Milwaukee makes the most of its waste
By Mary Beth Matzek • Jan 1st, 2010 • Category: The Green Scene
Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District employees work to install new blowers at the South Shore Water Reclamation Facility in Oak Creek. The MMSD plans to use digester gas, which is produced when waste products break down, to power new engine generators at the plant, which will drive the blowers. Photo submitted by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District
The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District’s waste might not smell too good, but it can save the district a lot of money.
The MMSD plans to use digester gas, which is produced when waste products break down, to power new engine generators at the South Shore Water Reclamation Facility in Oak Creek. The generators will power electric motors to drive blowers used in the aeration basins where air is circulated to help waste break down.
“The change will save customers about $2 million a year since we’ll be able to reduce our utility costs,” said Joe Stromwell, senior project manager. “We’ll be able to use our digester gas rather than buying natural gas.”
At the Oak Creek plant, biosolids are sent to anaerobic digesters in which microorganisms convert a large part of the biosolids into methane gas. The gas is collected and burned to produce electricity for the plant.
As part of an ongoing $27 million construction project, the plant will get four new generators and four new blowers to enable, in part, better use of the digester gas. Three of the new generators and two of the new blowers will be operational in 2010.
“These blowers are out of date and need to be replaced,” Stromwell said. “Replacing them with ones being able to run on digester gas makes a lot of sense. We will be able to store between 24 and 36 hours’ worth of digester gas to ensure we can keep the blowers running.”
The project will be paid for through a combination of taxpayer and customer money, as are all of the regional agency’s operations and construction, but the paybacks could make the project worthwhile.
“Throughout MMSD, we’re involved in several projects to reduce our energy footprint dramatically,” said MMSD Executive Director Kevin Shafer. “What we’re doing is good for the environment, the economy and our customers.”
A second phase of the South Shore facility project will convert into electricity the methane gas produced by solids that sink to the bottom of the settlement tank during the second phase of the filtration process.
“We’re just trying to take better advantage of the energy resources we have right here,” Stromwell said.
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Mary Beth Matzek is a UW-Madison graduate, freelancer MaryBeth Matzek writes for numerous Wisconsin magazines and newspapers. Before becoming a freelancer, MaryBeth was a business reporter and editor for more than 10 years. MaryBeth lives in Appleton with her husband and two children, who keep her constantly on the go.
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