Canada's SUBBOR, Enhanced Anaerobic Digestion Technology

Abstract

Waste biomass disposition is a growing problem facing municipalities. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), to name one example, comprises 300,000,000 tonnes of organic-rich refuse per year in North America. MSW contributes approximately 4% of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through the release of methane from decomposing landfilled waste.

SUBBOR is a patented anaerobic digestion biotechnology that replaces landfills by processing wastes in a controlled industrial facility. The technology employs unique treatment steps that increase digestibility of wastes and therefore the biogas energy yield when processing biomass. Most biomass materials have suffered from limited digestibility and thus, poor utility, due to the physical/chemical nature of the lignin-rich fiber, prevalent in these materials.

SUBBOR's technological advances have overcome this problem. The integrated process provides enhanced biogas/energy yields, produces a stable peat-like by-product, destroys all pathogenic microorganisms and pennits treatment of a wide range of biomass types.

Current life-cycle assessment models indicate that, relative to the baseline practice of landfill disposal, SUBBOR can provide a combined GHG off-set credit of up to 3 tonnes CO₂ per ton of MSW processed. This large GHG reduction potential is separate from other GHG mitigation approaches and therefore can greatly assist municipalities in achieving sustainable development while cushioning the economic impact of GHG reductions in the traditional energy-consuming sectors.