what we do :: BIOENERGY RESEARCH

Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Use in Food Processing (Great Lakes Region)

Free on-demand webcast (originally broadcast Tuesday, November 23, 2010)

Presented by Joe Kramer, Senior Project Manager, Energy Center of Wisconsin and Joe Cantwell, PE, Focus on Energy and R.W. Beck

Anaerobic digestion of organic residues has emerged as a valuable addition to large livestock operations and municipal wastewater treatment facilities. Many owners of manure digesters are routinely seeking food industry residues for co-digestion in their systems due to the large boost in biogas production these residues provide. Now, food industry operations are beginning to look seriously at generating their own renewable energy digesting on-site residues. Early adopters have installed these systems and the next wave of adopters can benefit from the experiences of these pioneers.

With a special focus on the Great Lakes region, this webinar provides an overview of current biogas utilization options, Wisconsin incentives for renewable energy from food industry biogas, and examples of food processing operations that use anaerobic digestion of residues for biogas production or value-added products.

Background

Visit the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Biomass Energy Basics for a thorough introduction to the concept of bioenergy.

About the presenters

Joe Kramer applies his skills as an economist and environmental policy specialist to identifying, quantifying and analyzing the Midwest's biobased renewable resources. His background in developing economic incentive programs serves as a foundation for building the information resources and infrastructure needed to grow this emerging industry. Calculating value is second nature to Joe; he can tell you which of the snack items available in the office vending machine provide the greatest caloric value per cost.

Joe is an active member of the Wisconsin Distributed Resources Collaborative, the Wisconsin Biogas Development Group and the Industrial Advisory Board for the UW Platteville Sustainable and Renewable Energy Systems major program. He has also assisted the Wisconsin Governor's Consortium on Biobased Industry and the Global Warming Task Force. In addition, Joe is co-chair of the Association of State Energy Research and Technology Transfer Institutions Bioenergy Committee. Joe has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and a Masters Degree in Environmental Science and Policy from the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay.

Joe Cantwell, P.E. with RW Beck/Science Applications International Corporation, is leader of the water/wastewater cluster for Wisconsin's Focus on Energy program, which promotes energy efficiency and renewable energy. He has more than 30 years of water/wastewater engineering experience, including facility planning, design, operation and start-up assistance. As cluster leader he has surveyed numerous municipal and industrial wastewater treatment facilities to assess for energy efficiency opportunities.

Joe is also involved with assessing biogas renewable energy opportunities. He is primary author of the guidebook, Energy Best Practices in Water and Wastewater. He has also participated as a contributing author for Water Environment Federation Manual of Practice No. 32 Energy Conservation in Water and Wastewater Facilities. Joe has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering and a Masters of Science Degree in Sanitary Engineering from Marquette University.

Who should watch?

This webinar is designed for policymakers, renewable energy program managers, waste managers and engineers, legislators and regulators, and advocates and professionals in the fields of energy, agricultural and community sustainability.