Email requesting background or supporting information for environmental claims made on the website of the bio-digester that is jointly owned by Chatsworth and the Township of Georgian Bluffs
Email requesting background or supporting information for environmental claims made on the website of the bio-digester that is jointly owned by Chatsworth and the Township of Georgian Bluffs
Email requesting background or supporting information for environmental claims made on the website of the bio-digester that is jointly owned by Chatsworth and the Township of Georgian Bluffs
To: 'ppaquette@geogianbluffs.on.ca' Cc: 'Pringle, Bob'; 'McKay, Terry'; 'Brian Gamble'; 'smackey@chatsworth.ca'; 'Will Moore'; 'Barfoot, Alan' Subject: A few questions about information on the website
Hi Peter,
I am sending this email to request some background information, please, for statements on the Bio- GRID website. Just so everything is above-the-board, I am asking because some of the information on the BIO-Grid website seems to be incomplete (if not incorrect), and I wouldnt want to make any such claims on my blog (at http://shininglightonchatsworth.wordpress.com/about/bio-digester/) without first touching base with you.
I have questions about three of the myths discussed under the Education tab.
1. Fact 1: Anaerobic digesters are air tight tanks. All of the gases produced do not escape the digester. So in this process when the gas produces clean electricity, it has no odour.
The air tight tanks part of this addresses the issue of leakage, but dont the gases essentially escape when they are burned? And if that is the case, then it seems to me that the final sentence can only be true if the exhaust is odourless (that is, if all of the odour molecules are destroyed through combustion). Has the exhaust been tested for odours? If not, will you please point me to a reference that would support what must be your assumption that the combustion of the methane also burns or destroys or neutralizes all odours? Finally on this point, what happens when the generation equipment is out of service for some reason or other?
2. Fact 2: The end product of electricity that is produced does initially cost a little more than other hydro alternatives. But the environmental benefits that are considered when using an Anaerobic Digester are much greater. These benefits being; reduced greenhouse gas emissions, diversion from landfills, increased water and food safety, reduced farm odour, and renewable electricity. All of these being the most economical, and environmentally friendly and sustainable energy that is available today.
At this point, Im interested in the four stated benefits that I have underlined. Background information and sources would be appreciated. Please note that I am seeking information related to the jointly-owned bio-digester, not bio-digesters in general that are typically fuelled with animal manures:
How does the bio-digester reduce greenhouse gas emissions and what is the magnitude, roughly, of the reduction? What assumptions does your calculation depend upon? Does this claim take trucking to the site into account? Does it take into account periods of time (perhaps in terms of probabilities) when the generation equipment is out of service (very important because methane is about 20 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide)? How does the bio-digester reduce diversion to landfills? What studies are you aware of that quantify the risks resulting from: a) spreading raw septage on vacant agricultural land that has been approved by MoE (or a comparable entity in a different jurisdiction) for that purpose; and b) spreading digestate on a farm field? I know that the bio- digester result in a major reduction in pathogens, but do you have information about what happens to heavy metals or drugs? It would seem possible to me that the bio-digester may effectively concentrate drugs or heavy metals. By what mechanism does the bio-digester reduce risks to food safety? How does the bio-digester reduce farm odours?
3. Fact 5: Anaerobic Digesters are very efficient. In fact the process of biogas being used as electricity has been around for many years. Today as well there are thousands of digesters producing renewable and clean electricity around the world.
Do you have information about how many of the thousands of bio-digesters around the world are primarily used for human waste?