Date of Award
2-1-2025
Publication Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.Sc.
Department
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Keywords
Anaerobic digestion; Carbon credits; Clean fuel regulation; Feedstock planning; Multi attribute decision making; Organic waste management
Supervisor
Rajeev Ruparathna
Supervisor
Rajesh Seth
Rights
info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Unsustainable organic waste (OW) management significantly contributed to the global climate change crisis. Landfilling is the most widely used method to manage OW globally and in Canada as well which contributes to 2% of the country’s GHG emissions. As a response to these issues, Canada has imposed federal and provincial OW diversion targets, food waste landfilling bans, and regulations such as Clean Fuel Regulations (CFR). There is an urgent need to develop know-how and resources to aid sustainable waste management decision-making. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a hybrid solution for two burning issues: landfilling of OW and GHG emissions from fossil fuels. Life cycle carbon intensity (CI) assessment is a tool that can be used to evaluate the environmental sustainability of RNG production. Recently registered CFR in Canada has proposed a consistent approach for life cycle assessment on clean fuels produced in Canada. This research developed feedstock planning methods for RNG production using AD in the Canadian context from a life cycle thinking-based approach. In phase 1 of the study, the environmental and economic performance of RNG production focusing on the feedstock planning stage has been conducted. According to the life cycle CI assessment results, the environmental impacts of each feedstock type were monetized using carbon credits. The net revenue was calculated considering the RNG sales, carbon credits, tipping fee revenue, and feedstock price. SSO (200 CAD/t) gives the highest net revenue followed by GHW, and WC. Feedstocks that have low energy yield (DM & SS) showed considerable credit revenue potential which will be a good incentive for them. In phase 2, a feedstock prioritizing framework was proposed for the RNG industry to rank different feedstocks for RNG production. The feedstock ranking results indicated SSO as the preferred feedstock followed by GHW and WC. The findings of this research will aid RNG producers in identifying optimal feedstocks, thereby enhancing production efficiency. Additionally, the outcomes will contribute to Canada’s commitment to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) and advancing the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy.
Recommended Citation
Hewa Thalgasduwage, Kasun Gimhana Jayawickrama, "Sustainable Feedstock Planning for Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) Production via Anaerobic Digestion (AD): An Environmental Perspective with Economic Considerations" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 9643.
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/9643