Waste water treatment anaerobic digestion

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The category at business/waste/water/anaerobicdigester provides a methodology for calculating the quantity of methane emissions from anaerobic digesters which are combusted at water treatment plants. The methodology is based on measurements of several plant-specific parameters relating to the flow of emissions from the digester, and is sourced from the guidelines associated with the US EPA's mandatory reporting requirements.

How to use this category

Selecting an emissions scenario

To use this category, simply create a profile item - there are no drill choices.

Specifying activity data

Next, specify the following profile item values:

  • volumetricFlow: the measured volumetric flow rate (i.e. volume per time) of emissions from the digester
  • CH4Concentration: the measured concentration of CH4 in the digester emissions (expressed as a whole percentage, i.e. 0-100)
  • temperature: the temperature at which flow measurements were made
  • pressure: the pressure at which flow measurements were made
  • time: the duration for which the facility was in operation
The assumes default values for the density of CH4 and the destruction efficiency of combustion. Users can override these default values by specifying their own facility-specific values using the following profile item values:

  • destructionEfficiency: the fraction of CH4 destroyed under combustion (a decimal fraction, 0-1; default, 0.99)
  • density: density of CH4 (i.e. mass per volume)

Results and calculation

The quantities returned represent the methane emissions associated with the quantity specified. The following quantities are returned:

  • producedCH4: absolute quantity of CH4 produced by the anaerobic digestion process
  • destroyedCH4: absolute quantity of CH4 destroyed by combustion
  • emittedCH4: absolute quantity of CH4 emitted (i.e. not destroyed)
  • CO2e: emitted CH4 to CO2e converted using the appropriate global warming potential)

UIDLabel
9K8QF4SD8MES anaerobic digestion
Destruction efficiency of methane combustion
Density of methane
Pressure at which flow measured
Volumetric flow rate of emissions from the digester
Name: Waste_water_treatment_anaerobic_digestion
Provenance: EPA
Parent Category: Waste water
Full path: /business/waste/water/anaerobicdigester
anaerobic_digestion calculation CH4 direct EPA EPA_mandatory EPA_mandatory_wastewater mass_balance methane_combustion US waste water