Converting Waste to Renewable Energy
Not to be confused with natural gas (which is non-renewable), biogas is a naturally occurring, renewable by-product of anaerobic digestion, the process by which bacteria break down organic matter in the absence of oxygen.
Anaerobic digestion happens at scale in industrial facilities, such as Escarpment Renewables, where micro-organisms digest emulsified food and beverage waste in closed vats, also known as digestors.
Methane-forming bacteria converts volatile acids in organic matter into biogas, which is composed of about 60% methane, 40% carbon dioxide, and trace amounts of water vapor, hydrogen sulfide, and ammonia.
Biogas into Heat and Power
Combined heat and power (CHP) systems can have an efficiency rate of up to 90%, compared to the 45-50% efficiency rate of traditional energy systems.
At Escarpment Renewables, we collected biogas in the head space of digestion tanks and pipe it to storage bladders where we continuously monitor its quality.
The simultaneous production of heat and electricity in a single unit make CHPs more efficient than traditional power generation systems that produce them independently of one another.
During traditional power generation methods, fossil fuels are combusted and the resultant heat is discharged into the atmosphere, where its value is lost.
CHP units capture and re-use the heat generated by the combustion process to create a self-sustaining cycle of production and consumption.
The electricity generated at our facility is also fed to the Ontario power grid. Our facility has the capacity to generates 1Megawatt of energy per hour, enough to power 830 homes.
The heat generated by Escarpment Renewable's CHP is used pasteurization tanks to eliminate pathogens in the organic waste.
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