The Hamlet of Rosebud is seeing first-hand cutting-edge technology that could change how communities and industries deal with their wastewater.
Symbiotic Envirotek Inc. has set up a pilot project in the community treating the hamlet’s wastewater with its patented process using simple algae. It has attracted interest from other communities in Alberta and all over the world. In fact, last week African royalty came to check out the site.
Art Deane is president and CEO of Symbiotic Envirotek, and is also operating the pilot. It is a 1:50 scale treatment facility, that is operating, producing clean water, and a marketable biomass. This biomass can be used for anything from fertilizers to an organic synthetic crude that can be used for biofuels and lubricants, plastics, and even drilling fluid.
Another advantage is the algae’s ability to sequester carbon dioxide.
“The primary motivation is to actually take your environmentally damaging liquid waste discharge that has created some of the toxic algae blooms we see in rivers, lakes, and streams and also preserve the watershed,” explains Deane. “Ultimately we would like to be able to use this water for irrigation at minimum.”
He says by creating a marketable product in treating waste, it helps to offset infrastructure costs.
The goal of the six-month trial is to prove efficacy and then they would be able to apply for approval for a full sized water treatment system.
“The whole project is to demonstrate to Alberta Environment and other parties of interest around the world that we can take these environmentally damaging water streams and change them into clean water. The second objective is usable biomass.”
The same process can create food grade biomass that also has myriad of uses.
“This product has 60 per cent protein and 19 essential amino acids. This is just as nutritional as some of the most nutritional foods out there, steak, milk, Atlantic salmon,” he said.
While often the product comes as a tablet, some companies are using it in products such as pasta.
The team includes Neil Ross who is responsible for research and development activities and Elizabeth Huculak, vice president of products and operations.
The process is simple.
The wastewater is filtered and brought up to optimum conditions such as temperature and PH, and it is introduced to the algae in optimal growing conditions. In about four days, they are able to harvest the algae through a centrifuge and release clean water into the environment.
The project has received funding from the National Research Council of Canada, through the Industrial Research Adaptations Program, and also from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, through its green municipal fund.
The project also found a willing partner with Wheatland County and the Hamlet of Rosebud. Its interest comes from the fact that Rosebud’s wastewater system is nearing the end of its lifecycle.
LaVerne Erickson went door-to-door to get approval from residents to allow the pilot to be set up in the community.
“The concrete is starting to break down, so we have to find a new solution,” Erickson said, adding that in fact there is a moratorium on development in the hamlet until they come up with a solution for its wastewater.
The pilot project will be operating through the next few months.
