Modern Technology Methods

Modern Technology Methods LLC, was a privately owned company in the sustainable/renewable energy field. The company was involved with the thermophilic anaerobic digestion of poultry litter in the USA. What is Anaerobic Digestion? Anaerobic digestion is a process where microorganisms break down organic materials, such as food scraps, manure, and sewage sludge, in the absence of oxygen. Recycling food waste through anaerobic digestion produces biogas and a soil amendment, two valuable products. Biogas, made primarily of methane and carbon dioxide, can be used as a source of energy similar to natural gas. The solid residual should be land applied or composted and used as a soil amendment. Food can either be digested at facilities specifically designed for the organic portion of municipal solid waste, or co-digested at wastewater treatment plants and manure digesters. Co-digestion is a process whereby additional, energy-rich organic materials (e.g. food scraps or fats, oils, and grease) are added to dairy or wastewater digesters with excess capacity. Co-digestion uses existing infrastructure to divert food scraps and fats, oil, and grease. Some haulers charge less if the food waste is separated from the trash and sent for anaerobic digestion rather than landfilling. The two main types of anaerobic digesters are low-solids and high-solids (dry fermentation) and are based on the percent solids of the material being digested. Low-solids digesters generally process materials with less than 15 percent solids and are common at wastewater treatment plants and manure digesters. High-solids digesters are common in Europe and becoming more common in the United States.