PROJECT UPDATE: Canada’s First Zoo Gas Anaerobic Digester – Primary Digester Complete

The Metro Toronto Zoo broke ground in February 2020 on Canada’s first zoo-based digester facility and Octaform completed the main anaerobic digestion tank in April 2020. ZooShare will help turn the Zoo’s animal waste combined with food spoilage from local grocery stores into fertilizer and renewable power for the Ontario grid.

SCALE & IMPACTS OF THE PROJECT:

The ZooShare biogas plant has a capacity of 500kW and will generate 4.1 million kilowatt-hours for the Ontario grid each year. This is enough to power about 250 homes! This process will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of 10,000 tonnes of C02 each year and will return valuable nutrients to the soil in the form of high-quality fertilizer.

• Process over 17,000 tonnes of feedstock per year
• Produce up t to 4.1 Gigawatts of green electricity per year
• Return pasteurized high-nutrient manure for fertilizer
• Offer extensive community engagement for school groups, private industry, and government

SOLUTIONS USED IN THIS PROJECT:

This project used a combination of Octaform stay-in-place PVC formwork and Quick Liner PVC Wall & Ceiling Panels used on the ceilings.

CONSTRUCTION DETAILS – PRIMARY DIGESTER:

• Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• 33′ high X 50′ diameter for a total of 1,963 Cubic Meters (518,570 Gallons)
• 10″ thick concrete + 2″ EPS foam insulation
• Completed: April 2020 – Primary Digester
• Purpose: Anaerobic Digestion for combined restaurant and zoo waste

OCTAFORM ADVANTAGES – COST & FITNESS FOR PURPOSE:

Octaform was chosen versus cast-in-place concrete to offer less maintenance, improved service life, corrosion resistance, and system performance. Additionally, Octaform’s tank solution was less capital intensive than cast-in-place with membrane systems.

• Decreased total cost versus concrete plus polyurethane applied membrane coating
• Reduced construction time and labor
• Insulation cast-in
• Reduced costs in stripping forms, application of coatings or PVC panels after construction

IMPROVED OPERATING PERFORMANCE:

• Improved operating costs due to the thermal performance of the structure – the thermal mass of concrete on the interior of the structure with insulation on the exterior
• Durable, tank interior resists corrosion and requires no mid-life servicing or re-coating

CONSTRUCTION PHOTOS:

 

 

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROJECT

More project details including are included in the Biogas World Fall 2020 Projects Showcase Report (pg. 58) as well as an outline of the self-cleaning system provided by FITEC (pg. 20).

You can learn more about the ZooShare project at www.zooshare.ca.