DOE Analysis on Economic Challenges and Opportunities of Wet and Gaseous Waste Offers Leading Perspective on Industry Potential

Besides dry tons potential of biomass feedstock, many waste streams that have otherwise limited processing potential can be effectively utilized to create economic and environmental value.

As explored in a growing collection of articles, processing bio-based waste streams provides significant room for development. It’s a staple technology application in Team Gemini’s developments due to its versatility, benefits of applications, and more.

In an effort to educate industry stakeholders, new reports aggregate more holistic information and perspective to provide context for project opportunities and potential benefits and challenges of those opportunities. As a growing industry, biomass processing benefits from evolving technologies and a constant as well as expanding collection of waste streams. The ability to localize those resources aids in financing sustainability projects that can have a large variety of economic and environmental benefits.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office recently announced the publication of a report, titled Biofuels and Bioproducts from Wet and Gaseous Waste Streams: Challenges and Opportunities. The report is the first comprehensive assessment of the resource potential and technology opportunities provided by feedstocks, including wastewater treatment-derived sludge and biosolids, animal manure, food waste, inedible fats and greases, biogas, and carbon dioxide streams. These feedstocks can be converted into renewable natural gas, diesel, and aviation fuels, or into valuable bioproducts.

The analysis found that the United States has the potential to use 77 million dry tons of wet waste per year, which would generate about 1,300 trillion British thermal units (Btu) of energy. Also, gaseous feedstocks (which cannot be “dried” and therefore cannot be reported in dry tons) and other feedstocks assessed in the report could produce an additional 1,300 trillion Btu of energy—bringing the total to nearly 2.6 quadrillion Btu annually. For perspective, in 2015, the United States’ total primary energy consumption was about 97.7 quadrillion Btu.

Team Gemini engages biomass as a combined effort between waste processing (strictly organic and non-organic waste, cellulosic waste, and contaminated organic waste) and waste byproduct generation. Numerous technologies impact this goal, and for wet and gaseous bio waste streams in particular, efforts to protect and treat finite water resources and setting the foundation for proper methods of waste management (including pre- and post-treatment) are indispensable.

To empower Team Gemini bioenergy developments, both small– and large-scale technologies are utilized. If applied and used effectively, including through use of highly-efficient CHP units and water treatment, many non-dry biomass resources can make communities and industries significantly more independent and sustainable in terms of decentralized energy supplies and waste byproduct generation.

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The original article on this subject can be found at this link.