This afternoon at 1:30 to 3:00 p.m.  at the NVIT theatre, the Friends of the Nicola Valley Society (FNVS) is hosting an information session to inform the public about pyrolysis — an alternative processing method for biosolids.

Kevin Hull, CEO of Emergent Waste Solutions will give the presentation. According to the company’s website, Emergent Waste Solutions deals in converting waste into products that reduce the need for fossil fuels and generate profits.

“Biosolids are placed in an oxygen deprived environment and heated to a point at which the composite chemical makeup of the feedstock separates and the molecules recombine into useable products like fuel oil, syngas and a charcoal like product called bio-char,” says the company’s website.

“It’s not new technology, but it’s certainly becoming more and more popular because of the fact that it doesn’t incinerate,” explained Randy Murray, director for Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) and member of FNVS.

The syngas can be cleaned and used to create steam in the process, making the process self-sufficient, he said.

“Any of the other excess steam that’s created from use of the syngas can be used to drive power turbines to put electricity back into the ground,” said Murray.

The third phase for excess gas is use as vehicle fuel.

“This is one of those things that we can maybe work towards, a P3 partnership or something. I’m not saying Kevin’s company is the one, but he’s one of many that are starting to get very active now.”

He said today’s session is a move towards the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) resolution that will be presented in Vancouver at the end of September to pressure government for a full scale review of the organic matter recycling and agricultural land reserve regulations.

“Yes, they’re higher cost, but they also have a cost recovery option — a more long term solution, a sustainable solution to the management of biosolids in B.C.,” said Murray. “This is a step in the process of education.”