City of Toronto Anaerobic Digester and Municipal Solid Waste Dryer and Homogenizer

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City of Toronto Anaerobic Digester

The objective of this Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) project activity is to improve anaerobic digestion of the Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW).

Anaerobic digestion is a simple process whereby organic matter is degraded by anaerobic (oxygen independent) microorganisms. With growing waste disposal concerns, anaerobic digesters are increasingly being used for reducing waste volumes and generating value added products. This activity consists of producing an assessment of the energy potential of anaerobically digested Source Separated Organic (SSO) material from the City of Toronto's MSW. Toronto's Dufferin Organics Processing Facility, a demonstration plant, will be employed for this study. Several process variables and their impact on the quality and quantity of biogas and residual solids produced through anaerobic digestion will be examined. Process variables of interest include solids retention time, feeding frequency, and sludge recycling. Material inputs and outputs including SSO pulp, biogas, digester solids, and digester effluent will be monitored. Analyses of organics, metals, and nutrients will be conducted. Technical issues such as feedstock pre-treatment requirements will also be a focus of this study. Following bench and pilot scale testing, process optimization scale up information will be used for wide application of anaerobic digester systems in the City of Toronto.

Integrated anaerobic digester systems will be developed for small farms and suitable for cold climates. Significant reductions of GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emissions are anticipated by this research through the capture of methane and the production of renewable energy.

Municipal Solid Waste Dryer & Homogenizer

Dufferin Organics Processing
Facility's Anaerobic Digester,
City of Toronto

The objective of this NRCan project activity is to assess the composition and energy content of heterogeneous waste materials.

There is growing interest from municipalities to use landfill residues to generate energy and byproducts. Equipment such as homogenizers and dryers are proving useful for handling and disposing waste. This activity consists of setting up MSW equipment to facilitate the assessment of the composition and energy content of heterogeneous waste materials. Feedstock will be prepared for evaluation of conversion processes. A dryer and cutting mill will be purchased, assembled, and commissioned. The dryer and homogenizer system will be used to process and prepare samples of MSW and proximate, ultimate, and ash analyses will be performed. The potential applications of the homogenizer including for the analysis of the wastes, study of feedstocks, applications in digestion, and in gasification and pyrolysis conversion technologies are of particular interest. An overall equipment assessment will also be conducted for the laboratory scale environment and scale up issues will be investigated.

Waste will serve as a resource for the recovery of value added products. A number of municipalities including Toronto have expressed an interest in having their wastes characterized. There is also involvement with the city of Halifax and interest from the city of Saskatoon for this project's research.