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Brown and Caldwell engineers have authored “Evaluation of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Technologies for Wastewater Facilities,” a comprehensive guide to help utilities estimate the performance of CHP technologies for their facilities. The report was funded by the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) and the U.S. EPA,  and was authored by BC engineers Jason Wiser, John Willis and Jim Schettler.  
 

“The document serves as a planning-level tool for wastewater professionals and provides an examination of commonly used and emerging CHP technologies for converting anaerobic digester gas to electrical power and process heat,” the EPA said. “The report includes in-depth facility case studies from around the country that demonstrate successful biogas-to-energy projects.”
 
“Biogas represents a largely untapped resource but selecting a CHP technology can be a challenge,” WERF said in a statement. “Now, thanks to collaboration between WERF and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, wastewater professionals will have needed data to estimate the performance of potential CHP technologies for their facilities.”   
 

CHP technologies discussed in the study include internal combustion engines, gas turbines, microturbines and fuel cells, with cost and performance data for each. The research was conducted with client Columbus Water Works. The current version of the report is preliminary—the final report will contain an additional case study of Columbus Water Works’ implementation of CHP.