Fats, Oils and Grease Marketing Analysis

The co-digestion of fats, oils and grease (FOG) in municipal wastewater plants' anaerobic digesters has gained popularity in recent years. Municipalities have begun FOG receiving programs, avoiding sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) and enhancing the anaerobic digestion process. Historically FOG was considered a nuisance, but more than 20 years ago municipalities started accepting it as a substrate for anaerobic digestion. Through market research carried out for large industrial anaerobic digestion facilities it was found that the availability of brown grease (a basic component of FOG) as a substrate appears is becoming more limited and may soon reach commodity status. Existing municipal FOG receiving programs have not been significantly affected. This paper presents information on the varied FOG programs from a number of utilities, including drivers for accepting FOG and methodology used to develop tipping fees. It is recommended that a detailed market analysis of local FOG resources be conducted before proceeding with plans to establish a municipal receiving station.