Process intensification of high-solids anaerobic digestion of organic solid waste

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Waste services represent a significant portion of the annual municipal budget in cities across Alberta and other provinces in Canada. Notably, municipalities and waste service providers across Canada continue to experience the challenges of balancing population growth and sustainable municipal solid waste (MSW) practices. Notably, landfilling of organic waste became a severe environmental and public health concern. The high-solids anaerobic digestion (HSAD) represents an attractive circular economy approach via bioconversion of organic solid waste to biogas that can meet on-site heat and electricity needs or be upgraded to renewable natural gas (RNG) or hydrogen gas. Nonetheless, various operational challenges, including low methane recovery and process instability, still limit HSAD systems from being widely applied in solid waste management facilities. In this proposed project, the research team will undertake systematic lab studies to achieve process intensification, high-quality biogas and enhance resilience against process instability. The lessons learned from this proposed project will open the doors of sustainability, diverting organic waste from landfills.