Biofuels from Wastewater: State of the Industry

There are a number of different byproducts of the wastewater treatment process that fall under the umbrella of “Biofuels” and can be categorized into one of the following main categories: Biomethane, Dried Biosolids, and Biodiesel. Biogas is more recently gaining traction in the energy marketplace as raw biogas or more refined commodities such Biomethane. Dried Biosolids also have significant energy content and can be incinerated as a coal substitute in a boiler or electricity generation application. Biodiesel is an established bio-based diesel fuel that is now gaining traction in the wastewater industry based on the introduction of new technologies that produce biodiesel using FOG and Algae grown from nutrient rich wastewater.The purpose of this technical paper and presentation will be to define the current state of our industry's production of biofuels and describe the growth potential of this trend as the “wastewater” industry continues to evolve into a “resource recovery” industry.