BIOSOLIDS & BRINE DEEP WELL INJECTION TARGET

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH TERMINAL ISLAND

RENEWABLE ENERGY (T.I.R.E.) PROJECT
Background

The City of Los Angeles and its partners, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) and GeoEnvironment Technologies have embarked on a new innovative
technology to convert biosolids into clean energy by deep well placement and
geothermal biodegradation. Called the Terminal Island Renewable Energy (TIRE)
Project, the process uses depleted deep subsurface oil and gas formations where the
earths high temperature biodegrades the organic compounds to generate methane gas
that can be used to safely produce renewable energy. This project is in year three of a
five-year demonstration that to date has deep-well injected more than 80 million
gallons of bio-slurry composed of brine, treated effluent, digested sludge, and
biosolids. A monitoring system provides real-time data on the subsurface activities,
including seismic, to a technical advisory committee for continuous evaluation.

There are environmental benefits that come from subsurface anaerobic treatment and
sterilization of biosolids in a confined environment. The biodegradation of the
injected biosolids and brine as a slurry ultimately produces methane that is captured to
generate green energy while simultaneously sequestering carbon dioxide, a
greenhouse gas. Additional environmental benefits include the reduction of air
contaminants (NOx , CO, PM2.5, VOCs) associated with long-distance biosolids
hauling and the potential elimination of discharges of concentrated brine to the
surface, ground waters, the ocean and other less desirable options.

The data collection and operational experience garnered during this demonstration
will positively influence adoption of this technology and the regulatory framework
under which future sites are designed and operated.

The Opportunity

This full-scale demonstration project, established by the City of Los Angeles under
EPAs Underground Injection Control (UIC) Class V Experimental Permit, presents
many opportunities for research and collaboration. Communities throughout the
southwest United States could benefit from this innovative approach to biosolids and
brine management while taking advantage of significant environmental and economic
benefits. The Water Environment Research Foundation and the City of Los Angeles
are teaming to develop a Targeted Collaborative Research (TCR) opportunity for
organizations wishing to examine and advance this technology for potential local
application.

The TCR process allows interested parties to band together to fund research activities
utilizing WERFs management processes and technical peer review
oversight. Funding parties will determine the scope of work and fund the incremental
cost of performing experimentation and monitoring taking advantage of the full
scale demonstration program already in place. This is extraordinarily generous of the
City of Los Angeles and provides a great opportunity for organizations whose service
areas have subsurface sedimentary geology including, but not limited to, saline
aquifers and depleted/ abandoned oil and gas fields, to explore this option in the most
cost effective way possible.

In summary, this project provides the following benefits:

1. Innovative low cost method to create renewable energy from biosolids

2. Reduction in biosolids treatment cost
3. A solution for brine management
4. Utilization of existing depleted and abandoned oil/gas fields and other areas
with subsurface sedimentary geology
5. Beneficial use without community impacts or concerns