from Anaerobic digestion

History edit

 
Gas street lamp

The history of anaerobic digestion is a long one, beginning as early as tenth century BCE in Assyria where biogas was used to heat bath water.[1][2] Reported scientific interest in the manufacturing of gas produced by the natural decomposition of organic matter dates from the 17th century, when Robert Boyle (1627-1691) and Stephen Hales (1677-1761) noted that disturbing the sediment of streams and lakes released flammable gas.[3] In 1778, the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745-1827), the father of electrochemistry,[4] scientifically identified that gas as methane.[5]

In 1808, Sir Humphry Davy proved the presence of methane in the gases produced by cattle manure.[6] The first known anaerobic digester was built in 1859 at a leper colony in Bombay, India.[7] In 1895, the technology was developed in Exeter, England, where a septic tank was used to generate gas for the sewer gas destructor lamp, a type of gas lighting.[8] Also in England, in 1904, the first dual-purpose tank for both sedimentation and sludge treatment was installed in Hampton, London.

 
Imhoff Tank

By the early 20th century, anaerobic digestion systems began to resemble the technology as it appears today.[2] In 1906, Karl Imhoff created the Imhoff tank; an acceptable method for wastewater treatment until the 1950s, and an early form of anaerobic digester.[9] After 1920, closed tank systems began to replace the previously common use of anaerobic lagoons- covered earthen basins used to treat volatile solids. Research on anaerobic digestion began in earnest in the 1930s.

Around the time of World War I, production from biofuels slowed as petroleum production increased and it's uses were identified.[10] While fuel shortages during World War II re-popularized anaerobic digestion, interest in the technology decreased again after the war ended.[2][11] Similarly, the 1970s energy crisis sparked interest in anaerobic digestion.[2] In addition to high energy prices, factors affecting the adoption of Anaerobic Digestion systems include receptivity to innovation, pollution penalties, policy incentives, and the availability of subsidies and funding opportunities.[12][13]

Today, anaerobic digesters are commonly found alongside farms to reduce nitrogen run-off from manure, or wastewater treatment facilities to reduce the costs of sludge disposal.[2] Agricultural anaerobic digestion for energy production has perhaps become most popular in Germany, where there were 8,625 digesters in 2014.[1] In the United Kingdom, there were 259 facilities by 2014, and 500 projects planned to become operational by 2019.[14] In the United States, there were 191 operational plants across 34 states in 2012.[15] Policy may explain why adoption rates are so different across these countries.

In Germany, feed-in-tariffs that improve profitability and reduce uncertainty in financial concerns are likely a major reason why the country has so many digester plants today. Feed-in tariffs in Germany were enacted in 1991, also known as FIT, providing long-term contracts compensating investments in renewable energy generation. Consequently, between 1991 and 1998 the number of anaerobic digester plants in Germany grew from 20 to 517. In the late 1990s, energy prices in Germany varied and investors became unsure of the market’s potential. The German government responded by amending FIT four times between 2000 and 2011, increasing tariffs and improving the profitability of anaerobic digestion, and resulting in reliable returns for biogas production and high adoption rates across the country.[15]

Fixed:

  • Sources replaced with peer reviewed ones
  • Broken links fixed
  • Incomplete citation fixed
  • 2nd source is old, 9 & 10 could be improved

Wiki Topic

1.    Anaerobic Digestion

-      I could improve history section, talk page indicates that this section needs the most work

-      I could improve digestate section to include uses for digestate more about composting digestate to be applied to soil

Biogas

-      I could improve landfill gas section as it’s very limited.

-      I could address issue seen on talk page, which is that biogas is not technically a renewable energy source by writing about why it may or may not be considered renewable.

Waste-to-Energy

-      This article is relatively small, and many refer to the article being outdated, so I could improve it with more up -to-date citations

-      I could add more examples of waste-to-energy plants

Food Waste

-      I could improve the food waste in the United States section by including more statistics from the EPA

-      I could add to the consumption section with more information about how consumers generate food waste

2.    I’ll will plan on either editing the history section of anaerobic digestion, the digestate section of anaerobic digestion, the renewable point on the biogas production page.

- improved flow of history section

- improved history after end of 1907

Copied from Anaerobic digestion

History edit

 
Gas street lamp

The history of anaerobic digestion is a long one, beginning as early as tenth century BCE in the Middle East where it was used to heat bath water.[2] Reported scientific interest in the manufacturing of gas produced by the natural decomposition of organic matter dates from the 17th century, when Robert Boyle (1627-1691) and Stephen Hales (1677-1761) noted that disturbing the sediment of streams and lakes released flammable gas.[3] In 1778, the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745-1827), the father of electrochemistry,[4] scientifically identified that gas as methane.[5]

In 1808, Sir Humphry Davy proved the presence of methane in the gases produced by cattle manure.[6] The first known anaerobic digester was built in 1859 at a leper colony in Bombay, India.[7] In 1895, the technology was developed in Exeter, England, where a septic tank was used to generate gas for the sewer gas destructor lamp, a type of gas lighting.[8] Also in England, in 1904, the first dual-purpose tank for both sedimentation and sludge treatment was installed in Hampton, London.

By the early 20th century, anaerobic digestion systems began to resemble the technology as it appears today.[2] In 1906, Karl Imhoff created the Imhoff tank; an acceptable method for wastewater treatment until the 1950s, and an early form of anaerobic digester.[9] After 1920, closed tank systems began to replace the previously common use of anaerobic lagoons- covered earthen basins used to treat volatile solids. Around the time of World War I, production from biofuels slowed as petroleum production increased and it's uses were identified.[10] While fuel shortages during World War II re-popularized anaerobic digestion, interest in the technology decreased again after the war ended.[2][11]

Today, anaerobic digesters are commonly found alongside farms to reduce nitrogen run-off from manure, or wastewater treatment facilities to reduce the costs of sludge disposal.[2]

  1. ^ a b Auer; et al. (2017). "Agricultural anaerobic digestion power plants in Ireland and Germany: policy and practice". Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. 97 (3): 719–723 – via Wiley Online Library. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |first= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Klinkner, Blake Anthony (2014). "Anaerobic Digestion as a Renewable Energy Source and Waste Management Technology: What Must be Done for This Technology to Realize Success in the United States?". UMass Law Review. 9: 79.
  3. ^ a b Pine, Martin (1971). "The Methane Fermentations". Anaerobic Biological Treatment Processes. Washington, D.C.: American Chemical Society. pp. 1–10. ISBN 9780841201316.
  4. ^ a b Trasatti, Sergio (1999-01-18). "1799–1999: Alessandro Volta's 'Electric Pile': Two hundred years, but it doesn't seem like it". Elsevier Science Direct. 460: 1–4.
  5. ^ a b GIJZEN, H.J., (2002). Anaerobic digestion for sustainable development: a natural approach. Water Science and Technology, 45(10), 321-328.
  6. ^ a b Guoa et al. (2015). "Bioenergy and biofuels: History, status, and perspective." Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. Vol 42, pp. 712-725. Retrieved 2018-4-19.
  7. ^ a b Marsh, George (November–December 2008). "Rise of the Anaerobic Digestor". Renewable Energy Focus. 9 (6): 28–30 – via Elsevier Science Direct.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  8. ^ a b Oechsner; et al. (February 2015). "Advances in Biogas Research and Application". Bioresource Technology. 178: 177 – via Elsevier Science Direct. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |first= (help)
  9. ^ a b Grando; et al. (December 2017). "Technology overview of biogas production in anaerobic digestion plants: A European evaluation of research and development". Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 80: 44–53 – via Elsevier Science Direct. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |first= (help)
  10. ^ a b Black, Brian C. "How World War I ushered in the century of oil". The Conversation. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
  11. ^ a b Verma, Shefali (2002). ANAEROBIC DIGESTION OF BIODEGRADABLE ORGANICS IN MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTES. New York: Columbia University. p. 12.
  12. ^ Bishop, C., Shumway, C., & Wandschneider, P. (2010). Agent Heterogeneity in Adoption of Anaerobic Digestion Technology: Integrating Economic, Diffusion, and Behavioral Innovation Theories. Land Economics, 86(3), 585–608. doi:10.3368/le.86.3.585
  13. ^ Bangalore et al. (2016-11). Policy incentives and adoption of agricultural anaerobic digestion: A survey of Europe and the United States. Renewable Energy. 97: 559-571 - via Elsevier Science Direct
  14. ^ Coker, C. (2017). Status Of Organics Recycling In The UK. Biocycle, 58(5), pp. 33-34.
  15. ^ a b Bangalore et al. (2016-11). Policy incentives and adoption of agricultural anaerobic digestion: A survey of Europe and the United States. Renewable Energy. 97: 559-571 - via Elsevier Science Direct