New technology is helping the city of Akron turn waste into energy.
"These bacteria are used to feeding on the food in an oxygen deprived environment, while they're feeding on the food they're breaking it down and in the process creating methane," said Annette Berger of KB Compost Services.
Akron is using new technology, an anerobic digester, taking sludge and converting it into another resource.
"It's a way for us to extract some energy in the sludge we process here," plant administrator Brian Gresser.
The process takes sludge, converts it into methane, before making usable energy.
The plant's first phase handles about one third of Akron's total sludge.
"The initial phase was designed and implemented to try and prove the technology," said Gresser.
The technology was imported from Germany.
Gresser said the project has been successful and now the city wants to try to expand the facility to handle all of the city's sludge.
"It's just basically reducing the amount of electricity that we would be purchasing from our utility," said Gresser.
The digester already saves the city of Akron an estimated $15,000 per month in energy costs.
To see an animation of the digester that shows the whole process, from sludge to energy, click here.
Also, check out ONN Green Ohio reporter Harrison Hove's latest blog entry.
