WEFTEC Workshops Shed Light On Biogas

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The Water Environment Federation (WEF) will explore obstacles to harnessing biogas and present solutions in a series of workshops at WEFTEC 2012, WEF’s 85^th Annual Technical Exhibition and Conference this fall in New Orleans, La.

On Saturday, September 29 the session, “When Opportunity Knocks, How Can Municipalities and POTWs Partner with the Biofuels Industry.” will bring together a diverse group of representatives from the wastewater and biogas industries to promote understanding of the terminology, project drivers and obstacles of each.

“We cannot overlook the opportunities to recover energy in raw wastewater,” said WEF Executive Director Jeff Eger. “It is imperative that we break down the barriers to potential partnerships and increase communication between these two industries.”

Biogas will also be featured Sunday in the workshop, “Boosting Biogas-to-Energy: Jumping the hurdles to Biogas Utilization”.  This session will take a look at the potential of biogas and the economic, technological and regulatory obstacles to using it. Utilities will present real-word experiences about overcoming these obstacles and advancing their resource recovery projects.

“Recovering the hidden fuel in our wastewater treatment processes helps to diversify our energy portfolio, while improving the environment through innovative, green technology,” said Howard Neukrug, Commissioner of the Philadelphia Water Department, in a February press release.

The Philadelphia Water Department, represented at Saturday’s workshop by Energy Program Manager Paul Kohl, recently announced plans to design and construct a plant that will generate electricity, fueled mainly by biogas from its digesters.

Twenty-two additional workshops will take place September 29 – 30. In addition to energy, sessions will focus on stormwater management, facilities operations and maintenance, utility management, and water reclamation and reuse, among others.

WEFTEC 2012 will be held at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center from September 29 – October 3, 2012. Visit www.weftec.org for the latest conference details.

About WEF
Founded in 1928, the Water Environment Federation (WEF) is a not-for-profit technical and educational organization of 36,000 individual members and 75 affiliated Member Associations representing water quality professionals around the world. WEF members, Member Associations, and staff proudly work to achieve our mission to provide bold leadership, champion innovation, connect water professionals, and leverage knowledge to support clean and safe water worldwide. For more information, visit www.wef.org.