Himark BioGas International announced its patented anaerobic digestion (AD) is helping Growing Power Hairy Hill (GPHH), Canada, digest 200 tons/day or 73,000 tons/year of municipal solid waste and organics (MSW) for conversion into renewable energy.
Growing Power Hairy Hill plant was commissioned in 2005. It licensed Himark BioGas technology to process extremely contaminated feedstock including sand-laden cattle manure and slaughterhouse waste, as well as ethanol stillage with very little energy input and zero waste.
More recently, the organic material that GPHH is handling is being diverted from landfills around Alberta. These include municipal Source-Separated Organics (SSO), food processing waste, and sewer sludge. These materials are converted to energy via accelerated natural breakdown processes in one of the largest AD plants in North America.
The methane produced from the landfills is used to drive generators connected to Alberta’a power grid. It also feeds boilers in an adjacent industrial plant. “In a very real way, citizens generating waste are supplying themselves with green electricity for their homes and ‘ultra-low carbon’ fuel for their cars,” the company said.
According to Shane Chrapko, CEO of Himark BioGas, diversion of waste to GPHH is adding decades to the lifespan of existing landfills in the metro Edmonton area. Estimates say that 50 to 70 percent diversion makes these landfills more profitable operations.
Himark has invested over USD $35 million in research and development to develop cutting-edge waste to energy technologies and operational know-how for its clients.