ENERGY
Getting Out The Grease
Danbury’s famous waste plant has more tricks up its sleeve
I
n a previous issue of Connecticut Town & City, we talked about the viral fight between HBO host John Oliver and the city of Danbury that led to a Sewer Plant being named after the comedian. What we did not know is how innovative that plant was going to be. Reported in a CT Insider article, as part of the John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant, there will be the first grease-to-diesel conversion facility in the nation. While the Oliver-Danbury rift got huge amounts of press all over the world, the problem of grease in our wastewater streams has not garnered nearly enough attention. The problem starts with our waste habits. For millions of people, our sewage system is a catchall for any trash that we do not want in our homes that we believe can be flushed – wet wipes and sanitary napkins are two of the biggest culprits. But combine them with fats and you get a pretty nasty result. In one small English town, there was a 210-foot-long “fatberg” that scientists analyzed and discovered was nothing more than congealed fat held together by debris. According to the New York Times, the mass was nearly 100,000 gallons. So what does this have to do with Danbury?
32 | INNOVATIVE IDEAS 2021
Well, they are partnering with the University of Connecticut to convert all of this problematic grease into diesel fuel – the same kind that issue used to run diesel-powered engines. According to figures cited in the CT Insider article, they expect to harvest enough sewer grease from the waste stream “to run Danbury’s truck fleet for a year, and have 90,000 gallons left over to sell.” This includes their fire trucks and school buses. REA Resource Recovery Systems is working with the University of Connecticut in bringing this technology to life, aiming to market their products directly to municipal operations. Not only will they be eliminating grease from the wastewater stream, but the facility also can accept Fat-Oil-Grease or FOG from food-service establishments according to the press release on the REA website. While the plant might have a funny name, it will shockingly be one of the most advanced and greenest wastewater treatment stations in the state and even in the country – all with the added benefit of eliminating the costs of diesel for many of their municipal vehicles and even being a revenue producer. It’s enough to have you asking who’s laughing now?