Earth Day 2022 – Invest in Our Planet

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21 Apr Earth Day 2022 – Invest in Our Planet

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2022 – Written by:
Harvir Sidhu, Technical Project Assistant (Co-Op Student) and Hanna Bennett, Project Coordinator

It is more important than ever for businesses to step up and act on climate change by investing in a sustainable future.

At Lystek we focus on improving agricultural security, eliminating fossil fuel dependence, and building out “waste” reuse infrastructure. Lystek is proud to offer environmental technology that provides beneficial resource recovery of biosolids and organic waste.

Historically, biosolids and many organic “wastes” have been underutilized, buried in landfills, or incinerated wasting many valuable resources including biologically beneficial nutrients and energy in the form of biogas. As landfills continue to reach capacity many organizations are pushed to find alternate options for managing their “wastes.”

Our approach to biosolids and organic waste management is centralized around our patented and proven, low temperature Lystek Thermal Hydrolysis Process (Lystek THP®). With this technology we produce LysteGro®, a sustainable Class A US EPA and CFIA regulated fertilizer, from recovered biosolids and organics. In addition, Lystek THP can be used in our patented® process to provide anaerobic digestion enhancement improving biogas yields from organic materials.

Here are four ways that Lystek’s THP technology is used to invest in our planet:

Production of Sustainable Carbon Negative Fertilizer

LysteGro provides the agricultural industry with a sustainable source of carbon and micro and macro nutrients important to soil health. LysteGro can be used in place of conventional fertilizers, avoiding the greenhouse gas emissions associated with extraction, production, and transportation of mineral fertilizers. Since 2008, Lystek has:

  • Generated almost 7 million cubic meters of fertilizer
  • Recovered and reused 254,000 dry tonnes of biosolids and organics, 9,000 tonnes of nitrogen, and 13,500 tonnes of phosphorus
  • Avoided greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions equivalent to the annual emissions of 28,000 gasoline burning cars

 

Localized Biogas Production

Using the LysteMize® process to produce biogas generates approximately three times the energy consumed. This means that not only can the LysteMize process power itself, but it can also provide a localized energy source to the surrounding community.

LysteMize biogas can be used in place of conventional natural gas, grid electricity, or diesel in CNG gas trucks reducing reliance on fossil fuels as an energy source and their associated GHG emissions. LysteMize can create renewable energy to sell back to the grid or, through reuse of biogas on site, it can be used to move towards carbon neutral and off-grid biosolids and organics management facilities.

Building Climate Change Resiliency through Sustainable Farming Practices

Lystek understands the importance of implementing sustainable farming to continue to build a climate change resilient world. A new study by the University of Massachusetts Amherst shows that over the past 160 years, agricultural fields in the midwestern U.S. have lost soil at a rate of double what the USDA considers sustainable. It’s estimated that much of this erosion is due to tillage, as tilling essentially melts the landscape away. Tilling decreases soil volume, releases the carbon stored in the soil back into the atmosphere, degrades soil quality and the corresponding crop yields. Surface applied fertilizer also causes persistent environmental problems, as it is not incorporated into the soil leading to significant nutrient loss from runoff into streams. These nutrient loaded waters cause eutrophication (algae growth) which leads to contaminated drinking water and dead zones (areas devoid of oxygen) in streams and lakes. Fortunately, LysteGro is sub-surface injected eliminating risk of erosion, carbon loss, and nutrient run-off. Subsurface injection minimizes soil disturbance and returns nutrients to the earth completing the cycle of nutrient reuse.

Building Job Opportunities in the Circular Economy

Lystek is invested in strengthening and developing the circular economy. Our core technology, related processes, and every subsequent innovation at Lystek is centered around profitable sustainability. We create jobs and revenue in the environmental technology sector that can be used to phase out the finite resource-based economy.

Lystek continues to invest in the local community. For example, to date, at our regional facility in Southern Ontario, Lystek has invested more than $20,000,000 directly and indirectly in the surrounding community through sustainable biosolids management.

Lystek is proud to be a community leader who continues to demonstrate what is possible when environmentally and socially focused governance is combined with progressive and innovative technologies. We will continue to actively work to combat climate change through nutrient reuse, landfill diversion, green energy production, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Lystek chooses a sustainable future for all!

Happy Earth Day