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TransformingFoodWasteintoEnergy

Addingfat,oilandgreasetoanaerobicdigestionatRiversidesregionalwaterqualitycontrolplantincreasesmethanegas
productionforbeneficialuseandreducessolidwasteconveyedtolandfills.

fileunder:Energy,Water,FederalGovernment,NorthAmerica,UnitedStates,Government
ENERGY+WATER

Transforming Food Waste into Fuel

Recognizedaslargeenergyconsumers,wastewatertreatmentplants(WWTPs)alsohavethepotentialtobeefficient,
energyproducingfacilities.Anaerobicdigestion,whichiscommonlyusedtotreatwastewatersolids,naturallyproduces
methaneasitbreaksdownorganicmatter.Harnessingmethanetoproduceheat,electricpowerorbiofuel(alsoknownas
biomethane)andoffsetfacilitypowerneedsisbecominganimportantenergymanagementoption.
Throughaprocesscalledcodigestion,manytreatmentplantsare
enhancinganaerobicdigestionwithorganicwaste.Addingfat,oil
andgrease(FOG),aswellasfoodwaste,toanaerobicdigestion
acceleratesthisprocess,producingmoremethanegasfor
beneficialuseandreducingtheamountofsolidwasteconveyedto
landfills.
AccordingtoDr.MarieBurbano,CDMSmithprincipal
environmentalengineerandprojectmanager,thebenefitsofFOG
aredrivingindustrycompetition.Becausetheadditionoffood
wasteissobeneficialtodigestion,demandforFOGiscreating
competitionamongWWTPs.Treatmentplantownersreceivefees
fromthewastehaulerscollectingFOGfromrestaurantsandalso
benefitfromincreasedenergyproduction.Thiscouldhavefar
reachingeffectsintheindustry.

Asbeneficialreusecontinues
totakecenterstageandFOG
andfoodwastesystemshave
ongoingsuccess,opportunities
willincreaseforcreating
energyfromwasteand
offsettingenergyneeds
economically.Dr.Marie
Burbano,CDMSmithprincipal

environmentalengineer

StrategicUpgrades,SuperiorResults
TheadditionofFOGhasbeensuccessfulatthecityofRiversides
regionalwaterqualitycontrolplantinSouthernCalifornia.CDM
Smithishelpingwithinnovativeplantupgrades,includinganew26milliongallonperday(mgd)membranebioreactor,new
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9/27/2016

TransformingFoodWasteintoEnergy

primaryclarifiers,asolidshandlingfacility,twonewdigestersandapermanentFOGunloadingstation.Theplantscapacity
willbeinitiallyexpandedfrom40to46mgdandultimatelyto52mgdduringtheprojectssecondphase.
Althoughtheoriginaldigesterswereperformingwellandproducingenergytohelprunthefacility,RiversidePublicWorks
Departmentwantedamoreeffectivesystem.PilottestingprovedthatincreasingtheamountofFOGto20to30percentof
overallvolatilesolidsloadingwouldimprovevolatilesolidsdestructionby5to10percentwhileincreasinggasproduction.As
aresult,FOGwillbeaddedtothenewandupgradeddigesters.
Inaddition,CDMSmithcollaboratedwithArizonaStateUniversitytotestasludgedisintegrationtechnologythatbreaks
downcellmembranesinwasteactivatedsludge(WAS)priortoanaerobicdigestiontoincreasegasproduction.Studiesat
Riversideindicateda30percentincreaseingasproducedfromWAS.
AHiddenSourceofResources
Althoughanaerobicdigestioniswellestablishedinwastewatertreatment,thepremiseoffoodwasteasfuelisbeingfurther
examinedaspartofademonstrationprojectattheU.S.AirForceAcademyfundedandmanagedbytheU.S.Department
ofDefense(DoD)EnvironmentalSecurityTechnologyCertificationProgram(ESTCP).
Militaryinstallationsproduceasignificantamountofpreandpostconsumerfoodwaste,aswellascookingoilandgrease
trapwaste.Thiswasteandthepowerofanaerobicbacteriawillbeusedtoproduceenergyrich,renewablebiomethaneinan
organicwasteanaerobicdigestionsystem.
Digestingorganicwastehasenormouspotential.Notonlywillitreducetheamountofwastegoingtolandfills,butit
producesahighendenergyproductthatwilloffsetenergyuse,reducegreenhousegasemissions,andhelpusreachour
renewableenergygoals,saysDr.AndreaLeeson,ESTCPprogrammanagerforenvironmentalrestoration.
CDMSmithisdesigningandbuildingtheAirForceAcademysdemonstrationplantinColoradoSprings,Coloradothefirst
toexclusivelyusefoodwastetodeterminetheeffectivenessofconvertinghighenergywastesintobiomethane.The
demonstrationwilldeterminethetypesandcompositionsofwastethatcanbedigested,aswellasoptimalconditionsfor
operationandproduction.
RefiningTechnologytoMeetRegulations
Therehasbeenagreatdegreeofunderstandingaboutthebenefitsofanaerobicdigestionforawhile,butnowthe
technologyhasbeenrefinedandtheuseofFOGandfoodwasteisgarneringattentionandbecomingincreasinglypopular.
SuccessfullyharnessingenergyfromorganicwastewillhelptheDoDandotheragenciesmeetU.S.federalregulationsthat
requirerenewableenergysources7percentby2013,asmandatedbythe2005EnergyPolicyAct,and25percentby
2025,asmandatedbythe2007NationalDefenseAuthorizationAct.
Burbanoexplains,AsbeneficialreusecontinuestotakecenterstageandFOGandfoodwastesystemshaveongoing
success,opportunitieswillincreaseforcreatingenergyfromwasteandoffsettingenergyneedseconomically.

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