Biogas Co-substrates for the Farm and Food Sectors Workshop
Friday, March 12, 2010
London Convention Centre, London, Ontario, Canada
London Convention Centre, London, Ontario, Canada
Co-Substrates Mean More Energy
Almost all biogas systems currently operating or being constructed in Ontario are taking or plan to take off-farm source co-substrates. Fifty percent or more of potential energy generated by anaerobic digestion systems using off-farm organics is sourced from these co-substrates. In short, biogas systems need off-farm organics.
However, several issues need to be resolved in order to make the use of co-substrates viable. For instance, are there enough co-substrates available to fully supply existing and future biogas systems? Have the “low hanging fruit” already been picked and what’s left for the future? Will the quality and consistency of these co-substrates be good enough to support the continued expansion of biogas systems? Are rules for management of co-substrates fostering the safe and effective utilization of co-substrates?
These are the key issues that will be tabled and discussed by experts and all those attending the Biogas Co-Substrates for the Farm and Food Sectors Workshop.
Who should attend?
Both suppliers and users of biogas co-substrates should attend so as to learn more about this very effective option to manage organics. Most important, biogas system operators need to assure themselves of long-term access to this primary, energy-rich fuel source.
Regulators and researchers should attend because this evolving process offers many opportunities - - with regard to organics waste management and green energy production. They will be instrumental in realizing these opportunities, and likewise, helping to answer outstanding questions.
Participants from other provinces and from US states will be encouraged to attend in order to learn from others’ experiences.
The Biogas Co-Substrates Workshop is presented by Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Organic Resource Management Inc.
Preliminary Agenda
Almost all biogas systems currently operating or being constructed in Ontario are taking or plan to take off-farm source co-substrates. Fifty percent or more of potential energy generated by anaerobic digestion systems using off-farm organics is sourced from these co-substrates. In short, biogas systems need off-farm organics.
However, several issues need to be resolved in order to make the use of co-substrates viable. For instance, are there enough co-substrates available to fully supply existing and future biogas systems? Have the “low hanging fruit” already been picked and what’s left for the future? Will the quality and consistency of these co-substrates be good enough to support the continued expansion of biogas systems? Are rules for management of co-substrates fostering the safe and effective utilization of co-substrates?
These are the key issues that will be tabled and discussed by experts and all those attending the Biogas Co-Substrates for the Farm and Food Sectors Workshop.
Who should attend?
Both suppliers and users of biogas co-substrates should attend so as to learn more about this very effective option to manage organics. Most important, biogas system operators need to assure themselves of long-term access to this primary, energy-rich fuel source.
Regulators and researchers should attend because this evolving process offers many opportunities - - with regard to organics waste management and green energy production. They will be instrumental in realizing these opportunities, and likewise, helping to answer outstanding questions.
Participants from other provinces and from US states will be encouraged to attend in order to learn from others’ experiences.
The Biogas Co-Substrates Workshop is presented by Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Organic Resource Management Inc.
Preliminary Agenda
| 8:00 - 9:00am | Registration |
| 9:00 - 9:30am | Welcome and Introductions John McMullen, GTM Chair Overview of current situation: Ontario, North America and Europe Jake DeBruyn, Engineer - New Technology Integration, OMAFRA |
| 9:30 - 10:30am | Opportunities - Types of material - Sources of material, competing uses, what’s available - Rating materials - Identifying new opportunities. (e.g., new materials such as airport de-icing fluid?) Panel Chair: Don Hilborn, Engineer – Byproducts, OMAFRA Jens Bo Holm-Nielson, Center for Bioenergy and Green Engineering, Aalborg University, Denmark Phil Dick, Food Industry Branch, OMAFRA Dennis Dick, Seacliff Energy Richard St. Jean, Consulting Engineer, AMEC |
| 10:30 - 10:45am | Refreshment Break |
| 10:45 - 12:00am | Best Practices - Safety - Transportation and material handling - Monitoring, testing and quality control - Farmer perspective - Determining value of material - Mixing and the recipe Panel Chair: Don Hilborn, Engineer – Byproducts, OMAFRA Randy Van Berkel, Vandermeer Greenhouses Dennis Dick, Seacliff Energy Torsten Fischer, Krieg + Fischer Ingenieure GmbH, Germany Douglas Carruthers, VP, Corporate Development, Organic Resource Management |
| 12:00 - 1:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:00 - 2:15pm | Legislation - Current Status - Ontario - What can be learned from other jurisdictions? - Are there opportunities that current legislation does not cover? Panel Chair: Don Hilborn, Engineer – Byproducts, OMAFRA Torsten Fischer, Krieg + Fischer Ingenieure GmbH, Germany Chris Duke, Biogas Prgm Coordinator, Environmental Man’gmt Branch, OMAFRA Mohsen Keyvani, Senior Program Coordinator, Environmental Assessment and Approvals Branch, Ontario Ministry of Environment |
| 2:15 - 3:00pm | What’s next? Don Hilborn/Jake DeBruyn, OMAFRA |
