Anaerobic Treatment Short Course 2025

Professor and chair of civil, construction and environmental engineering and director of the Water Quality Center at Marquette University, Dr. Daniel Zitomer specializes in wastewater treatment and anaerobic biotechnology. He has more than 30 years of experience consulting with entities such as Jacobs, United Water Services, Liberty Paper and others. Zitomer has authored more than 100 journal articles, proceedings papers and technical reports. He received the 2008 Gordon Maskew Fair Distinguished Engineering Educator Medal from and is a Fellow of the Water Environment Federation for outstanding service in engineering education. He is Chair of the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering at Marquette University and presently teaches graduate classes on anaerobic biotechnology and biological wastewater treatment. He has performed research for the National Science Foundation, US Department of Energy, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, State of Wisconsin and others. 

Dr. Patrick McNamara is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering at Marquette University. His research focuses on antibiotic resistance in the engineered environment, treatment of micropollutants, and residuals and biosolids handling. He received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Marquette University (2006), M.S. in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering from University of Texas – Austin (2008), and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota (2012). He is an associate editor for the journal Biodegradation and serves as Chair for the AEESP Student Services Committee. He received the CSWEA Bill Boyle Outstanding Educator Award in 2018 and currently receives research funding from private foundations, utilities, and the NSF.  

Dr. V. P. Tale specializes in biological wastewater treatment systems and anaerobic digestion. Dr. Tale is a licensed professional engineer registered in the Ontario province of Canada. He has worked as a Research Executive and Senior Scientist for biological waste treatment projects for large multinational corporations. Dr. Tale has been working in the anaerobic waste and wastewater treatment area for the past 20 years as a researcher, full-scale design engineer, and troubleshooting expert. In his current role with CRB Water, he works with numerous full-scale anaerobic reactors from varying industries such as pulp and paper manufacturing, agriculture, food, and beverage manufacturing, dairy and milk processing, ethanol manufacturing, chemical manufacturing, and others. Dr. Tale helps these reactors improve their efficiencies and reach their respective treatment goals. He earned his Ph.D. from Marquette University in 2010, and his research focused on improving anaerobic digestion process efficiency. 

Vice President, MI2 Operating Systems

Jeff has more than 40 years of water, wastewater, and renewable energy operations experience. He has provided operations and technical support to food and beverage clients across the country, many of which included anaerobic processes. Jeff possesses operator licensing in multiple states. 

Christopher R Hatch P.E. is the Director of Biotechnologies and Engineering for Chemtron/Riverbend out of St. Charles MO.  Chris holds a BS in Civil Engineering with an Environmental Minor as well as a BS in Physics.  Chris has worked 26 years in industrial waste water treatment, starting at the City of Cedar Rapids Iowa, operating a 40 million gallon a day multi industrial aerobic facility with multiple treatment process types.  Later he managed the construction, startup and operations of one of North America’s largest Granular Anaerobic treatment facilities handling waste from a recycle paper mill and an enzyme factory.  Currently he leads a team of 9 waste water professionals troubleshooting and optimizing biological processes across North America. 

Kim Murdock-Timmerman is the media and gas testing specialist with Unison Solutions, Inc., based in Dubuque, Iowa. Kim has worked in the biogas industry for over 10 years and specializes in reducing the operating expenses of her client's biogas systems. She has a B.S. in Biology and Business Administration from Loras College, also in Dubuque. 

Ben’s quest is to design and operate the safest, most reliable, and highest producing bioenergy facilities in the world has now led him to PurposeEnergy. He began working with anaerobic bioreactors developing novel technologies that increased biogas generation for food and beverage plants. Much of his early career focused on sustainable engineering for marginalized communities in Central America and India. Ben devised new methods to design anaerobic systems more effectively and led engineering design for bioenergy generation at world-scale chemical manufacturing sites. As part of global goals in the petrochemical industry, Ben planned greenhouse gas reduction projects to achieve 2030 targets. Throughout Ben’s career, he has prioritized connecting synergistic people and initiatives, including in the renewable natural gas (RNG) industry where he led design for the largest producer of Dairy RNG in the U.S.  He is the founder of Go ByCycle, a simple, yet profoundly impactful movement that empowers people to bike as a means of transportation.  For fun, Ben enjoys competitive long-distance running, anything outdoors with his two daughters, and listening to his wife sing.

8:45 – 9:00      Introduction and Welcome

                        Daniel Zitomer, Ph.D., P.E. Professor & Chair of the Dept. of

                        Civil, Construction & Environmental Engineering,

                        Marquette University

9:00 – 10:00    Fundamentals of Anaerobic Treatment

                          Daniel Zitomer, Ph.D., P.E. Marquette University

10:00-10:15    Break

10:15-11:15    Anaerobic Microbiology and Reactor Function

                         Daniel H. Zitomer, Ph.D., P.E., Marquette University

11:15-12:00    Laboratory Testing to Monitor Your Digester

                         Patrick McNamara, Ph.D., P.E., Marquette University

12:00- 1:30     Lunch (Lunch provided for in-person attendees)

1:30-2:30        Industrial Waste Treatment Technologies

                        Ben Bocher, Ph.D., P.E., Purpose Energy

                        Windham, NH

2:30-3:30        Industrial Waste Treatment Design

                        V.P. Tale, Ph.D., P.Eng., Chemtron/Riverbend, 

                        St. Charles, MO

3:30-3:45        Break

3:45 – 4:30      Process Start-Up, Monitoring and Control

                         Jeffrey Mummert, M12 Operating Systems, LLC,

                         O'Fallon, MO

4:30-5:30        In-Person Networking Event (refreshments)

5:30                 Adjourn Day 1

8:45 – 9:00      Welcome

                        Daniel Zitomer, Ph.D., P.E., Marquette University

9:00 – 9:45      Toxicity in Anaerobic Bioprocesses

                         Chris Hatch, Chemtron/Riverbend, St. Charles, MO

9:45-10:45      Biogas Code Compliance, Safety and Use

                        V.P. Tale, Ph.D., P.Eng., Chemtron/Riverbend, 

                        St. Charles, MO

10:45-11:00     Break

11:00 – 11:30   Biogas Quality and Conditioning

                           Dave Broihahn, Unison Solutions, Inc.

                           Dubuque, IA

11:30-12:00     Case Study 1 - 

12:00-1:30      Lunch (Lunch provided for in-person attendees)

1:30-2:00       Case Study 2 - 

2:00-2:30       Case Study 3 - 

2:30-2:45       Break

2:45-3:15       Case Study 4 - 

3:15-3:45        Case Study 5 -  

3:45 – 4:15     Anaerobic Downflow MBR for Municipal Wastewater

                         Antonio Martins, (Ph.D. Student), Marquette University

4:15 - 4:30     Closing Remarks

                        Daniel H. Zitomer, Ph.D., P.E., Marquette University

4:30                 Adjourn