Omaha biogas conditioning project hopes to make wastewater profitable

(UC) — Omaha, Nebraska’s city council approved a $20 million Biogas Conditioning Project that could turn the city’s wastewater into a revenue source when complete, KETV 7 reported.

The project should capture and clean the gas that is naturally created during the wastewater treatment process at the city’s Papillion Creek Water Resource Recovery Facility, the article states.

"We take dirty water and make clean water," said Michael Arends, the manager of water resource recovery engineering and remote facilities, according to the KETV 7 report.

The city has used the biogas to power the facility for decades already, but now they are wanting to sell that biogas, Arends said. This means it will need to be cleaned more, “so that it makes it pipeline quality renewable natural gas," he said.

The gas will be sent to Black Hills Energy, which is building a pipeline to connect to the wastewater facility.

The project is expected to be complete by 2024, and it could generate $5 million to $7 million per year, Arends told KETV 7.

"It goes into our system, is distributed, and is used where it's needed," said Brandy Johnson, a communications manager with Black Hills Energy who re-iterated the fact that all the gas meets pipeline safety standards.

Turning biogas into renewable natural gas is not a new process, but Omaha is excited to turn it into a profitable resource.

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