Lulu Island

A waste to energy conversion ecosystem.

Ecosystem Type: Engineered
Location: Richmond BC (49°6.54N, 123°8.86W)

The Lulu Island water resource recovery facility (WRRF) operated by Metro Vancouver services wastewater from about 172,000 residents in the western part of Richmond and discharges effluent into the Fraser River. Metro Vancouver uses a process called anaerobic digestion as a secondary form of treatment at Lulu Island to produce renewable biogas for eventual distribution through the Fortis grid system. We work with Metro Vancouver to monitor microbial community structure and function associated with biogas production and to develop new process configurations that improve waste to energy conversion efficiency in support of circular economy development.