Anaergia Inc. announced on September 30 that it has signed a contract with the Pima County Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department (PCRWRD) in Arizona to design, build, finance, own, and operate a large biomethane upgrading facility.
PCRWRD currently operates nine wastewater treatment facilities in Pima County, each of which can generate biosolids that can be used to create biogas. Anaergia’s new biomethane upgrading facility will treat and compress biogas produced at the Tres Rios Water Reclamation Facility outside of Tucson, resulting in biomethane which will displace non-renewable fossil fuels.
Anaergia also announced on September 29 its selection by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) to enter into negotiations for the design of an organic waste receiving and processing facility and modification of two anaerobic digesters, and for the long-term supply of organic waste material to the Calumet Water Reclamation Plant.
The organic waste receiving and processing facility will be able to process 300 tons per day of organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) in addition to liquid waste and fats, oils, and grease. The OFMSW will be used to produce biogas in the Calumet Water Reclamation Plant’s anaerobic digesters.
“The MWRD is moving away from the old idea of viewing sewage as a waste product to be disposed of, and instead seeing opportunities for recovery of resources and production of energy,” said Kathleen Therese Meany, president of the MWRD board of commissioners. “The Illinois state legislature recently granted the MWRD the authority to actively engage in resource recovery. This is a landmark project for Cook County and the State of Illinois that will act as a catalyst for further job growth in organics recycling and green energy production.”
