Whitecourt (MW2U) is a 6 MW biomass generation plant owned and operated by Millar Western Forest Products Ltd. in Whitecourt.
Reported as the first use of anaerobic digestion technology at a BCTMP mill in the Western Hemisphere, the facility relies on three Anaerobic Hybrid Digesters (AHDs) to recover organic material from the mill’s effluent stream. Anaerobic microorganisms break down soluble wood components, generating a high-methane biogas. After conditioning and H2S scrubbing, this biogas fuels Jenbacher reciprocating internal combustion engines coupled to electric generators. The captured waste heat is then recycled to directly offset natural gas consumption in the mill's pulp-drying process.
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