Anaerobic Digesters

The Role of Anaerobic Digesters in Reducing Methane Emissions. When organic materials are left to decompose naturally in oxygen-free (anaerobic) environments like landfills and manure lagoons, methane-generating microorganisms (“methanogens”) digest some of the material and produce a biogas consisting primarily of methane. Anaerobic digesters allow that process to take place in a closed environment that captures the methane so it can be used in a beneficial way. BTE-CA offers integrated technologies that significantly increase the ability of existing and new anaerobic digesters to capture methane. When the methane captured in anaerobic digesters is burned for useful purposes such as transportation, heating, or generation of electricity, it leaves CO2 – in the short term, a much less potent greenhouse gas – as a waste product. The net result is a much lower impact on global warming than would have resulted if the organic materials had been left to decompose naturally, without anaerobic digestion, as still is allowed to occur at the majority of the world’s dairy and livestock farms and related operations, urban landfills, and wastewater and sewage treatment facilities.