Technological Innovations to Mitigate Greenhouse Gas Emissions

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The proposed research program deals with advancing two technologies capable of reducing point- and area-source GHG emissions associated with oil and gas industry and landfills accepting biodegradable organic waste. The point-source emissions could be controlled by high-rate methanotrophic biofiltration (HMBF); a technology we have developed and promoted by undertaking fundamental and applied research in the past. The current project further advances the knowledge base to enable field-scale application of the technology. Area-source GHG emissions associated with landfills will be controlled by the application of landfill biocell technology (LBT), where waste cells are operated in anaerobic and aerobic bioreactor modes and subsequent mining for recovery of resources and space. LBT originated, in part, from the realization that operation of conventional “entombed” landfills for the sole objective of controlling groundwater contamination is not sustainable, and could be counter-productive in relation to landfill gas related problems and resource conservation. Although this sustainable in-ground waste processing approach has the potential to solve a number of environmental and social problems associated with conventional landfilling, a number of technical obstacles prevent its adoption in a large scale. The current program addresses several technical issues. Training of graduate student and other HQPs is a key component of this project, with more than 80% of the project funds used for this purpose. Six graduate students (three PhD and three MSc) and several summer students will participate in the research. The HQPs are expected to complement their academic training with hands on experience and will go on to contribute richly to the Canadian knowledge and economy.