Food & Flora Waste to Fleet Fuel (F4) Framework: Reaching the Next Technology Readiness Levels

The Food & Flora Waste to Fleet Fuel (F4) Framework helps evaluate the economic feasibility of creating renewable fleet fuel using existing wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) digester infrastructure. At WWTPs, food and flora (yard) waste, as well as wastewater sludge, can be used to produce biogas, which can be cleaned for use in natural gas vehicles, or burned to generate electricity for electric vehicles. The project aims to accomplish the following objectives: (1) Form and solicit input from a multi-disciplinary Advisory Group of state/regional government officials and industry representatives in transportation, solid waste management, wastewater, and agriculture (farm digesters), to guide advancement of the F4 Framework from TRL 5 to 8. (2) Upgrade F4 to Version 2.0 via improvements arising from the previous project, Advisory Group recommendations, and case studies to be conducted in Obj. 3. (3) Conduct case studies for two additional communities for conversion of food/yard waste to fleet fuel, and showcase the use of F4 Version 2.0 to estimate costs, fuel produced, and emission benefits.