Link to document:
Status
Electronic Resource
Call number
Publication
1103; Report; May 1986.
Language
Library's review
ABSTRACT:
Municipal sewage treatment plants have used anaerobic digesters for decades to treat waste, but most of the gas produced is flared. The rising energy prices of the 1970s spurred some cities to burn the gas to provide heat at the treatment plants, but still only a small fraction of the
Municipal sewage treatment plants have used anaerobic digesters for decades to treat waste, but most of the gas produced is flared. The rising energy prices of the 1970s spurred some cities to burn the gas to provide heat at the treatment plants, but still only a small fraction of the
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energy potential is being tapped. Cities are moving more rapidly to take advantage of the methane produced in landfills. The first landfill gas recovery system began operating in 1975, and only a handful existed at the end of the decade, but the number grew quickly in the early 1980s. By the end of 1984, twenty-three facilities were in operation, and fifty-three more were in construction or planned. More than 1,000 U.S. landfills have gas production potential. Getty Synthetic Fuels is responsible for about half the total energy production, and about ten other companies are involved. Between 55 and 60 percent of the gas produced is sold, and the rest is used to generate electricity for sale to the utilities. In mid-1985 nearly one hundred commercial anaerobic digestion facilities were producing methane from manure, food processing wastes, and chemical wastes. Manure-to-methane systems were most common, but interest from the food processing industry was growing quickly. The total market for such facilities is approximately $9-14 million annually. A. O. Smith Harvestore is the leading company in this segment of the industry. Show Less