LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Digestion: Anaerobic Digestion
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Anaerobic Digestion (AD) is the preferred stabilisation process for the treatment of wastewater sludges and organic wastes. The process provides volume and mass reduction and delivers valuable renewable energy with biogas production.
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The process of anaerobic digestion consists of three basic steps. The first step is the decomposition or hydrolysis of plant or animal matter. This step breaks down the organic material to usable-sized molecules such as sugar. The second step is the conversion of decomposed matter to organic acids. And finally, the acids are converted to biogas.
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The final output from anaerobic digestion systems is water. This water originates both from the moisture content of the original waste that was treated but ... includes water produced during the microbial reactions in the digestion systems. This water may be released from the dewatering of the digestate or may be implicitly separate from the digestate. It will typically contain high BOD and COD that will require further treatment prior to being released into water courses or sewers. This can be achieved by oxygenation of the end effluent in tanks associated with the digesters.
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State support for anaerobic digestion applications ... extends beyond WSU activities. The Department of Ecology’s Beyond Waste program is looking at a variety of sustainable, waste management technologies including anaerobic digestion. In addition, the Energy Freedom Fund, passed by the 2006 Washington State legislature, has awarded funding to two anaerobic digestion projects located near the cities of Sunnyside and Monroe, Washington.
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Environmental pressure on solid waste disposal methods in developed countries has increased the applicaiton of anaerobic digestion as a process for reducing waste volumes and generating useful byproducts. Anaerobic digestion may either be used to process the source separated fraction of biodegradable waste, or alternatively combined with mechanical sorting systems, to process mixed municipal waste. These facilities fall under the category of mechanical biological treatment.[14]
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Anaerobic digestion is the bacterial breakdown of organic materials in the absence of oxygen. This biological process produces a gas, sometimes called biogas, principally composed of methane and carbon dioxide. This gas is produced from feedstocks such as sewage sludge, livestock manure, and wet organic materials.
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Anaerobic Digestion