Chattanooga's Wastewater Upgrade Sets the Stage for the World's Largest Biogas-Powered Reactor

What’s brewing beneath Chattanooga? The city is gearing up to host the world’s largest membrane-aerated biofilm reactor (MABR), a groundbreaking leap in wastewater treatment and biogas recovery that puts Tennessee on the global clean energy map.

Led by Archer Western Construction and Stantec, the Moccasin Bend Environmental Campus upgrade will transform aging infrastructure into a high-efficiency, energy-generating facility by 2028. The project, dubbed Class A POWER (Process Optimization for Wastewater Energy Recovery), integrates thermal hydrolysis, advanced anaerobic digestion, and MABR technology to extract maximum energy from waste.

At the heart of the innovation is biogas: the organic byproduct of sludge digestion that will be reused on-site to power operations or sold as renewable natural gas (RNG). City officials estimate $4 million annually in renewable energy credits and up to $9 million in total savings per year.

The system will also produce Class A biosolids for agricultural use and utilize existing tanks. This will cut costs while meeting stricter nutrient discharge limits.

Mayor Tim Kelly said, “This project future-proofs Chattanooga’s wastewater infrastructure and doubles efficiency to meet regional growth.”

For Diamond Scientific, this transformation highlights the growing demand for advanced gas analysis, leak detection, and performance monitoring systems as wastewater facilities evolve into energy hubs. As MABR and RNG projects expand, precision and efficiency will be paramount, making Diamond’s instrumentation more relevant than ever.