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AGWA Piloted Program Uses Municipal Wastewater Biosolids to Generate Electricity

Schmack Biogas GmbH • Germany


AGWA formed a successful partnership with the German-based Schmack Biogas GmbH. The company engineered an Anaerobic Digestion System (ADS) to use municipal biosolids to generate electricity.

AGWA and our partner, KB BioEnergy, Inc. (KBBI), completed an almost 5-year pilot of this high-solids ADS technology by using municipal sewage sludge to prove its effectiveness. Known as the ADS/Biogas Project, the pilot processed one-third of the biosolids produced by Akron’s wastewater treatment plant. Upon successful demonstration of the technology in 2013, a full-scale operation went on-line and is now processing all of the biosolids from the wastewater plant. The system produces about 10 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually, enough to power about 925 homes.

 

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