farm waste fuels a combined heat and dust and ammonia. There is also a concern about the
power system. The data center consumes the power, and its contribution of methane emissions to global climate change.
waste heat feeds back into the combined system. We propose a Consequently, the livestock industry is required to properly
resource management system to manage the resource flows and
manage their waste. Manure management systems that enable
effluents, and evaluate the direct and indirect economic
pollution prevention and produce energy are becoming
benefits. As an example, we explain how a hypothetical farm of
increasingly attractive. Economic evaluations and case studies
10,000 dairy cows could fulfill the power requirements of a
1MW data center. of operating systems indicate that the anaerobic digestion (AD)
of livestock manures is a commercially viable bioconversion
INTRODUCTION technology with considerable potential for providing profitable
Data centers, which provide controlled environments for byproducts, including a cost-effective renewable fuel.
Information Technology (IT) equipment, play an increasingly In this paper we explore a case study to design a farm-
important role in modern society. However, due to their waste driven supply-side infrastructure for a 1MW IT data
substantial power consumption and rapid growth in numbers, center which can support on the order of 1000 physical servers.
the design and operation of data center infrastructure is one of We explain how the two complement one another, resulting in
the primary challenges facing IT organizations and economies an economically and environmentally sustainable operation.
alike. Unprecedented growth in the demand for IT services has The remainder of the paper is organized as follows: The next
led to development of large, complex, resource-intensive IT section provides relevant background information on IT data
infrastructures to support pervasive computing [1]. Emerging centers and the livestock industry. We then introduce the
high-density computer systems and centralization of relevant supply-side technologies that we leverage. Next, we
disaggregated IT resources are exhausting existing data center describe the supply-side design for a hypothetical 1MW IT data
capacity [2]. center. We also consider some design optimizations. Lastly, we
Beyond the need for additional capacity, data centers also conclude with a summary of our results.
face uncertainty on the supply side. Reduced available capacity NOMENCLATURE
margins in the power grid, limited growth in the energy HRT Hydraulic Retention Time
transmission and distribution infrastructure [3], emission AD Anaerobic Digestion
control regulations [4] and the high cost of reliable energy UPS Uninterrupted Power Supply
present significant techno-commercial hurdles to availability of IT Information Technology
the robust IT infrastructure necessary to sustain economic CRAC Computer Room Air conditioning units
growth. LHV Lower Heating Value
A possible solution to these issues may exist courtesy of an CHP Combined Heat and Power
unexpected partner. Data centers have a natural symbiosis with PCC Point of Common Coupling
dairy farms and animal feeding operations. In particular, MMBTU million BTU
growth and concentration of the livestock industry in the United MMSCF million standard cubic feet
4.5 MMBTU/hr while that for dairy cooling is 0.5 MMBTU/hr where Si is the output of the ith source; Si,min and Si_max are
[12]. The total waste heat potential of the generation system is the minimum and maximum bounds, respectively, on the
16 MMBTU/hr (~17GJ/hr). Overall, the total hot water demand production of the ith source; and D is the total demand. The
for cooling system is 40% of available waste heat potential. The objective function to be minimized will be:
F S
balance waste heat, mostly in the form of low pressure steam, is
used for maintaining optimum temperature (40°C) in the min i i (3)
digester and for process heating in the farm. Assuming each
cow produces 55kg (100lbs) of manure per day [6] and the where Fi is the cost function corresponding to the ith source.
digester charge needs to be heated by 30°C (above ambient), The above methodology can be extended for different
the steam requirement in the digester is estimated at 0.33kg/s types of dependent or uncorrelated demand (like hot water,
(44lbs/min). chilled water, steam, electricity). In certain cases, elasticity of
A detailed process flow diagram is shown in Figure 3. demand and supply needs to be considered. In the case of CHP,
Clean biogas generated in the digester facility, marked “A”, is a constraint related to heat required can be added, as well as, an
piped to the gas generator set. The generator provides power to additional term in the objective function indicating impact of
the data center power distribution system through a system of heat utilization. Metrics like water usage energy (WUE) [19]
UPS and power distribution units (see Figure 1). Waste heat can be included as a constraint to limit embedded energy in
from the engine cooling jacket is used to heat hot water in the direct and indirect water usage.
primary heat recovery unit (B). Additionally, heat from the
engine exhaust is recovered in the secondary heat recovery unit ECONOMICS
(C) to further heat the hot water beyond 100°C. The flash The previous sections have demonstrated that a farm
chamber (D) allows generation of steam and hot water for waste-driven supply-side infrastructure would be a viable
different site needs. Pressure in the flash chamber is controlled source of power for IT data centers. An important topic yet to
to alter the rate of steam generation. Steam is used for heating consider is the farmer’s perspective; what is in this for them?
the digester and other heating needs in the farm (G). Hot water We believe that there are numerous reasons why dairy farmers
from the flash chamber is used in the desorber of the adsorption and feedlot owners would benefit. We elaborate on these below.
cooling system (E). It is mixed with make-up water to account
for the loss due to steam discharge. Chilled water from the Financial cost and associated risks are perhaps the most
adsorption system is fed into the site cooling system which important consideration. Existing farms that have invested in
serves the data center and the farm. A primary-secondary loop supply-side infrastructure often do so only if a power-purchase
agreement can be signed. Otherwise, the return could be too
Cooling
Digester and bio Power
Manure Infrastructure
gas handling Generation
Handling
Manure Biogas Hot water
Steam Heat
Power
Data
center
Diary
Farm
Figure 2: Flow chart of material and energy flow in the facility
A 200°C Exhaust
LP Saturated Steam gas
130C
Biogas 400 MMSCF Flash
B D Chamber Make Up water
60% Methane
Exhaust (30°C)
400°C Hot water
105°C E
Boiler
C Hot water 1200gpm
H 80°C
Chilled water Supply 1025gpm
Utility PCC
Figure 3: Process flow diagram