Bridgeport to build anaerobic digester

The local government of Bridgeport in Connecticut, US, is considering building an anaerobic digestion plant that would convert the city’s sewage into energy.

The government has asked for proposals to be submitted for a plant to be built near the West Side Treatment Facility, a sewage plant.

The anaerobic digester will recover the methane, which creates about 1,000BTUs when burned, produced from sewage and food waste.

The electricity that is produced from the proposed plant will be used by the Water Pollution Control Authority or fed back into the energy grid.

The plant is expected to cost between $8 million (€6 million) to $14 million to build but if the development receives a grant then it should only cost the local government between $4-$8 million to develop.

So far the city has had a number of developers interested in managing the sewage sludge and rather than burning it in the future, it could be put to good use in this proposed waste to energy facility.