City of Surrey Develops Biofuels Education Program at Surrey Biofuel Facility

(City of Surrey) Orgaworld and the City of Surrey are committed to increasing the awareness of waste management and sustainable living through education, early adoption and applied research. In addition to a visit to our on-site Education Centre, we encourage exploration of the wide range of available materials that map to responsible waste management and waste reduction and the science behind composting, anaerobic digestion and the creation of biofuel.

STUDENT RESOURCES
The Surrey Biofuel Facility is like a science laboratory in your own backyard! Are you curious about how anaerobic digestion works, what an electronic nose is, or how many bacteria there are in the world? The following are a few of the topics you may want to investigate further with a visit to our facility.

Anaerobic digestion - Anaerobic digestion is the simple, natural breakdown of organic matter into carbon dioxide, methane and water by two groups of microorganisms, bacteria and archaea. Since many of these organisms are intolerant to oxygen, this process is known as anaerobic.

E-nose – An electronic nose detects the chemical components of an odour and performs analysis to identify it based on that information. Every odour is made up of molecules and each molecule is a particular size and shape, which corresponds to a similarly sized-and-shaped receptor in the human nose. When specific receptors in a human nose receive their matching molecules, they send signals to the brain, which identifies the smell associated with those particular molecules. An e-nose is based on the biological model work similarly, substituting sensors for receptors and transmitting the signal to a software program for processing, rather than to the brain. Check out the e-nose sensors at our facility.

Microorganisms bacteria and archaea - The number of bacteria in the world is estimated to be around 5 million trillion trillion. There are more bacteria on earth than there are stars in the universe! These single cell microorganisms are found everywhere in nature, from glaciers to temperature 140 °C. Bacteria reproduce by a kind of cell division called binary fission. Binary fission results in the formation of two bacterial cells that are genetically identical. Archaea are also single cell microorganisms but have a cell membrane different to bacteria. Archaea are able to withstand extreme conditions and can reside in environments like hydrothermal vents, sulfuric waters or acidic streams. They can absorb carbon dioxide, hydrogen, sulfur or ammonia to acquire food. See the conditions where bacteria and archaea are at work at the Surrey Biofuel Facility.

Biogas – Biogas is a mixture of approximately 60% methane and 40% carbon dioxide, and contains trace contaminants like hydrogen sulphide. Water scrubbing is used to remove the carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide since these gases are more soluble in water than methane. The end product, which is renewable natural gas, is dried and injected into the grid. See where the upgraded biogas feeds into the natural gas grid at the Surrey Biofuel Facility.

WHAT’S YOUR BIG IDEA?

Showcase your science project in the BC Green Games. Contests held by Science World for projects supporting environmental action and stewardship. Open to K-12 classes.

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TEACHER RESOURCES

Looking for teaching aids, curriculum ideas or videos about the technology and valuable outputs of anaerobic digestion, the role of compost in climate change or waste diversion?

Learn Biofuels.org

Interactive website centered on the science of biofuels. Includes lessons and activities organized by grade level. http://www.learnbiofuels.org

Build an Anaerobic Digester (High School)

Activity designed to demonstrate anaerobic digestion by having students build small-scale anaerobic digesters with 2-liter plastic soda bottles. http://resources.fastplants.org//agriscience/agris...

Compost Council of Canada

National non-profit organization dedicated to compost education and advocacy. http://www.compost.org/English/ENGLISH_INDEX.htm

Surrey Environmental Education in the Classroom

Learn more about a suite of free, highly interactive and curriculum-connected workshops. http://www.surrey.ca/city-services/4572.aspx

Waste Free Lunch Challenge

A comprehensive guide to hosting a waste free lunch challenge for your classroom or school. http://www.rcbc.ca/files/u6/RCBC Waste Free ...

Classroom Waste Audit (K-12)

Activity to introduce responsible waste management practices to children of all ages. http://resourcefulschools.org/wp-content/uploads/0...

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TOUR OUR FACILITY
Come visit our state-of-the-art facility that includes an Education Centre and observation windows for an inside look at our closed loop system. From feedstock collection, compost creation and biogas production, our tours offer insight into how the facility functions and our role in reducing Surrey’s carbon footprint.

To request a tour, please email: SBFtours@surrey.ca. READ MORE