This article is the first of a two-part series, published by EM Magazine, a copyrighted publication of the Air & Waste Management Association. Look for part two, coming in May.
Renewable natural gas is an increasingly important and valuable fuel product that can be generated from organic materials that are otherwise wastes such as municipal solid waste, sewage sludge (biosolids), and animal manure. Processing these waste materials via anaerobic digestion produces methane-rich biogas. With sufficient upgrading of the biogas to meet the quality standards (as defined in tariffs) for injection into traditional natural gas pipelines, the resulting RNG becomes a viable substitute for, and indistinguishable from, conventional natural gas.
David Elam
David (Dave) Elam has been active in the environmental industry for 35 years, principally in the air quality management field. Dave serves as a Vice President and Project Director at TRC where he assists with project delivery, regulatory analysis and quality management in the air quality and energy transition areas. Contact him at DElam@trccompanies.com.
Tom Dunder, Ph.D.
Tom Dunder is Technical Director in the Air Management Services Division at TRC Companies in Raleigh, North Carolina where he performs and manages air pollutant testing programs. He has degrees in Chemistry from Columbia (A.B.), Rutgers (M.S.) and the University of North Carolina (Ph.D.). Tom has 29 years of experience in gaseous pollutant emissions measurements at a wide variety of industries (refineries, chemical plants, power plants, paper mills, etc.) with recent work in biomass/biogas processes and emerging pollutants like PFAS. Contact Tom at tdunder@trcsolutions.com.