Features Bioeconomy Research & Innovation
GTI will supply Millar Western biogas project

Geomembrane Technologies Inc. (GTI) has been chosen to supply equipment for the bioenergy effluent project at Millar Western Forest Products’ Whitecourt Pulp mill. The project will harness clean energy from pulp mill wastes.

GTI’s involvement in the project includes the fabrication and installation of gastight floating membrane covers for three anaerobic digesters that will be central components of the bioenergy facility, as well as the installation of an internal piping and media system. Nearly 30,000 blocks of corrugated polyvinyl chloride (PVC) media modules are being fabricated and assembled as part of the project.

GTI will fabricate and assemble modular panels with XR-5® top sheet to fit each of the three 126-foot-diameter digesters. Once completed, the covers will float on the pulp process wastewater, creating a seal to capture the biogas produced during anaerobic digestion.

The biogas that GTI’s covers collect will be scrubbed and used to fuel a power island that will generate power and heat, helping to displace fossil fuels in pulp mill processes. The BEP is expected to lower Millar Western’s direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions by about 40,000 tonnes per year.

Whitecourt Pulp, in Whitecourt, Alta., produces 325,000 ADMT of hardwood and softwood bleached-chemi-thermo-mechanical pulp (BCTMP) per year. 

Geomembrane Technologies Inc. (GTI) has been supplying tank and lagoon covers and containment liners for water and wastewater applications for more than thirty years.