Abt Associates reviewed and made improvements to the Water Environment Foundation’s (WEF) existing database of anaerobic digestion at small- and medium-sized wastewater treatment facilities.

Improvements include addressing existing data gaps, and incorporating secondary data sets that describe economic, financial, environmental, and regulatory conditions that may provide insights into biogas utilization activities at small- and medium-utilities. The study focused on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 4 facilities and facilities in Texas, which is part of EPA Region 6. Abt looked at ways to assess the feasibility of small- and medium-treatment plants to switch to anaerobic digestion processes and simultaneously benefit from capturing the methane produced as a result. Specifically, Abt identified key economic factors that a facility needs to consider to determine the cost effectiveness of switching to anaerobic digestion.