Food and beverage producers have been using anaerobic treatment of their production wastewaters for decades. These systems have become increasingly popular in recent years for both economic and environmental reasons.
As energy costs have risen, the reduced energy intensity of anaerobic digester treatments over aerobic treatment options has presented a clear cost advantage for facilities producing high strength wastes. Anaerobic treatments also result in much smaller amounts of biosolids than alternative aerobic treatments, meaning the costs associated with disposing of these are lower.
In addition, rising concerns over anthropogenic global climate change have made an increasing number of companies look at options for reducing the carbon footprint of their operations. Anaerobic digestion can create opportunities for producers to reduce both energy intensity and carbon emissions by providing biogas, a renewable fuel they can use to help reduce fossil fuel purchases. This casebook focuses on a subset of facilities in the Great Lakes Region of the United States.
File Attached: GL_Food_Industry_Biogas_Casebook_March_2011.pdf
