Municipal Digester Repowering Demonstration Project
UTS Bioenergy LLC
Recipient
Encinitas, CA
Recipient Location
36th
Senate District
76th
Assembly District
$1,908,905
Amount Spent
Completed
Project Status
Project Result
This technology was demonstrated at Victor Valley Wastewater Treatment Reclamation Authority (VVWRA) plant in Victorville, CA. UTS installed a digestion retrofit system that uses recuperative thickening and submersible high solids mixers. The system increased the solids content in digesters. The increased loading capacity and high solids mixing capability enabled co-digestion of large amounts of imported organic waste streams. The resulting biogas generated electrical power that exceeds the wastewater treatment plant’s energy demand.
The Issue
Municipal wastewater treatment infrastructure has an excellent opportunity to be an energy producer versus an energy user. The solids, or sludge in Municipal wastewater are rich in energy potential that can be harnessed when treated with the right anaerobic digestion technology. In anaerobic digesters, micro-biological organisms (biomass) live and feed on the solids which are fed. The biomass consume the volatile solids portion of the feed to the digester, and as a by-product of this digestion process, biogas is produced. Biogas is rich in methane, and when cleaned, can be used as fuel and converted into electri
Project Innovation
This project demonstrated a retrofit technology to increase biogas production and reduce organic solids disposal from wastewater treatment plants. The increased biogas production increased on-site electricity generation. This project installed a high solids anaerobic digester retrofit package which doubles the solids content of the tank by removing water and concentrating the solids. This technology has the double process advantage of retaining more active bacteria in the tank and also retaining the solids fed for a longer time. The installation of this technology allowed the plant to co-digest fats, oil and grease along with the sewage solids.
Project Benefits
This system, using the retrofit technology, tripled the capacity of an existing conventional digester enabling production of the same quantity of biogas a conventional digester three times its size.
Affordability
The system tripled the capacity of an existing conventional digester enabling production of the same quantity of biogas a conventional digester three times its size. The resulting biogas generated electrical power using this retrofit system exceeds the wastewater treatment plant’s energy demand.
