Anaerobic digestion in urban settings?

Tyler — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 16:41:50 +0000

When we talk about using anaerobic digester technology to produce biogas from organic material, and then using that biogas to generate electricity, we’re usually talking about processing agricultural waste or manure out on some farm or rural facility. But what about the city? There’s thousands of tons of organic or “green bin” waste produced every day in cities like Toronto, and much of it still goes to landfill — particularly organics from multi-unit dwellings and industrial/commercial operations.

My Clean Break column this week looks at the idea of building a network of small anaerobic digester systems across a city where buildings/businesses that produce organic waste are clustered. The material can be collected locally (no long-distance hauling), processed locally, and the heat and electricity produced can be used locally to help make the urban grid more reliable.

Any thoughts?

Clean Break » organics

Anaerobic digestion in urban settings?