Improving the performance of greenhouse gas reducing tools

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As long term objective, this research develops sustainable technologies for recycling organic waste and wastewaters, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GGE). Besides other related projects, the objectives of the two main upcoming projects are to improve: composting feasibility to divert 100% of the organic waste from landfills, and; biofilters for CH4 oxidizing to increase their use by livestock enterprises and old landfills. The first main project will investigate the advantages of source separating food waste (SS-FW) compared to mechanically sorting the organic fraction from municipal solid wastes (OF-MSW), within the collaboration started: in 2000 with the Tournesol composting centre of the Montreal Plateau, training 3 undergraduate and 1 M. Sc. students, and; in 2004 with the Rennes Cemagref, France, hosting 1 M. Sc. and 1 Ph. D. student from 2007-09. The Ph. D. student will return to McGill to research SS-FW and OF-MSW for contamination levels and for composting feasibility (treatment time, ventilation requirements, GGE, product quality and stabilization) under controlled laboratory conditions. Thus, municipalities can select the best type of separation method to improve the feasibility of costly composting facilities. Continuing the 2004-06 collaboration with Agriculture and Agro-Food Canada (AAC), the second main project involves biofilters for CH4 oxidation and their improvement by studying the rate of CH4 transfer from the air stream to the biofilter water films, a limiting process. This rate will be investigated in the laboratory under various conditions and using an inert medium of known surface area simulating the biofilter. This gas transfer function will be added to an existing methane biofiltration microbial model, to be calibrated and validated with field data collected in 2004-06 with AAC. The results will be used to optimize the CH4 oxidation of biofilters and lower its application cost. The two main priorities of the 2009-14 program will help reduce GGE from two important sources, agriculture and landfill sites, responsible for 1 and 3% of all Canadian emissions. The project targets a world wide priority aimed at slowing earth warming trends and allowing more time for adaptation measures.