Water and Waste Department

Potential options for managing our biosolids

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Land Application
Thermal Oxidation
Pelletization
Composting
Land Revitalization/Restoration
Landfill

Option	Land Application	Thermal Oxidation	Pelletization	Composting	Land Revitalization/Restoration	Landfill
Description	Apply biosolids to land in either a liquid or wet cake form to either condition the soil or to fertilize crops or other vegetation grown in the soil	Firing biosolids at a high temperature in an enclosed device to produce heat and energy	Involves heat drying technology, which: removes water to reduce volume and weight preserves nutrients and organic matter produces pea-sized pellets Pellets can be: used as fertilizer or biofuel directly applied or mixed to create fertilizer	Mix biosolids with woodchips and air to make compost	Apply biosolids to land to replace lost topsoil (e.g., landfill cover, large construction sites, surface strip mines, parks and road cuts, wetlands, wildlife habitat, conservation areas) improves soil fertility and stability decreases erosion aids in revegetation	Mix biosolids with municipal garbage and dispose in landfill
Operational Factors	Requires storage / another treatment option during the winter months because of seasonal spreading restrictions (not from November 10 - April 10) Restrictions for spreading rates of nutrients (i.e., phosphorous and nitrogen)	Requires air pollution control Smaller land, storage and transportation requirements Can operate continuously in all weather conditions	Dust is a workplace safety issue (e.g., health, hazardous) Pellets small and easy to handle	Compost must: have sufficiently low metals be used off-site	Requires access to receiving land	Receiving landfill must have sufficient capacity for year-round disposal
Time to implement	Medium term	Long term	Long term	Long term - for a program to compost the majority of our biosolids (pilot program currently underway to compost 20% of biosolids)	Short term	Short term
Regional suitability	Weather and soil dependant Potential for soil conditions to meet regulatory requirements	The business case for heat and energy recovery is more difficult to make due to low energy costs in Manitoba	Requires a sustainable market for pellets (decreasing demand in North America) Considered where other options are expensive or not approved by the regulator (e.g., landfilling, thermal oxidation, land application)	Strong demand as soil amendment	Limited sites available in Manitoba	Available capacity at Brady Resource Management Facility (landfill) - greater than 100 years Brady has favourable conditions for co-disposal (i.e., clay layer highly impervious to contaminants leaching into groundwater)
Stakeholders involved	Opportunity for private agricultural sector(e.g., grain farmers, sod farmers) Rural municipalities where biosolids applied to land Residents neighbouring the receiving lands Opportunity for private contractors to haul and land apply	Manitoba Hydro End user of ash Opportunity for public / private operation and ash disposal	Opportunity for private sector Residents near pelletizing facility	Opportunity for public and private sector (operate/distribute)	Residents close to receiving land Opportunity for public and private (hauling and spreading)	Opportunity for public and private contractors
Regulation	Provincially regulated	Meet regulatory requirements for air emissions Provincially regulated	Regulations for odour control strategy and fertilizer products (Canadian Food Inspection Agency)	Provincially regulated	Provincially regulated	Provincially regulated
Good neighbour practice	Potential for odour concerns with storage (particularly with lagoons for liquid biosolids)	Potential for concern about location	Potential for nuisance odours	Potential for nuisance odours	Potential for nuisance odours	Potential for nuisance odours
Ecological sustainability	Considered sustainable reuse Ensure viable hauling distance (e.g., cost, carbon footprint) Benefit to farmers of receiving lands	Considered sustainable reuse if: ash is beneficially reused (e.g., filler in cement and brick manufacturing, sub-base for road construction, landfill cover) heat and energy is recovered	Considered sustainable reuse	Considered sustainable reuse	Beneficial reuse of nutrients	Not considered sustainable reuse Contributes to harmful greenhouse gases Decreases landfill capacity
Cost	$$	$$	$$	$$$	$ - $$$ (depends on the degree of pre-treatment)	$

Last update: April 15, 2024

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