Zero Waste Energy LLC (ZWE), Lafayette, Calif., has announced the groundbreaking of an anaerobic digestion (AD) facility in South San Francisco, Calif., that will convert organic waste into compressed natural gas (CNG) and compost. The Blue Line Biogenic CNG facility will convert 11,200 tons per year (TPY) of food and green waste into more than 100,000 diesel equivalent gallons of CNG fuel, according to the company. ZWE says each collection vehicle will collect enough organic waste during just one route to fuel it for an entire day, creating a true closed loop system.

The Blue Line Biogenic CNG Facility will be developed in a partnership with Blue Line Transfer Inc., South San Francisco Scavenger Co. Inc. and ZWE. The project is essential in addressing numerous AB 32 requirements, diverting almost 95 percent of the organic waste feedstock from landfills. The project will include a Smartferm anaerobic digestion facility that will transform 11,200 tons of food and green waste per year into compressed natural gas (CNG), produce heat to run the facility, an in-vessel composting system that will mitigate odor issues and provide digestate that will be matured into compost.

"Smartferm will give us the ability to reduce the organics going into the landfill by converting that same waste into CNG fuel to power our collection routes. Good for us, the cities we serve, and California as well,” says Doug Button, president of South San Francisco Scavenger Co. Inc. The facility is scheduled to commence operation in the second quarter of 2014.

Smartferm is a dry anaerobic digestion system that processes organic waste feedstocks and generates renewable energy. Smartferm systems can include biogas-processing technology for combined heat and power (CHP) generation as well as compressed natural gas (CNG). In addition, in-vessel composting options can provide partial or complete maturing of compost for the wholesale or retail market. Smartferm facilities can process 4,000 TPY to 100,000 TPY of almost any organic material, says ZWE.