Papers and Reports

Farokh Kakar

Review of full-scale advanced anaerobic digestion in North America

Authors: Farokh Laqa Kakar, Ahmed Elsayed, Andrew Marcus, Mahdis Zareie, John Norton, Kevin Jankowski, Christopher Cox, Matt Seib, Chris Peot, Thomas Morse, Diana Smillova, Chris Muller, and Elsayed Elbeshbishy

IWA Publishing

This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the distribution and performance of advanced anaerobic digestion (AD) technologies across the United States and Canada. The study reveals that temperature-phased anaerobic digestion is the most prevalent technology, with 20 water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) adopting it, followed by acid-methane AD and thermal hydrolysis process. The distribution analysis indicates that 59% of the projects have a plant capacity of 40–400 million liters per day, and 30% of the projects have more than 20 AD reactors. The biosolids classification shows that Class A biosolids constitute 45%, while Class B biosolids make up 51% of these projects. Case studies from Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District, City of St Petersburg, City of Montpelier WRRF, Metro Water Recovery, and DC Water highlight the financial impacts, including cost savings and increased revenue from high-strength biosolids. The findings underscore the variability in the effectiveness of AD technologies and the importance of cost and operational efficiencies in technology selection.

 

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Six technologies have been adopted on a full scale in North America.
  • Temperature-phased anaerobic digestion is the most prevalent technology in North America, adopted by 20 plants.
  • 59% of advanced anaerobic digestion (AAD) projects have a plant capacity of 40–400 million liters per day.
  • Case studies highlight cost savings and increased revenue from thermal hydrolysis and recuperative thickening.
  • AAD technologies are not one-size-fits-all.

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