confessions of a former food waste composter: why ... taylor… · confessions of a former food...
TRANSCRIPT
Confessions of a Former Food Waste Composter: Why Anaerobic Digestion is a
Game-Changing Technology
Paul Taylor, Bio-En Power Inc
A bit of my background: I love composting
• • • • • • •
• Got my first facility approval in 1987 • A founder of the Compost Council of Canada • Municipal food waste pilots in the mid-’90’s • Every conceivable organic waste material
• More than 500,000 tons processed • I am familiar with the challenges
A bit of Canadian background: • • • • • • •
• Halifax: curbside municipal organics 1999 • Most of southern Ontario has had curbside
organics for more than 10 years • Reliance on in-vessel composters
• Problems with odour, plastics, compost quality—we could do better
Every so often, a new idea comes along that really
changes everything Steve Jobs
This is what changed my mind. It solved all the problems.
Is there any kind of food waste processing in your future?
Then forget composting and go straight to biogas
5 reasons why: • • • • • • •
1. Zero odour 2. Can handle badly-contaminated organics
3. You get to make a lot of renewable energy 4. End-product marketing is easier
5. Cheaper than composting
Bio-En Power: Elmira, Ontario 77,000 tpa
City of Toronto 83,000 tpa
Zero odor I’m not kidding (I know about odor) Elmira: 20 homes within 300 yards NIMBY, but still zero complaints Toronto: clean industry neighbors at 100
yards YOU CAN BUILD THESE PLANTS ANYWHERE
How is this possible? • • • • • • •
• Very small, air-tight facility • Only waste receiving is a source of odors
• High-quality biofilters
It really is time to permanently end the linkage between organic wastes
and odor.
Contaminated organics are easy
Assuming ‘wet’ type of technology
What composting plant would let this in the door?
Or this?
How about this?
You’d have to be crazy But modern, ‘wet’ digesters can handle this material with ease Think about the potential.
Huge implications: • • • • • • •
• You can handle municipal organics in plastic • You can handle high-density residential
• You can handle commercial wastes with a lot of contamination
• And you still produce a pristine end product
You get to make lots of renewable energy As electricity, or as natural gas Energy = significant new revenue Climate change value not an option with composting
Each of these plants makes enough energy to keep about 100 waste
collection trucks on the road every day
This is what the future looks like.
Be careful: • • • • • • •
Not all biogas plants are created equal:
Some make a lot more energy than others,
from the same wastes
Smart, simple & painless marketing of the end product
It’s called digestate
You don’t need to de-water
Super-clean, pasteurized, liquid fertilizer
No revenue, but we can’t meet the demand
The Toronto plant de-waters their digestate in a centrifuge, treats the
water, and composts the solids
It’s cheaper than a comparable composting system
• Capital costs should be about equal to composting
• Operating costs are lower, because you
get to sell the energy you make
Anaerobic Digestion is where we’re going.
Wayne Gretzky always said he just skated to where the puck is going to be.
Not where it already was.
