Lystek International (Lystek) is excited to announce the LysteMize Livestock Waste Characterization Study with support from the Department of Natural Resources Canada and Brown and Caldwell

Lystek has been awarded approximately $585,000 from the federal government’s Energy Innovation Program, as part of the Clean Fuels and Industrial Fuel Switching call, to undertake the four-year project.

The project will evaluate the suitability of various animal manures and organics from farms in southern Ontario as feedstocks for the LysteMize anaerobic digestion (AD) process to produce renewable energy.

Lystek intends to produce a detailed characterization study of biogas yields from a range of animal waste feedstock sources and correspondingly introduce LysteMize low carbon intensity Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) as a clean fuel production pathway for the livestock waste sector.

 

 “Manure samples from over ten cattle, swine, sheep, goat, and poultry farms will be analyzed utilizing a laboratory-scale Lystek THP system and biochemical methane potential (BMP) testing to determine how various livestock waste feedstocks digestion potential transforms using THP technology”

 

 

Lystek’s patented and proven commercial Thermal Chemical Hydrolysis Process, Lystek THP, uses a proprietary combination of high shear mixing, low-pressure steam (75°C), and alkali addition to hydrolyze organic substrates and make them more amenable to microbial digestion in anaerobic environments.

The multi-purpose Lystek THP technology has been proven to enhance AD performance for improved biogas recovery in the process known as LysteMize. LysteMize is the process of anaerobically digesting Lystek THP hydrolyzed residuals. Lystek THP reduces particle sizes, homogenizes feedstocks, and solubilizes recalcitrant organic carbon making organic wastes more amenable to biodegradation. LysteMize also allows for quicker conversion to biogas during AD.

“This project is a game-changing extension of Lystek’s proven resource recovery technology suite,” added Mike Beswick, Executive Vice President, Lystek. “We are exceedingly optimistic about the prospect of bringing cost effective and easy to operate solutions to a wider range of users to help build the circular economy and reduce GHG emissions in Canada and abroad.”  

Municipal biosolids and organic food waste feedstocks have demonstrated enhanced biogas production and biodegradability with LysteMize. This project extends this proven concept to animal manure feedstocks.

Manure samples from over ten cattle, swine, sheep, goat, and poultry farms will be analyzed utilizing a laboratory-scale Lystek THP system and biochemical methane potential (BMP) testing to determine how various livestock waste feedstocks digestion potential transforms using THP technology. In previous LysteMize applications the maximum biogas production has increased by up to 70% – depending on the baseline biodegradability characteristics of a feedstock.

“I am pleased to see companies like Lystek leading innovation in sustainable agriculture,” Bryan May, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business and to the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario and Member of Parliament for Cambridge. “By supporting their latest project, the Government of Canada is strengthening Canada’s agricultural industry, which stands to benefit from more affordable, widely available, and cleaner fuels. By supporting the work of our farmers and rural industries, this federal government is helping to build a prosperous and low-pollution future for all Canadians. ”  

LysteMize provides unique benefits for manure management to Canadian livestock farms of varying sizes – making on-farm energy generation through biogas recovery more accessible at smaller scales. Implementing enhanced biogas recovery on farm can reduce or eliminate the use of fossil fuels, such as diesel or propane, and the associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in farming operations.

Lystek is an innovative clean tech company that can contribute to Canada’s net-zero and renewable energy goals with the application of on-farm LysteMize biogas recovery.

Preliminary results from the study have been extremely promising. The LysteMize Livestock Waste Characterization Study is expected to finish in 2027 and will provide the knowledge base required to advance the application of Lystek’s LysteMize Digestion technology across the livestock waste sector.