Are the new development proposals in Prince George actually green? A look into Arbios Biotech and West Coast Olefins Ltd
By Eriel Strauch, CFUR/Local Journalism Initiative
Arbios Biotech and West Coast Olefins Ltd are two corporations that are hoping to build sustainable industrial plants in the Prince George area in the coming future. Arbios Biotech, a joint venture between Canfor and Australian company Licella, is working in conjunction with Sustane Technologies, a Halifax-based corporation to create two household waste biomass conversion to biofuel plants on the current Canfor Intercontinental Mill site, 2 kms from Cottonwood Island Park.
Diagram depicting types of biomass. Source: U.S Energy Information Administration
Both Arbios Biotech and Sustane Technologies are looking to use what many consider to be greener, more innovative methods of recycling and chemical processing, with Sustane Technologies having developed a brand new mechanical recycling process.
A concept map for the proposed Sustane Technologies plant in Prince George. Source: Sustane Presentation at Prince George City Hall
While the hope of Arbios Biotech is to turn household waste and hog fuel from Canfor into various valuable oils using Licella’s Cat-HTR (Catalytic Hydrothermal Reactor) technology, little information on the specific engineering processes and outputs from the Cat-HTR is available. Methods such as pyrolysis burning, which West Coast Olefins Ltd plans to use in their processes as stated in the project overview in their preliminary report, have raised the concerns of certain researchers who believe using it as a primary energy extraction method is “environmentally unsound”.
A visual example of how pyrolysis works. Pyrolysis, a type of thermolysis, is the process of heating plastic waste without oxygen, producing primarily a liquid output (known as pyrolysis oil) and, secondarily, a gas that is usually combusted. The pyrolysis oil can then be burned or upgraded for repolymerization. Source: Rollinson & Oladejo, 2020
Calgary-based company West Coast Olefins Ltd, is proposing three petrochemical plants, two of which, a natural gas liquids (NGL) recovery plant and ethylene plant that are being planned to be built in the Willow Cale Road area, 3.65 kms from the nearest neighbourhood and 4kms from the nearest school, as well as a polyethylene plant that will be located at an undisclosed location off-site.
The Willow Cale Road area poses multiple problems for this sort of heavy industrial usage. From a policy perspective, it was not deemed appropriate for heavy industrial use. From a physical perspective, there is concern as to what the area can handle in terms of new infrastructure. The Willow Cale Road area recently experienced a water-main break with no known cause reported by major news outlets.
West Coast Olefins has also compared the emissions from their plant to the Joffre NOVA Chemicals plant, located 15 kms outside of Red Deer, AB, which was deemed by PACHA member and retired pediatrician Dr. Marie Hay to be an unfavourable comparison due to the differences in topography pushing winds away from the city and already poor air quality in the area.
There are also major concerns to be had regarding the capacity for Prince George’s sensitive airshed to withstand any increase in emissions and fine particulate matter. As reported by the Prince George Air Improvement Roundtable, the majority of the city of Prince George is situated within a natural bowl-like formation. Due to the elevation of surrounding mountain areas, acting in combination with frequent light winds and thermal inversions in the winter months, pollution and fine particulate matter can easily become trapped within the bowl area. This means that particulate matter would build up from natural processes, such as wildfires, outside of any anthropogenic additions such as heavy industry. Fine particulate matter in the airshed results in the build up of harmful carcinogens found to be chronically detrimental to human health.
A table depicting current total and annual emission rates in particulate matter in the Prince George Area. Industry makes up the majority of particulate matter in the region. Source: PG Air Quality Improvement Roundtable
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) defines the term green industry as striving for more sustainable growth pathways, which can be done by undertaking green public investments and implementing policy initiatives that encourage what they refer to as environmentally responsible private investments. While it can be said that the proposals discussed are striving for a more sustainable future, the question as to how sustainable this proposed industrial future will be in actuality still goes unanswered. Those interested in ensuring policy and industry alike are moving towards the same goal of transparency and renewability in all aspects will need to continue to research industry proposals and reach out to policy makers about any questions or concerns.
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