Akron sewage plant generates power

Ohio.com
Published on Sunday Nov 23, 2008

The city is using a biological process to turn sewage into energy that runs a wastewater treatment plant on its own power, fueling predictions that the technology could spread quickly throughout Ohio and generate energy, savings and maybe even jobs.

Akron's system went online last December and now processes one-third of the sludge going through its wastewater facility, using tiny bacteria to consume organic waste and emit methane gas. The gas is captured and converted to electricity, which has allowed the city to save about 15 percent on the power bill for the plant, built by Cleveland-based Schmack BioEnergy.

Though the methane-powered sewage plant is the first of its kind in the U.S., it's not an experiment, said Clemens Halene, vice president of engineering at Schmack. The company has more than 300 similar facilities in operation in Germany and has additional Ohio projects planned in Columbus and Zanesville, he said.

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