The Biogas Innovation program builds on past successes in transferring anaerobic digestion technology into Alberta's agricultural sector.
In anaerobic digestion processes, bacteria are used to digest organic waste, yielding a combustible mixture of gases known as biogas. Having successfully developed methods for harvesting energy from manure, the Tech Futures Clean Energy Team is now developing so-called high rate digestion processes, capable of reducing the organics content of low-solids waste waters. This is potentially very attractive for sectors such as food processing, in which large surcharges are often levied for the disposal of such wastes.
The team is also addressing some common biogas processing challenges, particularly the increasing problem of siloxane contamination: these inert man-made compounds are used in household and cosmetic products, and can quickly foul the hot inner surfaces of biogas-burning engines, leading to costly overhauls.
Put Tech Futures' technology to work
The Biogas team's pilot facilities and laboratories have the capability of performing methane production potential for substrates as well as chemical evaluation of raw feed-stocks and by-products discharged from anaerobic digesters.
The team has over eight years of operating experience with thermophilic and mesophilic applications and dozens of substrates and co-substrate blends. Utilize their experience to assist you with all aspects of the biogas process.
- Batch, High Rate and Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor Pilot Systems
- Anaerobic Digestion Substrate Evaluations
- Biogas Treatment and Utilization
Not all feedstock destined for anaerobic digesters are equal. Some substrates contain all the nutrients necessary for optimum digestion while others contain components that can produce toxic conditions which impede methane production.
The only way to be completely certain about a particular feedstock is to perform a methane yield test using anaerobic digesters that emulate your process.
Some examples of substrates that have been tested alone and as co-substrates:
- Cattle manure
- Potato waste
- Chicken manure
- Slaughterhouse DAF sludge
- Glycerine
- Slaughterhouse wastewater & pauch
- Cheese whey
- Organic grocery waste
- Ethanol production stillage
High Rate Digestion System
- Automated system with two 5-L down flow fixed film digesters
- Continuous variable flow feeding allowing various retention times and organic loading rates.
- Precise temperature control (independent on each digester) to match your process requirements
- Continuous pH and temperature monitoring of each digester
- Constant gas monitoring system with flow meters for gas production and gas chromatograph for gas quality (methane, nitrogen, hydrogen sulphide, carbon dioxide and oxygen monitored)
- Regular samples monitored for total ammoniacial nitrogen, total organic acids, alkalinity, COD, BOD, and TSS