In the fight against climate change, scientists are working on all fronts. An avant-garde project is emerging in Quebec. This involves valorizing cattle manure as well as agricultural and forestry residues through a dry biomethanization process developed in Europe, but very little used in the province until now.
Several partners are participating in the project, including researchers from the University of Quebec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), the Écoboeuf farm, the Rivière-du-Loup CEGEP, as well as Nexx Énergie, an engineering firm specializing in design and the integration of innovative bioenergy production solutions. Their common objective: to establish a pilot biomethane production unit at the Écoboeuf farm, located in Abitibi.
At Écoboeuf, our mission is to reduce the environmental footprint and ensure the sustainability of agriculture in the boreal environment. “We act across the entire value chain from research and development in agriculture to the marketing of products toencourage the adoption of best practices for the climate on farms,” says Simon Lafontaine, co-founder and agronomist. We are working on nature-based solutions, such as agroforestry, to see how we can integrate trees among grazing animals, and we are marketing grass-fed beef with added environmental value, with objective for it to be carbon neutral. »
According to him, it is important to provide an economic incentive to encourage farmers to implement agricultural practices that are more favorable to the environment and the reduction of GHGs. “Subsequently, we must also provide them with expertise, support and resources,” he adds.
This is also why Écoboeuf joined forces with UQAT researchers to develop this project for the biomethanization of cattle and forestry residues. “With a view to developing carbon-neutral cattle farming, we wanted to target all sources of emissions and tackle them. Since 2021, we have been thinking about ways to limit emissions from manure which accumulates in inter, which releases gases. This is what led us towards biomethanization which, in addition to the environmental gains, is a potential source of income for farmers. »
Biomethane produced on farm
“In this project, we use forest residues as a growth support for microorganisms, because we believe that certain wood residues will promote this growth and increase the methane production power of cattle manure. The yield will be higher by combining forest residues and cattle residues to produce biomethane,” explains Ahmed Koubaa, professor at the Forest Research Institute (IRF) and holder of the Canada Research Chair in valorization, the characterization and transformation of wood from the University of Quebec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT).
The biomethane thus produced will be reused on the farm. “In the context of regions like Abitibi-Témiscamingue, there is not a sufficient concentration of farms to have a centralized biomethanization unit which would be profitable. The idea is therefor that each farm produces its biomethane and uses it locally for different applications, such as agricultural machinery and heating of surrounding buildings, possibly allowing them to be autonomous in terms of energy production,” adds Ahmed Koubaa. .
Thus, fuels such as diesel could be replaced by biomethane, allowing a gain in terms of GHG reduction. For the moment, the objective is to finalize the implementation of this pilot unit within three to five years. According to the scientist, the quantity of biomethane produced would possibly be sufficient to supply the farm with energy.
“If the project demonstrates its effectiveness, it could be reproduced on all farms in Quebec,” adds the researcher. The model proposed by the researchers is already used in Europe, while larger-scale biomethanization models exist in the United States.
Potential economic gains
In addition to reducing energy costs, biogas production could even become a source of income for certain farms. “Elsewhere in the orld, there are farms which make more money from the sale of surplus biogas than from the sale of their agricultural production,” underlines Ahmed Koubaa.
On the other hand, within the framework of this project, the researchers always have in mind to measure the effects of each aspect of the activities in progress and to minimize the environmental footprint. “We are interested in the valorization of all the residues resulting from methanization. For example, we are studying the uses that could be made of digestate and biochar, which we obtain from biomass, in particular to fertilize soils,” explains Flavia Braghiroli, professor at IRF specializing in the valorization and recycling of forest products, who acts as co-researcher in this project.
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.
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