Displaying items by tag: Waste Treatment

Egypt: Cemex has entered an agreement with the authorities in Egypt's Gharbia province to operate the first facility of its circularity solutions business, Regenera. The company will treat over 800t/day of municipal solid waste at the facility to produce alternative fuels and compost, aiming for minimal residual waste to landfill.

"Through Regenera, Cemex seeks to conserve natural resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and benefit communities by promoting sustainable development and reducing the environmental impact of industrial activities," the company said.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos has inaugurated its first unit in Brazil for Viter, its agricultural inputs business, and Verdera, its sustainable waste management business. Located in Itaperuçu, the unit comprises a new Verdera waste crushing plant and an agricultural limestone production line for Viter. This initiative is part of a US$785m investment programme.

Verdera's Itaperuçu facility has a capacity of 48,000t/yr, tripling its previous capability, and is equipped with technology for sustainable waste treatment. The waste processed at the plant will be converted into clean energy for cement production at Votorantim's plant in Rio Branco do Sul, using co-processing technology developed by Votorantim in Brazil in 1991. Viter's new line will increase agricultural limestone production in Paraná. The Itaperuçu plant, along with the existing Rio Branco do Sul unit, brings Viter's total capacity to 1.5Mt/yr of agricultural limestone in Paraná. The new plant features filters for emission control and utilises biomass as a renewable energy source.

US: BioHiTech Global started operations at a waste treatment plant in Martinsburg, West Virginia in March 2019. It has completed the first phase of plant commissioning including the facility's reception area, overhead bridge cranes, and its primary mechanical sorting equipment. It has begun the next phase of plant commissioning and progressing operations, which includes receiving limited amounts of waste and beginning runs of its mechanical and biological treatment process for producing solid recovered fuel (SRF). The limited processing runs are expected to result in the production of SRF in the coming weeks with the facility reaching full operations in the second quarter of 2019. The unit uses Entsorga Italia’s proprietary high efficiency mechanical and biological treatment process (HEBIOT)

The majority of the waste, to be delivered as feedstock to the facility, is covered under a ten year agreement with a local waste hauler owned by Gold Medal Group, a regional waste management services company. The SRF will be supplied to cement producer Argos USA under a similar ten-year deal.

"The initiation of revenue generating operations at this first facility of its kind in the US is a pivotal moment for our company and an important step forward in the movement to lessen the environmental impact of waste management,” said Frank E Celli, the chief executive officer (CEO) of BioHiTech Global.

BioHiTech is the largest owner of the Martinsburg SRF plant through a majority owned subsidiary company with a 78% controlling interest in its operations. Gold Medal Group owns the remaining minority stake in the subsidiary.

Switzerland: LafargeHolcim’s global waste management business, Geocycle, treated 10Mt of waste in 2017, an increase of 13% year-on-year from 2016. It co-processed all types of waste in cement kilns including solid shredded waste from industrial and municipal origin, spent solvents, used tires, waste oils, contaminated soils, industrial and sewage sludges, as well as demolition waste.

“At LafargeHolcim we offer solutions which facilitate the simultaneous recycling and recovery of waste. We have ambitious plans to continue investing in all parts of the world in order to bring the most advanced technology and solutions to our partners and play a role in solving the global waste problem,” said Jan Jenisch, the chief executive officer of LafargeHolcim.

In Europe and North America, the main growth area for LafargeHolcim’s global waste management business was industrial waste, while in Africa more biomass waste such as rice and coffee husks were treated. The strongest growth rates for municipal solid waste (MSW) were seen in Asia and Latin America, where waste infrastructures are still developing and municipalities continue to seek more sustainable solutions for the growing volume of household waste.

In 2017 LafargeHolcim built three new major waste treatment facilities: Kujawy in Poland, El Sokhna in Egypt and Oum Azza in Morocco. It said that Oum Azza is the first waste pre-processing platform for MSW in the Middle East and Africa.

UK: Wastecycle's recycling facility in Colwick, Nottinghamshire is now one of the largest in the UK after an expansion of the site. By acquiring seven acres of property, which the company previously leased, and buying an additional four acres, Wastecycle has extended its site to nearly 20 acres.

"It's an exciting time for us because this expansion provides us with the platform we need to reach the next stage of growth as a company," said Financial Director Nathan Cole. "Over the long term, we plan to use the additional land to expand our extensive recycling and resource management activities. This will help us broaden the services we offer our customers while improving the quality and sustainability of the recycled products we manufacture."

The company has also completed an expansion of its main office to accommodate its growing workforce. After a 20% growth in staff 2015, it now employs almost 300 people across its Colwick site and its two sites in Leicestershire. "Ensuring our teams are comfortable in their working environments is very important to us because, not only does it increase productivity, but it also creates positive morale," said Cole. "Larger premises also provide the opportunity to open up new jobs, while improving the quality of service we can provide to customers."

Wastecycle separates 500,000t/yr of waste, including 18,000t/yr of recycling from 126,131 homes in the Nottingham City Council area. Some of the waste is turned into refuse-derived fuel (RDF) for use at cement plants. It also sorts through the rubbish of thousands of businesses across Nottinghamshire, runs a skip hire service and operates a wallboard recycling facility, which it developed with British Gypsum.

In 2014, Wastecycle's turnover increased to Euro42.8m from Euro35.9m in 2013. In 2015, it won four awards, including a bronze environmental best practice accolade at the Green Apple Awards in November 2015. It was recognised for the success of its wallboard recycling scheme, which has prevented more than 30,000t/yr of wallboard from reaching landfill.

Vietnam: Deputy prime minister Hoang Trung Hai has directed the implementation of solutions to treat waste at thermal power plants for energy conservation and environmental protection.

Trung Hai urged the concerned parties to more effectively implement Government Decision 1696/QD-TTg on measures to treat gypsum, ash and cinder from thermal power, chemical or fertiliser plants for the production of building materials. Special focus should be paid to the Vinh Tan in Binh Thuan, An Khanh in Thai Nguyen, Song Hau in Mekong Delta Hau Giang and Vung Ang in Ha Tinh thermal power plants, where waste treatment is a pressing issue.

He asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Construction to coordinate with localities to disseminate effective waste treatment models while supplementing and completing criteria on the quality of ash and cinder for recycling in cement and construction material production.

Vietnam is home to 19 operating thermal power plants with a total capacity of 14,480MW, which discharge about 15Mt/yr of ash and cinder. After 2020, the country is expected to have 43 thermal power plants with a combined capacity of 39,020MW, discharging over 30Mt/yr of ash and cinder.

India: The Punjab government has approved a 40MW generation project using solid waste as fuel. The project will be set up by Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) and US-based Eco Air will prepare a feasibility study and provide technical assistance, according to Pakistan Engineering Review.

LWMC manager LWMC Wasif Azhar said that the project would help Lahore to dispose of solid waste in a useful way and provide cheap electricity. He hoped that the initiative would attract more investments. The project contract will be awarded on a build, operate and transfer basis.

The project will be set up at a landfill site near Lakho Der, along the River Ravi, to be provided to the investor free of cost. LWMC has signed agreements with DG Khan Cement and Lahore Compost to supply 1000t/day of solid waste for recycling. The companies will segregate the waste into two major components: Burnable and organic. The burnable component will be used as fuel in industrial units, while the organic material will be separated for bio-fertilisers to reduce the use of chemical fertilisers.

Nigeria: The Ogun State Government has entered into partnership with Lafarge Africa on sustainable waste management towards the generation of renewable energy and youth employment, according to All Africa.

"This initiative will help clear our waste and make us live more healthily. With this sustainable waste management solution, we would generate much-needed energy and employment opportunities for our youths," said governor Ibikunle Amosun during a visit to the Saje dump site in Abeokuta. He added that there are plans to set up a dump site in each of the three Senatorial Districts of Ogun.

New Lafarge Africa CEO Peter Hoddinott expressed deep conviction that the combustible and recyclable energy would bring a new lease of life to the people, as well as improve the economy of the state.

Zimbabwe: Speaking during the official launch of a waste management centre in Mabvuku, Harare, environment, water and climate minister Saviour Kasukuwere said that communities should consider setting up waste management centres to generate income and enhance sustainable waste management.

In the Mabvuku initiative, Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe in partnership with the City of Harare, the local community and other technical partners will set up a waste management centre that is expected to be functional in the third quarter of 2015. The waste will be sold to other industries, generating income for the local community.

India: The Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC) plans to set up small-scale waste-to-energy plant to generate electricity. A Bangalore-based private company, which has been appointed for the project management, will submit a project report in four months. The JMC plans to generate nearly 6MW/day from 650t of waste.

"At present, JMC generates close to 1250t/day of waste," said deputy mayor Manoj Bhardawaj, "Of this 1250t, 350t is used to produce refuse-derived fuel that is sold to cement plants and 250t is used to produce compost manure. We are planning to generate electricity from the remaining 650t."