Anaerobic Digestion: What Is It And What Are The Benefits?

Although Anaerobic Digestion is a growing industry it is not a new technology. In fact it has been around since the 1800’s.

Anaerobic Digestion is basically a process which uses plant and animal waste materials and converts them into more useful products or other sources of energy.

The process involves several stages where microorganisms are introduced in order to break down biodegradable materials. The microorganisms introduced include acid forming bacteria or acetogens and also methane forming archaea or methanogens. The whole digestion process is conducted in the absence of oxygen which helps to aid the conversion process.

During the breakdown of the feedstock process the biodegradable materials are converted into intermediate molecules which include sugars, hydrogen’s and acetic acids. This can then be converted into biogas which can then be used as another source of energy production.

The Anaerobic Digestion process offers many benefits especially in industrial and domestic situations, these include:-

a) It greatly reduces the amount of waste material which would otherwise be designated for landfill sites, dumping at sea or incineration.
b) It is a good replacement for fossil fuels
c) It helps businesses reduce their carbon footprint
d) It reduces methane emissions

The beauty behind the Anaerobic Digestion process is that the source materials used in the process can be any biodegradable materials such as garden waste, food leftovers, toilet paper, animal waste or sewage.

This is truly a renewable energy source that has the potential of offering many long term benefits for the environment and businesses alike.

By: Andy Butler

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PROjEN are a leading UK provider of Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas services. If you would like to know more about Anaerobic Digestion and how the technology can benefit your business, contact PROjEN for more information.