Surrey Biofuel Facility

Surrey’s closed loop system ensures that nearly 100% of organic waste collected at the Biofuel Facility is recovered and converted into reusable resources

There are four important steps in Surrey’s closed loop solution:

1. Diversion
2. Collection
3. Transformation
4. Reuse

Watch the video to see just how we close the loop. 

Although in-person tours are currently unavailable, you can still explore and understand how the facility operates through our informative video below:

In 2014, the City of Surrey selected Orgaworld Canada to design, build, finance, maintain and operate the Surrey Biofuel Processing Facility.

The Surrey Biofuel Facility opened on March 9, 2018.

• May 30, 2018: Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators Willis Award for Innovation
• March 9, 2018: Envision R Platinum Award

The Surrey Biofuel Facility, a showcase for its innovative use of anaerobic digestion and closed loop processing, represents a best practice example of implementing local infrastructure through a public-private partnership model. This model incorporates external funding sources, innovation and expertise, all to the benefit of taxpayers.

The facility is owned by City of Surrey and Operated by Convertus.

The Government of Canada contributed 16.9 million.

Our world-class odour abatement system starts literally at the front door as a sophisticated negative air pressure system draws air into the facility when the loading doors open to admit the waste collection trucks. The system extends to the entire building and contains 100% of the composting odour.

Once unloaded, the organic material is deposited into specially designed anaerobic digestion or composting tunnels. Each tunnel is sealed with a gas tight door. Inside the tunnels, carefully controlled amounts of air and water support microorganism colonies in the process of transforming organics into compost and biofuel. Ammonia is released during the decomposition process and ammonia gas is the primary source of the bad smells associated with composting.

As the air is expelled from the tunnels, it is channelled first through an ammonia scrubber, where sulphuric acid reacts with ammonia to produce ammonia sulphate. The ammonia sulphate is recovered and used as fertilizer. Next, the air is cooled to less than 40° and humidified by a counter current water spray. Once cooled and suitably saturated, the air passes through a woody bio-filter where another group of microorganisms are used to absorb remaining odours. Finally, the air is sent up the vapour stack and is rapidly dispersed 70m (20 stories) above the ground. Odour control at the Surrey Biofuel Facility is monitored continuously using E-nose technology.

The dry anaerobic digestion process uses anaerobic bacteria to produce biogas. The organic materials are sealed inside specially constructed anaerobic digestion tunnels fitted with airtight doors. Bacteria-rich percolate mixture that includes inoculants, liquids leached from organics during the anaerobic digestion process, and oils and fats recovered from commercial food operations, is sprayed onto the new material in the tunnels. This activates the biogas production process.

Humidity and pressure is continuously monitored. Once the process, which takes 21 – 28 days, is complete, the raw biogas is transported to the adjacent Gasholder.

Biogas is produced by the breakdown of organic waste in an oxygen free environment. It is a mixture of approximately 60% methane (CH4), 39% carbon dioxide (CO2) and trace contaminants. Upgrading biogas produces biomethane, a renewable natural gas (RNG) that is interchangeable with natural gas and can be injected into natural gas distribution grids or used as vehicle fuel.

Water scrubbing is an energy efficient and environmentally friendly technology used to upgrade biogas. To begin, the raw biogas is compressed and fed into a scrubber. Inside the scrubber, the biogas is showered with water. This process captures the methane (CH4) and washes out the CO2 and other impurities.

Any methane not captured in the scrubber is “flashed off” in the flash tank and recovered. The “sparkling” water from the flash tank is pumped into a stripper where the CO2 is released from the H2O. The clean water circulates back into the scrubber and the CO2 is recovered for use elsewhere in the facility.

The clean gas is then dried and injected into the grid. Greenlane Biogas, a world leader in biogas upgrading solutions with offices in Burnaby, BC, supplied the biogas upgrading system for the City of Surrey’s Organic Biofuel Facility.

Fresh organic waste, combined with digestate and inoculants, is placed in enclosed composting tunnels fitted with specialized spigot aeration systems, and the tunnels are sealed with an airtight door. Digestate is the material remaining after the anaerobic digestion process used to create biogas. Inoculants are materials collected from previous composting cycles.

Temperature, humidity and pressure levels in the tunnels are continually monitored to create the ideal conditions for microorganisms to complete the composting process. If oxygen levels drop, the aeration system injects fresh air up through the material to increase the oxygen level. This ensures that no anaerobic spots develop.

At the same time, humidity levels are controlled by a leachate system that sprays water down onto the composting material. Under these optimized conditions microorganisms convert the organics into compost in a process that takes two to three weeks.

After the composting process in the tunnels is complete, it is moved from the tunnels to the refinement section, where the material is separated into compost, inoculant materials and oversized fractions. The oversized fractions mainly consist of plastics that can be converted into a solid recovered fuel (SRF).

Biogas, a mixture made of methane, carbon dioxide and small traces of various other gases. It is often referred to as ‘deep green energy’ because it is not only renewable, but is derived through non-harmful means to the environment. Biogas is upgraded to a renewable natural gas (RNG) by removing carbon dioxide and other contaminated gases. RNG is biomethane, which is chemically very similar to natural gas, as it contains over 96% methane.

City of Surrey and FortisBC partnership

The City of Surrey partners with FortisBC to distribute the upgraded biogas from the facility into the FortisBC natural gas grid, ensuring it is available for use in BC homes and businesses. Surrey utilizes 100% of the RNG generated at the facility.

Biomethane is two times more energy efficient at generating electricity than regular biogas.

Upgraded biomethane is compliant with FortisBC’s recommended methane quality of up to 96%.

FortisBC RNG program

As an energy leader, FortisBC is the first North American utility to offer a Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) Program to its customers. The utility continues to invest in new infrastructure and works closely with municipalities, food processors and their energy and waste partners to close the loop on organic materials by diverting these materials from landfill, and using them to generate RNG.

RNG is a locally produced, carbon neutral energy source available for use in BC homes and businesses. FortisBC uses proven biogas purification equipment to ensure the biomethane meets the same quality standards FortisBC customers have come to rely upon for conventional natural gas.

Currently with its five suppliers, including the Surrey Biofuel Facility when it is fully operational, the estimated annual RNG production will be 320,000 GJ, which is enough to heat about 3,500 homes for a year. These projects help reduce B.C.'s carbon footprint since the methane captured would otherwise escape into the atmosphere.

FortisBC is committed to working with suppliers to provide British Columbians with a safe, affordable and reliable energy supply. 

'Grade A' closed loop compost made proudly in BC

Compost is the second loop provided by the Surrey Biofuel Facility. Our rich, high quality compost proudly carries the ‘Made in BC’ label. It can be used in commercial and residential landscaping, to nurture BC crops and gardens, and to promote animal health.

Growing benefits

Closed Loop Compost supports healthy root systems and makes plants thrive. It also sequesters carbon dioxide in the soil, contributing to climate change mitigation. Additional growing benefits include the following:

• 5% increase in compost quadruples the water holding capacity of soil
• Supports living soil microorganisms that make plants more resistant to disease
• Promotes healthy root growth and fortifies soil fertility
• Attracts earthworms that help with aeration
• Protects soil from chemical imbalances
• Improves soil health, texture and tilth
• Adds essential nutrients to the soil

Prior to distribution, all Closed Loop Compost undergoes vigorous testing to ensure it passes all federal (CCME) and provincial (OMRR) regulations.

Ammonia sulphate generated from the anaerobic digestion process is upgraded to a 13% liquid fertilizer for use in the BC agriculture sector. Liquid fertilizer provides a supply of micronutrients essential to plant survival that can absorb quickly into the soil and feed plant growth for up to two weeks. This product is ideal for BC produce crops - particularly berry cultures. With a high nitrogen content, it can speed up root growth, fortify root strength, control weeds and improve water retention during hot summer months, reducing long-term watering costs.

• Liquid fertilizer will obtain CFIA certification as outlined in the Fertilizers Act and Regulations.
• Output quantity: 3,500 tonnes/year