City of Chilliwack Feasibility Study of Biogas Use at the Wastewater Treatment Facility

The City of Chilliwack will conduct a feasibility study to optimize the biogas production at the Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) and to explore options to use the biogas.The feasibility study will be divided into two phases. The first phase will focus on the optimization of biogas production through identification of pre-processing requirements for various organic substrate streams. Organic substrates that could be used to optimize biogas production include fats, oils and grease (FOG), source separated organic waste, and biomass from the high strength pre-treatment facility. The second phase will focus on evaluating potential biogas uses, including the generation of electricity, and the production of bio-methane.Currently, only 40% of the total generated biogas is used specifically to fuel one 600 kW dual fuel hot water boiler in the municipal WWTF. The remainder of the generated biogas is flared to the atmosphere.This feasibility study will also evaluate a number of energy efficiency measures that may be employed at the WWTF. Potential measures include the use of biogas as a fuel source for additional boilers on-site, and the use of biogas for combined heat and power (CHP) or co-generation, in which both heat and electricity are produced.The implementation of biogas conversion to clean energy will result in various positive environmental impacts, namely the reduction of fossil fuels consumption and the reduction of GHG emissions. An analysis of the environmental, economic and social attributes will be used as a comparative tool to select the biogas use option that offers the greatest benefits to the City and to the community. Based on the recommendations from the feasibility study, the City would adopt a method for maximizing the production of biogas and optimizing the beneficial use of the biogas.