Cold/High Anaerobic Digestion Community of Practice

Scope of Activities

The goal of the Cold/High Anaerobic Digestion Community of Practice is to develop anaerobic digestion systems that are deployable in Arctic, sub-Arctic, and high-altitude rural areas to address sanitation issues and potentially provide a source of renewable energy.

While anaerobic digestion has been used for hundreds of years to treat human and animal waste and generate methane as an energy source, research on the feasibility of implementing these systems in Arctic, sub-Arctic, and high elevation ecosystems is limited and largely anecdotal. This consortium formed therefore to collect and consolidate information on anaerobic digestion of waste for these communities. We are also working to determine the feasibility of the multi-benefit use of anaerobic digestion for energy generation, as the cost and logistics of diesel for home heating in remote communities is an economic burden for these communities and has been found to be a cause of elevated childhood asthma rates.

To bolster these efforts, this group is collaborating with the Global Methane Initiative (GMI) to initiate studies and anaerobic digestion pilots as part of GMI's international focus on reducing barriers to recovering methane as a clean energy source.

Poop is a resource. Let's use it!

Team Leaders

Embrey Bronstad
Brown and Caldwell

Margaret McCauley
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Website)

Deliverables from the Arctic Research Plan

HEALTH 3 Provide research and technical support for water and sanitation infrastructure.

• HEALTH 3.3 Test the potential for anaerobic digestion to provide sanitation options for communities where piped systems do not match environmental and financial settings. Document and disseminate results and determine if in-situ trial is appropriate.

PILR 1 Fulfill Federal requirement to consult with Federally recognized Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations.

• PILR 1.2 Evaluate the Principles for Conducting Research in the Arctic 2018, and update as needed based on the evaluation.

PILR 3 Develop guidance for agencies to consistently apply participatory research and Indigenous leadership in research.

• PILR 3.1 Identify key elements of Indigenous leadership in research with Tribes, Indigenous organizations, and federal agencies. Integrate these elements into the Principles for Conducting Research in the Arctic and develop guidance for federal agencies.
• PILR 3.2 Share information among agencies about how to streamline contracting, agreements, and compensation processes to support co-stewardship and co-production of knowledge.
• PILR 3.3 Convene, facilitate, and participate in discussions to identify mechanisms to foster pathways for Indigenous leadership in research.
• PILR 3.4 To aid in agencies’ ethical engagement and meaningful work with Tribal governments and Indigenous communities and organizations, compile a list of resources and guidance, rules, protocols, and approaches that Tribal governments and Indigenous communities and organizations have put forward. Distribute the list to agencies and post publicly via the IARPC Collaborations website. Share the list with the Tribal governments and Indigenous communities and organizations to provide additional insights, pending their interest, to the federal workforce on implementing the guidance, rules, protocols, and approaches they have put forward.

RISK 1 Summarize currently available data and information requirements associated with hazard and risk mitigation, adaptation, and response efforts. Synthesize community-led activities and information to identify potential needs for future efforts.

• RISK 1.3 Develop a network that brings together scientists, the emergency management community, and key agency contacts to share knowledge, identify new and emerging challenges, and inform decision-making and operations through research.

RISK 3 Research to support more resilient and transformative infrastructure to withstand potential impacts from acute and long-term hazards, including those hazards brought about by climate change.

• RISK 3.1 Conduct a study focused on expedient and enduring cold regions infrastructure, including water and wastewater, energy, and temporary and enduring structures. Results will be shared in a report that will identify and provide background information on the variety of available and emerging water/wastewater, energy, and structure technologies and best practices.

TIA 1 Survey federally funded research technology.

• TIA 1.1 Strategically engage externally, across IARPC, and within the Technology Innovation and Application Collaboration Team.
• TIA 1.2 Use the Technology Innovation and Application Collaboration Team to support and coordinate technology-related conversations and activities throughout IARPC Collaborations.

Accomplishments

Anaerobic digestion operators typically aim to maintain a constant warm temperature to keep their microbe populations steady. This is infeasible in small communities in extreme cold locations. A bench scale study found that freezing then thawing synthetic human feces resulted in a lag period but ultimately similar or even greater amounts of methane than baseline, unfrozen assays. These results combined with solar radiation data indicate that Alaska subarctic locations receive enough solar thermal energy in summer months to support seasonally operated, psychrophilic anaerobic digesters.