Alberta plasma gasification project could turn garbage into fuel

It may sound pie-in-the-sky, but the Alberta government is calling for proposals showing innovation in plasmagasificationwhich would essentiallyvaporizewaste and convertitinto fuel.

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Babatunde Olateju is a scientistwithAlberta Innovates - Energy and Environment Solutions (AI-EES), the provincial body that just sent out a call for proposals showing innovation in plasma gasification,a process thatcould dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and perhaps eveneliminate landfills in the province.

Plasmagasificationuses intense heatup to 4,000 Cto convert waste to gas. Due to the higher temperatures used in the process, some toxic materials, including oil and gas by-products, can be burned and used right along with household garbage.

"So instead of having us essentially depositing waste at landfills, we actually use them to produce value-added productsthings like electricity, heat, biofuels, but in this case, the plant would be producing methanol," he said.

The request for proposals is looking for organizations that can demonstrate the ability to convert waste at a smaller scale, making the process viable for rural Alberta.

"We believe that greenhouse gas mitigation, along with economic diversification of Alberta, particularly in rural Alberta that will facilitate development, is in line with the government of Alberta's objectives as well," saidOlateju.

Greenhouse gases

He points to the fact that methaneis 25 times more potent as a greenhouse gas compared to carbon dioxide. Approximately 20 per cent of Canada's methane emissions come from landfills.

"So mitigating or reducing our reliance on landfills is in our best interest if we'd like to realize a lower carbon economy and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions footprint," he said.

Successful vendors would have up to a maximum of nine months to prove their technology at which time the province will make decisions about the future use of the technology.

AI-EES has a target of reducing the amount of waste heading to landfills 50 per cent by 2030, butOlateju says the organization is already looking beyond that target.

"In the long term we'd like to realize,we envision an Albertawhere we wouldn't have the need for landfills," he said.