DMT Clear Gas Solutions to update Seabreeze Farm’s RNG equipment

DMT Clear Gas Solutions, a leading technology supplier in biogas upgrading and gas desulfurization, announces Delta, B.C.-based Seabreeze Farm, a third-generation dairy farm owned by the Keulen family, will update their Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) equipment using DMT’s patented three-stage membrane separation system. Expected completion of the biogas upgrading project is set for beginning of next year.

“We are excited and looking forward to installing the DMT system on our farm,” said Jerry Keulen, owner of Seabreeze Farm.

As pioneers of producing RNG in Canada, Seabreeze Farm made headlines back in 2015 when they announced they combined anaerobic digestion with a biogas upgrading plant. The farm’s decision to update their biogas upgrading equipment is on trend to what analysts have witnessed over the last five years: that membrane separation is the prevalent technology used in North America’s RNG industry.

“We are thrilled to introduce the Carborex MS, our innovative membrane separation technology, into the Canadian market,” said Robert Lems, general manager of DMT Clear Gas Solutions. “Seabreeze Farm will find that our membrane system is easier to operate and will free up time originally spent on O&M (operation and maintenance).”

The project will upgrade 180 standard cubic feet per minute (scfm) of biogas to produce more than 98 per cent pure RNG. Additionally, the RNG will be sold to FortisBC, a natural gas and electricity utility servicing over 1.2 million customers in British Columbia. Upon direct injection into their natural gas system, FortisBC will operate the interconnection, monitor the gas quality and distribute this renewable energy to B.C.’s residents and businesses who chose to subscribe to the RNG program.

“Renewable Natural Gas is a crucial component of our 30BY30 target, which is our goal to reduce our customers’ greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent by 2030,” said Scott Gramm, manager of RNG supply with FortisBC. “Increasing the amount of renewable gases in our infrastructure is paramount to a lower carbon future and I want to thank Seabreeze Farm and DMT Clear Gas Solutions for their leadership in climate action.”

Thanks to this Seabreeze Farm project, the RNG, generated from dairy manure produced by 250 cows and 12,000 annual tons of off-farm organics, is enough to heat approximately 350 homes. In Canada, the production of biogas from all major sources, including agricultural organics, municipal wastewater, landfill gas, and separated source organics, is equivalent to three per cent of the country’s natural gas demand.

“RNG can be a great opportunity for B.C. farmers. It has been a real pleasure working with Seabreeze Farm to help them select a new biogas upgrader and improve their anaerobic digestion plant,” stated Matt Dickson, managing director of Hallbar Consulting Inc.

Through biogas upgrading, trace impurities in the biogas stream are removed and carbon dioxide (CO2) is separated from methane (CH4) to produce pipeline-spec RNG suitable for injection into the natural gas grid and/or direct use for vehicle fuel. The benefits of RNG include the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, increased domestic energy security, improved waste management, new revenue sources for farmers, and more jobs in rural areas.