Major waste-to-energy project reaches finals in US biogas awards

A major waste-to-energy project incorporating Global Water Engineering’s (GWE) RAPTOR anaerobic digestion technology, available throughout Australasia through CST Wastewater Solutions, has been honoured as a finalist in this year’s American Biogas Council Industry Awards.

Biogas systems turn organic material into soil amendments and gaseous fuel by using anaerobic digestion, a natural, biological process in a sealed tank. The American Biogas Council (ABC) represents the entire US biogas industry, including more than 200 companies who are dedicated to maximising the production and use of biogas from organic waste.

The Quantum Biopower organic-waste-to-energy project, based in Connecticut, began producing biogas this year, demonstrating the financial and environmental benefits achievable locally and globally. It incorporates a GWE RAPTOR rapid anaerobic digestion system at the heart of its process, which harvests mixed organic wastes for conversion into enough biogas (primarily methane) to generate 1.2 MW of electricity and up to 5.6 tons a day of dry biofertiliser.

“An enormous advantage of this type of green energy is that it transforms an environmental problem into a profitable resource,” said Michael Bambridge, managing director of CST Wastewater Solutions. “Rather than having to pay to dispose of organic trash — or having it rot in landfills or create community odour issues and environmental hazards — this process converts virtually any organic waste into a profitable asset.”

Located at the site of a former town landfill facility, Quantum Biopower is set to divert up to 40,000 tons of organic waste annually. And although the project did not go on to win, ABC Executive Director Patrick Serfass said all the shortlisted projects deserved recognition, stating, “We hope they will serve as models for future biogas project developments.”

“This very successful Quantum Biopower plant, incorporating the latest RAPTOR waste-to-energy technology, illustrates the huge benefits available to virtually any application producing a biological waste stream, including municipal or industrial facilities, food and beverage processing plants, or agribusinesses,” added Bambridge.

Pictured: The Quantum Biopower plant incorporating GWE RAPTOR technology.