The governments of Canada and Quebec are investing more than $65 million in the expansion of a biomethanization treatment facility owned by Societe d’economie mixte de l’est de la couronne sud (SEMECS) in Monteregie.
This expansion project follows a 20-year agreement with SEMECS, renewable once, for the treatment of residual organic materials from municipal, industrial, commercial, and institutional (ICI) sources from Longueuil.
The work includes:
- The installation of a new organic material receiving area with a pit
- The addition of three new digesters
- The addition of more efficient equipment for the treatment of air, water, biogas, and digestate
- The installation of a gas transfer platform
- The addition of a new shredder
At the end of the fifth year of operation, the expansion of the current facility will make it possible to process an additional 85,000 t (95,200 ton) of organic matter per year, from around 220,000 dwellings occupied by nearly 455,000 residents. This will bring the total capacity of the SEMECS facility to 120,000 t (134,400 ton) per year.
Additionally, the expansion of the existing facility will result in additional greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions of 13,404 t (15,012 ton) of carbon dioxide equivalent per year. This is the equivalent of taking approximately 3850 cars off the road. The expansion project will therefore contribute to improving the carbon footprint of Quebec, where the waste sector is the fifth largest source of GHGs, according to the most recent data.
The new part of the plant is expected to be operational by 2023.
