At KB BioEnergy, we are dedicated to promoting new, environmentally responsible methods of creating usable products from biosolid and biomass residuals. With the strong leadership of the City of Akron, Ohio, we found a partner that helped make that goal a reality. Through our long history of working closely with the City of Akron, we have come to understand the key principles that make a partnership successful; cooperation, responsibility, and dedication to a shared mission.
For the City of Akron and KB BioEnergy, the shared mission of our partnership has been to maximize the residual value of the city’s biosolids in the most environmentally friendly and economical way. Through close collaboration and clear dissemination of functions and roles, KB BioEnergy has served as the City of Akron’s residual management partner for over 30 years.
Since 1989, the City of Akron and KB BioEnergy have operated under a public-private partnership where KB BioEnergy manages the city’s biosolids through the existing plant’s infrastructure at the City of Akron’s composting facility. In 2007, the city contracted with KB BioEnergy and constructed Phase 1 of Anaerobic Digestion, which produced renewable energy through the processing of some of the biosolids generated by the city. The success of that initial demonstration project resulted in a renewed contract and the construction of the Phase II AD plant. The new plant is three times the size of the original and accommodates 100% of the city’s residual waste stream.
Though our past and present projects have been successful, the team at KB BioEnergy hasn’t stopped looking toward the future. Our partnership with the City of Akron is invaluable to us, which is why we continue to assess threats and look for innovative ways to improve the services that we offer to them.
Public-Private Partnership Established with the Goals of the City in Mind:
When the public-private partnership was established between the City and KB BioEnergy the following represented the key items that the city wanted to be established through the partnership:
- Self-Reliance: “[Create] A process that is less dependent on the economic climate of the world and thus being more self-reliant.”
- Stability & Innovation: “…stabilize the operational costs while reviewing potential new processes to manage the solids.”
- Environmental Protection: The City of Akron is “dedicated to protecting the environment, for this and future generations, through innovative and cost-effective means.”
- Advancement Through Technology: Technological innovations give us the capability to treat wastewater so the processed water can be safely returned to the environment and treated biosolids can be turned into resources to be recovered and transformed into renewable energy.
“Through our history and achieved milestones KB BioEnergy is safely servicing the City of Akron as a true long terms solution for wastewater treatment residuals.” – Former City of Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic
Partnership Benefits
The waste to energy facility provides the City of Akron with the following major benefits:
- Generation of enough renewable energy to power 1,400 homes each year
- Renewable energy that is available 24/7
- Reduces liability of managing biosolids from the uncertainty of changing regulations for land application, landfill disposal, or emerging chemicals of concern
- Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint
- Generation of sustainable products in the form of electricity and pelletized fertilizer
- Management of biosolids for future generations for the next 30 to 50 years
- Reduction in odor and truck traffic associated with biosolids management.
Tour Information
KB BioEnergy, Inc. is honored to partner with the City of Akron. We are proud of the work we do and happy to provide tours to interested organizations, groups, and individuals upon request. These tours can be adjusted to meet the specific needs or goals of the group.
To ensure the safety of all visitors and employees during tours, please be advised of the following:
- Tours must be scheduled in advance
- All tours are walking tours and include stairs
- All tours are both indoors and outdoors
- A complete tour takes about 1 ½ hours and consists of about 1 mile of walking
- Visitor hardhats will be provided to all attendees and must be worn throughout the facility
- No open-toed shoes or sandals are permitted on site
If you are interested in touring the Akron Renewable Energy Facility, please send detailed information to info@kbbioenergy.com.