Anaerobic Digestion Now Making More Biological/Financial Sense

Is there value in anaerobic digesters beyond wastewater treatment? According to Nick Bonkoski, a domain leader for anaerobic digestion systems at Suez Water Technologies, the answer is a resounding “Yes.” The insights he shared with Water Talk at WEFTEC 2019 paint a bright ecological and financial landscape of how municipal wastewater treatment plants now incorporate co-digestion of food waste with biosolids to capitalize on excess digester capacity. As changing regulations — e.g., organic-diversion mandates in densely populated areas — create new incentives, utilities maximizing biogas production are reaping dividends while reducing landfill dependency. Biogas uses include generating heat for internal processes, generating electricity for internal consumption and resale, or even upgrading raw biogas quality to supply the natural-gas grid. The interview below tells the full story.