November 14, 2008

RICHARD GILBERT

Inside the simple exterior of the Lions Gate sewage treatment plant is a pilot project that could help change the way waste is processed.

Terasen Gas pilot project captures, upgrades and injects biogas into natural gas system

Richard Gilbert

correspondent

Terasen Gas is developing a pilot project that will be the first municipal wastewater treatment plant in B.C. to capture, upgrade and inject biogas into the natural gas distribution system.

Biogas is a clean and renewable energy source that can be used for heating, electricity generation or as a transportation fuel.

A partnership between Terasen Gas, QuestAir Technologies Inc. and Metro Vancouver, plans to capture and purify biogas from operations at the Lions Gate sewage treatment plant in West Vancouver.

The biogas will be turned into methane and injected into Terasen’s natural gas pipeline system to provide energy for 100 homes.

“The project is already underway,” said Michael Chisholm, corporate communications manager at Terasen Gas.

It is currently in the design phase.

“We expect to be in operation by July 2009,” he said.

Biogas is primarily composed of methane, produced through anaerobic digestion of organic material from sources such as wastewater treatment facilities.

It is often referred to as renewable natural gas.

The solid waste is also separated from the liquid waste by a mechanical process.

“The primary sludge at the waste water treatment plant is processed in an anaerobic digester,” said Mark Ferguson, division manager water and waste water treatment with Metro Vancouver.

“One of the byproducts is methane gas, but the respiration of the bacteria also produces carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide.”

This is where QuestAir comes into the picture.

“Quest’s role is to provide the equipment that upgrades or purifies the biogas, that is produced at the plant, and brings it up to quality, so it can be injected into a gas line that serves residential users in West Vancouver,” said Andrew Hall, president and CEO of QuestAir Technologies Inc.

“We will go through regular installation next summer, test for quality and then go into commercial operation.”

According to Chisholm, the majority of the biogas at the Lions Gate wastewater treatment facility is used to heat the building and operate a boiler.

But, the plant produces more gas than can be used on site and the excess is flared or burned off.

So, the pilot project will capture the excess bio-methane.

“The primary objective of the pilot project is to validate the performance of QuestAir’s technology,” said Ferguson.

“The secondary objective for all the parties is to gain familiarity with injecting bio-methane into the Terasen Gas pipeline system.”

The pilot project is expected to cost $1.1 million, with $366,000 from the Innovative Clean Energy Fund.

The fund, which was introduced in 2007’s B.C. Energy Plan, seeks to accelerate the development of new energy technologies to help B.C. move towards greater energy self-sufficiency.

It is financed by a levy on electricity, natural gas, fuel oil and piped propane.

Terasen Gas announced plans in September for a new B.C.-wide alternative energy program seeking supplies of bio-methane developed from the conversion of organic waste from sewage treatment facilities, landfill sites and agriculture

At this time, Terasen Gas issued its preliminary Request for Expressions of Interest for biogas production.

Interested parties are encouraged to submit a proposal outlining their plan for a biogas collection and production facility.

Terasen Gas would purchase the raw biogas by way of a contract with the producer.

Terasen Gas will also consider opportunities to use the biogas in district energy systems, distributed electricity generation, and combined heat and power applications

The B.C.-wide initiative expands on the pilot project already underway at the Lions Gate wastewater treatment plant.

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