Niteesh Kuchakulla7th period ForensicsMr. Regier

Anaerobic Digestion 1ACAll throughout the ages, from the ancient Babylonians to modern times, the ocean has been harnessed, directed, and tied to the very existence of life. Unfortunately, humans are also the main cause of pollution in the ocean, and the world desperately needs new sources of energy that can replace the fossil fuels that we mainly use, so my partner and I have decided a plan anaerobic digestion plants is best suited to solve these problems. Therefore my partner and I are in affirmation of the resolution: the United States federal government should substantially increase its non-military exploration and/or development of the Earth's oceans.

Contention I, Significance, the harms in the status quoA. The United States is a major source pollution towards the ocean.Ocean Pollution - MarineBio.org,". MarineBio Conservation Society. Web. Accessed 18:50 PM 10/10/2014. http://marinebio.org/oceans/ocean-dumping/In the 1970s, 17 million tons of industrial waste was legally dumped into the ocean. In the 1980's, 8 million tons were dumped including acids, alkaline waste, scrap metals, waste from fish processing, flue desulphurization, sludge, and coal ash. The peak of sewage (sludge) dumping was 18 million tons in 1980. Radioactive waste is also dumped in the oceans and usually comes from the nuclear power process, medical use of radioisotopes, research use of radioisotopes and industrial uses.The U.S. dumps massive amounts of industrial waste, sewage sludge, radioactive materials, and dredge into the ocean leading it to be one of the largest contributors to pollution in the ocean. B. Pollutants in the ocean are hurting ecosystems and causing the extinction of species.ToxicPollution,Seaweb.org.Web. Accessed October10,2014. http://www.seaweb.org/ http://www.seaweb.org/resources/briefings/toxic.php Toxic pollution occurs when synthetic chemicals are discharged or natural chemicals accumulate to toxic levels in the environment. Once in the living food chain, many of these substances are accumulated to ever-higher concentrations in the tissue of the animals that consume them. Some of the known effects on marine animals include cancer, genetic and developmental deformities, behavior abnormalities, reproductive failures, and death.The United States management of pollution is hurting marine ecosystems, and if we dont hinder this it could lead to a total collapse of the marine environment which would then directly affect all of us.C. The world is rapidly running out of fossil fuels.End of Fossil Fuels, Ecotricity.co.uk, Accessed October 11, 2014 https://www.ecotricity.co.uk/our-green-energy/energy-independence/the-end-of-fossil-fuelsGlobally every year we currently consume the equivalent of over 11 billion tonnes of oil in fossil fuels. Crude oil reserves are vanishing at the rate of 4 billion tonnes a year. If we carry on at this rate our known oil deposits will be gone by 2052. But the rate at which the world consumes fossil fuels is not standing still, it is increasing as the world's population increases and as living standards rise in parts of the world that until recently had consumed very little energy. Fossil fuels will therefore run out earlier. We must look to new sources of energy as our current sources, fossil fuels, will run by 2052 at the latest.

Contention II, Inherency, the barrier in the status quo A. Nothing effective is being done to stop ocean pollutionCommon Ocean Pollutants still doing Significant Damage, Telegram.com, Accessed October 11, 2014. http://www.telegram.com/assets/static/summerfun/article0013.htmlAs much of the world grows increasingly earth-conscious, ocean pollution continues to be one of the biggest issues concerning the environment. While global warming and the ongoing debate surrounding its effects might garner the most headlines, ocean pollution remains a considerable concern for environmentalists and ocean lovers alike. With this plan the United States should pioneer the way for the rest of the world by being the first to implement an effective policy to solve ocean pollution.

B. Anaerobic digestion is mainly used for agricultural purposes Weinand Dave, Energy from Waste, Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Accessed October 11, 2014. http://www.mda.state.mn.us/Anaerobic manure digestion for animal agriculture has come into the main stream in recent years in the United States. Other countries in Asia and Europe have used this technology in one form or the other for centuries in small applications, but it hasnt been until the last 30 years that this technology has been used widely on a commercial scale. Anaerobic digestion is more widely directed toward land based purposes than the ocean where it will also work.

Now lets discuss the actual plan to be implementedPlank 1, Mandates: The United States federal government will substantially increase the development of the ocean by building anaerobic digestion plants (AD) along the Pacific, Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico coasts where most sewage, industrial waste, and other pollution is released such as near San Francisco, New Orleans, New York and polluted rivers.Plank 2, Funding: The United States will redirect 125 million dollars from fossil fuel subsidies beginning at the start of FY 2015 ( 2.4% cut of the current amount) towards this plan which will cover all costs such as: capital costs, project development costs, running costs, and training costs.Plank 3, Enforcement: The U.S Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)Plank 4, Legislative Intent: The affirmative sides reserves the right for clarification and requests that all off-case positions be run in the first negative constructive for reasons of fair debate.Contention III, SolvencyA. Anaerobic Digestion plants will generate biogas (methane) which will decrease our dependency on fossil fuels.What is Anaerobic Digestion, American Biogas Council, Accessed October 12, 2014 https://www.americanbiogascouncil.org/biogas_what.aspAnaerobic digestion is a series of biological processes in which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. One of the end products is biogas, which is combusted to generate electricity and heat, or can be processed into renewable natural gas and transportation fuels. A range of anaerobic digestion technologies are converting livestock manure, municipal wastewater solids, food waste, high strength industrial wastewater and residuals, fats, oils and grease (FOG), and various other organic waste streams into biogas.Anaerobic digestion plants generate massive amounts electricity through the waste that we use. This will form a reusable cycle that can be repeated infinitely.B. Anaerobic Digestion technology exists now and will reduce ocean pollution.Crabtree ,Dennis Anaerobic Digestion Systems tackle Growing Clean Water and Renewable Energy Challenges, BiostarSystems.com. Accessed October 12, 2014. http://www.biostarsystems.com/whitepaper/BioStar_Whitepaper_093009_.pdf Constructed in the late 1980s, the Deer Island treatment plant removes human, household, business and industrial pollutants from wastewater that originates in homes and businesses in 43 greater Boston communities. In compliance with all federal and state environmental standards and subject to the precedent-setting discharge permit issued for the plant by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection; its treated wastewater can be released to the marine environment. This is a current example of an actual anaerobic digestion plant that is functional and working against pollution while producing renewable energy.C. Anaerobic Digestion Plants could potentially power the entire the entire United States with excess energy to spare.Craig ,Johnson, Anaerobic Digestion: the future of the United States, Environmental Protective Agency.gov .Published January 25,2013. Accessed October 25, 2014. http://www.epa.gov/agstar/anaerobicdigestion/lookingtothefuture/eda If just 50 percent of the waste generated each year in the U.S. that was turned to the ocean was anaerobically digested, enough electricity would be generated to power the entire United States and still have enough power to fulfill Cubas energy needs. Anaerobic digestion plants are the way the future is going and fossil fuels wont be around for much longer.So the benefits of implementing this plan are gigantic as anaerobic digestion solves two major issues at once: oceanic pollution and the looming energy shortage crisis. This implementation of this plan will be very important for the future of the United States.

Finally I would like to discuss the benefits in passing our plan, Contention IV, Advantages A. The byproducts of anaerobic digestion can be used as fertilizerDana M Kirk, Michigan State University and M. Charles Gould, Bioenergy Educator, Michigan State University Extension. Uses of Solids and By-Products of Anaerobic Digestion Published April 2, 2012. http://www.extension.org/pages/30310/uses-of-solids-and-by-products-of-anaerobic-digestion#.VEwvofnF_uwUndigested biomass contained in the effluent (digestate) of anaerobic digesters provides opportunities for value-added byproducts. Organic fertilizer, livestock bedding, compost, fuel pellets, and construction material (medium density fiberboard and fiber/plastic composite materials) are a few examples of value-added byproducts that could be created from digestate solids.B. This technology takes a short time to implementFact Sheet-Anaerobic Digestion- Farm Residues, Renewable Energy on Farms.co.uk. Accessed October 12, 2014. http://www.renewableenergyonfarms.co.uk/sites/rdi/files/140224_ad_fact_sheet_and_faqs_v5.pdfConstruction of an AD plant is dependent on the size of the project but can normally be expected to take approximately 6 to 9 months.This means that this plan will be in full effect after about one year, an incredibly short period for a kind of plan like this.C. Anaerobic digestion plants are inexpensive and will pay of the initial investment.Feasibility Study for Anaerobic Digestion Plant in Aberdeenshire, Aberdeenshire.gov.uk. Accessed October 12, 2014. https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/support/agriculture/jim_booth_study_report.pdfTotal Investment 0.6M 2.79M 4.445M Payback (years) No 8 yrs 6 yrs IRR (10-years) -5% 11% 21% Annual Margin 9,210 321,164 814,905The cost of one anaerobic digestion plant is 4.445 million euros or 5.5 million US Dollars which is very small for such a useful technology, and by implementing this our initial investment in the plant will pay of in 6 years.Finally we sum up our case by saying anaerobic digestion will substantially increase the development of the ocean by greatly reducing pollution while at the same time generating large amounts of renewable energy (biogas) that we desperately need. For these reasons and the many others outlined in the case, we urge the judge to vote for the affirmative.Case EvidenceA.The United States is a major source pollution towards the ocean.The most toxic waste material dumped into the ocean includes dredged material, industrial waste, sewage sludge, and radioactive waste. Dredging contributes about 80% of all waste dumped into the ocean, adding up to several million tons of material dumped each year. Rivers, canals, and harbors are dredged to remove silt and sand buildup or to establish new waterways. About 20-22% of dredged material is dumped into the ocean. The remainder is dumped into other waters or landfills and some is used for development. About 10% of all dredged material is polluted with heavy metals such as cadmium, mercury, and chromium, hydrocarbons such as heavy oils, nutrients including phosphorous and nitrogen, and organ chlorines from pesticides. Waterways and, therefore, silt and sand accumulate these toxins from land runoff, shipping practices, industrial and community waste, and other sources. When these materials find their way into the ocean, marine organisms suffer toxic effects and seafood is often contaminated. When "pure" dredged material is dumped into the ocean, fisheries suffer adverse affects such as unsuccessful spawning in herring and lobster populations where the sea floor is covered in silt.Industrial WasteIn the 1970s, 17 million tons of industrial waste was legally dumped into the ocean. In the 1980's, 8 million tons were dumped including acids, alkaline waste, scrap metals, waste from fish processing, flue desulphurization, sludge, and coal ash. Sewage Sludge.If sludge from the treatment of sewage is not contaminated by oils, organic chemicals and metals, it can be recycled as fertilizer for crops. It is cheaper for treatment centers to dump this material into the ocean, particularly if it is chemically contaminated. The peak of sewage dumping was 18 million tons in 1980, a number that was reduced to 12 million tons in the 1990s. Radioactive waste is also dumped in the oceans and usually comes from the nuclear power process, medical use of radioisotopes, research use of radioisotopes and industrial uses. The difference between industrial waste and nuclear waste is that nuclear waste usually remains radioactive for decades. The protocol for disposing of nuclear waste involves special treatment by keeping it in concrete drums so that it doesn't spread when it hits the ocean floor. The dumping of radioactive material has reached a total of about 84,000 terabecquerels (TBq), a unit of radioactivity equal to 1012 atomic disintegrations per second or 27.027 curies. Curie (Ci) is a unit of radioactivity. One curie was originally defined as the radioactivity of one gram of pure radium. In 1953, scientists agreed that the curie would represent exactly 3.7 x 1010 atomic disintegrations per second, or 37 gigabecquerels (GBq), this being the best estimate of the activity of a gram of radium. The unit is named for Pierre and Marie Curieexternal link who discovered radium. The high point of nuclear waste dumping was in 1954 and 1962, but this nuclear waste only accounts for 1% of the total TBq that has been dumped in the ocean. The concentration of radioactive waste in the concrete drums varies as does the danger to marine life and humans.

B. Pollutants in the ocean are hurting ecosystems and causing the extinction of species.Toxic pollution occurs when synthetic chemicals are discharged or natural chemicals accumulate to toxic levels in the environment, causing reductions in wildlife numbers, degrading ecosystem functions and threatening human health. Among the many naturally-occurring substances involved are certain metals (such as mercury, lead, chromium) and petroleum. Synthetic, or human-made, chemicals include, among others, pesticides, PCBs and dioxins. A large group of these, known collectively as persistent organic pollutants, or POPs, are complex compound-all containing hydrogen and carbon and many containing chlorine-that persist unchanged in the environment for long periods. Human activities are also responsible for environmental contamination by radioactive substances, some of which are natural and some synthetic. Once in the living food chain, many of these substances are accumulated to ever-higher concentrations in the tissue of the animals that consume them. Some of the known effects on marine animals include cancer, lesions, genetic and developmental deformities, behavior abnormalities, reproductive failures, sex changes, and death. Because water is such an effective solvent, much toxic pollution that humankind generates eventually ends up in the ocean. After entering the marine environment, many chemical substances concentrate in the sediment and the sea surface microlayer. Humans may be exposed to toxic pollution from a variety of sources, including airborne emissions and contaminated water or food. Except in the case of workers who are exposed to large amounts of a single toxic material, the cumulative effects from all sources are the most problematic for human health. Among documented and postulated maladies are reproductive problems, declines in fertility, developmental and learning problems, and suspected links to cancer.C. The world is rapidly running out of fossil fuels.Clearly fossil fuel reserves are finite - it's only a matter of when they run out. Globally every year we currently consume the equivalent of over 11 billion tonnes of oil in fossil fuels. Crude oil reserves are vanishing at the rate of 4 billion tonnes a year. If we carry on at this rate without any increase for our growing population or aspirations, our known oil deposits will be gone by 2052. Well still have gas left, and coal too. But if we increase gas production to fill the energy gap left by oil, then those reserves will only give us an additional eight years, taking us to 2060. But the rate at which the world consumes fossil fuels is not standing still, it is increasing as the world's population increases and as living standards rise in parts of the world that until recently had consumed very little energy. Fossil Fuels will therefore run out earlier. Its often claimed that we have enough coal to last hundreds of years. But if we step up production to fill the gap left through depleting our oil and gas reserves, the coal deposits we know about will only give us enough energy to take us as far as 2088. And lets not even think of the carbon dioxide emissions from burning all that coal. A.Nothing effective is being done to stop ocean pollutionAs much of the world grows increasingly earth-conscious, ocean pollution continues to be one of the biggest issues concerning the environment. While global warming and the ongoing debate surrounding its effects might garner the most headlines, ocean pollution remains a considerable concern for environmentalists and ocean lovers alike. Part of the problem is the lack of understanding as to just what is contributing to ocean pollution. Simply put, nearly everything we do has an impact on the ocean, be it positive or negative. Oftentimes, we are even contributing to ocean pollution without so much as knowing how or why. The following are among the chief contributors to ocean pollution across the globe: Sewage. Anything going down our drains falls under the category of ocean sewage. This includes what we flush down the toilet to dishwater and even any chemicals we might dispose of through our drains. Sooner or later, what we flush or wash down our drains makes its way into the ocean. This ocean sewage often results in oxygen depletion that harms marine life as well as significant nutrient loading, which occurs when excessive nitrogen and phosphorous is deposited into the ocean's ecosystem. The result is the formation of algae blooms, which consume substantial amounts of oceanic oxygen supply. That reduction, or depletion, of the oxygen supply makes it extremely difficult for many organisms to breathe, oftentimes resulting in death.B.Anaerobic digestion is mainly used for agricultural purposesAnaerobic manure digestion for animal agriculture has come into the main stream in recent years in the United States. Other countries in Asia and Europe have used this technology in one form or the other for centuries in small applications, but it hasnt been until the last 30 years that this technology has been used widely on a commercial scale. Livestock producers across the country have been researching this technology and some have established anaerobic manure digesters on their own farms. As the technology improves, the relative risk of having a manure digester will decrease and the efficiency of the system will increase. Some investigation has been done on the potential for centrally located multi-farm manure digesters. The advantage of central anaerobic digesters in terms of their larger size relative to farm scale digesters come from their ability to process other organic wastes in addition to dairy, swine, or poultry manure. Centrally located digesters are able to process compatible waste streams.A.Anaerobic Digestion plants will generate biogas (methane) which will decrease our dependency on fossil fuels.Anaerobic digestion is a series of biological processes in which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. One of the end products is biogas, which is combusted to generate electricity and heat, or can be processed into renewable natural gas and transportation fuels. A range of anaerobic digestion technologies are converting livestock manure, municipal wastewater solids, food waste, high strength industrial wastewater and residuals, fats, oils and grease (FOG), and various other organic waste streams into biogas, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Separated digested solids can be composted, utilized for dairy bedding, directly applied to cropland or converted into other products. Nutrients in the liquid stream are used in agriculture as fertilizer.Generic digestion process The Biological Process: The digestion process begins with bacterial hydrolysis of the input materials in order to break down insoluble organic polymers such as carbohydrates and make them available for other bacteria. Acidogenic bacteria then convert the sugars and amino acids into carbon dioxide, hydrogen, ammonia, and organic acids. Acetogenic bacteria then convert these resulting organic acids into acetic acid, along with additional ammonia, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide. Finally, methanogens convert these products to methane and carbon dioxide.B.Anaerobic Digestion technology exists now and will reduce ocean pollutionThe Kristiansand Biogas Plant was the first in Sweden to co-digest municipal solid waste with manure and other organic biomass for the production of energy and fertilizer. The waste streams co-digested at the Kristianstad plant includes livestock manure, abattoir waste, distillery waste, vegetable waste ,and the organic fraction of municipal solid waste. Anheuser-Busch has only recently jumped into organic brewing, but the company has been involved in anaerobic digestion and alternative energy development for over two decades. BERS is a very appropriate acronym for the company's "bio-energy recovery systems," which pre-treat wastewater and capture biogas from nine of the company's breweries worldwide. Deer Island Sewage Treatment Plant is the centerpiece of the program to protect Boston Harbor against pollution from Metropolitan Boston'sewer systems. Constructed in the late 1980s, the Deer Island treatment plant removes human,household, business and industrial pollutants from wastewater that originates in homes and businesses in 43 greater Boston communities. In compliance with all federal and state environmental standards and subject to the precedent-setting discharge permit issued for the plant by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection; its treated wastewater can be released to the marine environment .Digestion at Deer Island occurs in 12 distinctive egg-shaped anaerobic digesters, each 90 feet in diameter and approximately 130 feet tall. Mimicking the stomach's natural digestion process, microorganisms naturally present in the sludge work to break sludge and scum down into methane gas, carbon dioxide, solid organic byproducts, and water. Digestion significantly reduces sludge quantity. The byproduct of the digestion process is 70 percent methane gas, which is captured and piped to boilers that generate enough heat to warm the buildings on the site as well as for the heat-dependent.C. Anaerobic Digestion Plants could potentially power the entire the entire United States with excess energy to spare.Estimates of the electricity that could potentially be generated by anaerobic digestion and of the average energy have been calculated for the contiguous United States. The estimates are based on published waste pollution resource data. If just 50 percent of the waste generated each year in the U.S. that was turned to the ocean was anaerobically digested, enough electricity would be generated to power the entire United States and still have enough power to fulfill Cubas energy needs. Anaerobic digestion plants are the way the future is going and fossil fuels wont be around for much longer. Technology under development today will be capable of producing electricity economically from many polluted coastal regions of the country. The amount of energy theoretically available for use has been estimated at as much as twice the current U.S. energy consumption. AD plants could be in high demand in the future, and it would be beneficial to implement them now.A. The byproducts of anaerobic digestion can be used as fertilizerUndigested biomass (referred to as digestate solids, fiber or biofiber) contained in the effluent (digestate) of anaerobic digesters provides opportunities for value-added byproducts. Organic fertilizer, livestock bedding, compost, fuel pellets, and construction material (medium density fiberboard and fiber/plastic composite materials) are a few examples of value-added byproducts that could be created from digestate solids. Solids can be extracted from the digestate using solid-liquid separation technologies such as slope screens, rotary drum thickeners and screw-press separators. Common solid-liquid equipment can produce digestate solids with a moisture content of 18 to 30%. The volume and the moisture content of the separated solids will vary depending on the technology used. Digestate solids are high in fiber, consisting mainly of fibrous undigested organic material (lignin and cellulose), microbial biomass, animal hair, and nutrients. During the anaerobic digestion process, nutrients contained in the feedstock are mineralized. Mineralized nutrients are easily used by a crop. Digestate solids contain higher concentrations of plant-available nitrogen and phosphorus compared to as-excreted manure, according to research. The high carbon content of digestate solids adds organic matter to the soil and improves the water holding capacity of the soil. Actual nutrient content of digestate solids will vary depending on feedstocks, digester type, management, and solid-liquid separation technology. Digestate solids as a fertilizer source can be used as separated (wet), blended with other materials and composted or dried and pelletized.

B. This technology takes a short time to implementAnaerobic digestion (AD) processes organic materials in the absence of air to produce what is known as biogas, which is a mixture of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) as well as some other trace gases. The methane fraction of this gas can be burnt in specifically designed combined heat and power (CHP) engines to generate renewable power in the form of both heat and electricity. The electricity can be used to power plant equipment or be exported to the national grid, while the heat produced can be used to heat digester tanks to the optimum temperature for the biological system or can supply local residences or neighbouring industrial processes. Construction of an AD plant is dependent on the size of the project but can normally be expected to take approximately 6 to 9 months. The anaerobic digestion process takes place in a sealed tank called a digester or bioreactor. In the absence of oxygen and under the application of heat, anaerobic bacteria digest the organic matter in the feedstock and produce biogas. There are two basic AD processes, which take place in different temperature ranges.

C.Anaerobic digestion plants are inexpensive and will pay of the initial investment.Anaerobic digestion (AD) is the process where micro-organisms breakdown biodegradable materials in the absence of oxygen in an enclosed tank. The process produces biogas (methane 60%, carbon dioxide 39% and ammonia 1%), which can then be utilised to fuel a generator to produce electricity and heat. The treated liquid (digestate) can be applied to farmland as a fertiliser. Large scale plants have a high capital requirement, but can provide a very good return when a high percentage of the feedstock attracts gate fees. The most critical issue is securing a good single source of waste. Highlighting the value of a suitable joint-venture agreement between an AD plant operator and a processor with biodegradable waste.

Use at discretionFossil Fuel Subsidies: Overview, http://priceofoil.org/. Accessed October 30 2014

In the United States, credible estimates of annual fossil fuel subsidies range from $10 billion to $52 billion annually yet these dont even include costs borne by taxpayers related to the climate, local environmental, and health impacts of the fossil fuel industry.