Vancouver, B.C. — Leading Canadian sweet bell pepper grower SunSelect Produce has taken the greenhouse gas emissions out of the greenhouse — with new technology that converts the carbon dioxide created in the greenhouse heating process into fertilizer for the pepper plants.
The revolutionary system, which was publicly launched by SunSelect’s sister company, ProSelect Gas Treating Inc. in mid-April, is called GC6 Green Carbon Capture.
In the GC6 Green Carbon Capture process, wood-waste (biomass) is combusted in a boiler to heat the 40-acre greenhouse, then the remaining flue gas is cooled, stripped of its carbon dioxide using a water-based organic solvent, and stored in a buffer tank, explained Victor Krahn, director and co-founder of ProSelect.
“Carbon-free excess vapor is harmlessly emitted into the atmosphere,” he said. “The resulting pure carbon dioxide-laden solvent is boiled off to release food grade CO2 gas at the demand of the greenhouse, cooled and administered directly to the plants, in a seamless, computer-controlled and monitored process.”
SunSelect is one of about a dozen greenhouse operations in BC that uses non-marketable waste products (biomass) from the timber industry as a heat source. But it is currently the only one that repurposes the carbon dioxide the trees had respired in their lifetime into a source of nutrition for new plants.
“Carbon dioxide is a basic building block for all plant life,” said Krahn. “Without it, plants would not be able to ‘breathe’ nor convert the combined energy of the sun and the carbon dioxide itself into healthy vegetables and fruits.”
In the past, SunSelect, like other greenhouses, had used only liquid carbon dioxide and natural gas to deliver enriched carbon dioxide to nourish the plants, but had sought alternatives that accomplished the same task using renewable energy sources.
“We’ve always been interested in doing more with less,” said Krahn, who has been involved in the SunSelect growing operation throughout the two and a half decades since his parents established it.
“We converted from natural gas heat to biomass several years ago, and pioneered a carbon neutral pepper program in 2007. We believed it was possible to capture carbon dioxide from wood waste and use it to grow food, so we kept an eye out for a way to do it,” he said. “Our engineering partner, Procede BV, a leading Dutch firm specializing in innovative green technologies, had developed the idea, but needed a greenhouse environment and a commercial scale opportunity like ours in which to develop and prove it.”
Procede and SunSelect joined to form Pro-Select in 2009. Partial funding for the research and development of ProSelect’s GC6 Green Carbon Capture system was provided by Sustainable Development Technology Canada, and the Innovative Clean Energy Fund, a BC government entity that supports the development of clean power and energy efficiency technologies.
SunSelect peppers are exclusively marketed by The Oppenheimer Group.
“The system is truly remarkable, and can serve as a powerful point of differentiation for SunSelect,” said Aaron Quon, the company’s greenhouse category director. “We now have an even stronger sustainability message standing behind our SunSelect pepper program. We are introducing the program through social media and point-of-sale material that directs consumers to SunSelect’s recently refreshed website.”
Quon adds, “SunSelect is already recognized for the excellent quality peppers it produces. Now, conscientious retailers are starting to understand the benefits of a truly sustainable system. We are very proud to be associated with such a visionary grower who cares so much about the world around us.”
www.sunselect.ca, http://gc6.ca
Source: The Oppenheimer Group
