The BIOSALIX project will utilize biosolids from the City of Edmonton to transform the landscape surrounding an Alberta coal mine into a thriving crop of willow trees (genus Salix for those plant nerds out there).
Through a collaborative team led by SYLVIS Environmental Services, the BIOSALIX project sets out to address two unique challenges in Alberta: the accelerated closure of prairie coal mines with its associated challenges, and an increased demand for management of organic residuals. We all know that degraded soil and biosolids are a great match, so you can guess how this problem will be solved! The biosolids will be used to reclaim the mine so the land can grow willow trees, which are a fast growing crop with many marketable uses. The willow trees can be used as a feedstock for additional soil amendment and reclamation, and as a biomass energy source. Because the project will use biosolids to reclaim degraded land, it will result in significant sequestration of carbon in both soils and woody biomass, mitigating climate change.