In the future, flax pellets might be used as the main form of heating in the potash industry thanks to a collaboration between Saskatchewan Polytechnic and Regina-based company, Prairie Clean Energy.

Dr. Robin Smith with Sask. Polytechnic says the goal of the collaboration is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by replacing the use of natural gas with bioheat, generated by burning locally acquired flax pellets.

“It’s quite a substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, and that was the focus of the applications that we worked on with Prairie Clean Energy to support this project,” Smith adds.

The organizations intend to develop a demonstration site at the campus in Moose Jaw.

“We are looking to procure and install a modern biomass boiler at that site. It will be used to heat a structure that we use to store agricultural equipment and also for some teaching purposes,” Smith notes. “We will have that equipment, that technology operating there so that it can be used as kind of a living lab to demonstrate the technology, have workshops, maybe bring in industry partners.”

Through the project, the organizations will also begin providing online micro-credentials about biomass production and will develop an online system to track the source of biomass used for bioheat generation.

Smith says the funding for this project came through a grant from the Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator Network, so she knows that there is interest in the use of biomass from those in the mining industry.