Digester offgas: an untapped energy source

Conference · Fri Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1974 · Water Sewage Works; (United States)

OSTI ID:7333120

Murphy, C B

The 4.2 million tons of primary and secondary sewage-treatment plant sludge could provide methane equivalent to 129 trillion Btu/yr if it were anaerobically digested. The methane so produced could account for approximately 70 percent of the total energy required for the tertiary treatment of municipal wastewater. However, the methane would have to be converted to electricity by means of steam turbine systems, gas-fueled direct conversion systems, or fuel cells, in order to be used by the treatment plants. The energy conversion system used must operate efficiently on the variable methane output of the biological anaerobic system. The advantages of fuel cells as conversion devices compared with the other two methods are discussed.

• OSTI ID: 7333120
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Water Sewage Works; (United States) Journal Volume: 121:11
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
090122* -- Hydrocarbon Fuels-- Preparation from Wastes or Biomass-- (1976-1989)
ALKANES
ANAEROBIC DIGESTION
BIOCONVERSION
BIOSYNTHESIS
CRYOGENIC FLUIDS
DIGESTION
ENERGY CONSERVATION
FLUIDS
HYDROCARBONS
MANAGEMENT
METHANE
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
POWER GENERATION
PROCESSING
SEWAGE
SEWAGE SLUDGE
SYNTHESIS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTES