UAE: Bee’ah has selected Bulk Handling Systems (BHS) to design, engineer, manufacture and install a major retrofit to the company’s Sharjah Material Recovery Facility. The facility is currently the largest in the Middle East, with the capacity to process more than 500,000t/yr of municipal solid waste (MSW). The retrofit, scheduled to be operational in early 2017, will upgrade capacity and automation to increase recovery and total diversion.

BHS will implement its latest technologies, including BHS Bag Breakers and Tri-Disc screens, Nihot air separators and NRT In-Flight Sorting brand optical sorters. BHS Tri-Disc screens will replace existing trommel screens to improve separation efficiency, decrease energy consumption and increase throughput. BHS screens will also boost the recovery of organic materials by 50% to 600t/day. The system’s throughput will expand from 68t/hour to more than 75t/hour.

Nihot Single Drum Separators will separate heavy items such as bulky metals and inert materials from lighter, high-value recoverables such as fibre and containers. To increase film recovery by 100%, NRT SpydIR optical sorters are paired with Nihot rotary air separators, creating the FiberPurefilm recovery system. The FiberPure will detect and eject film, pneumatically conveying it away from the remaining clean fibre stream. The NRT SpydIR optical sorter is also being employed to increase PET recovery by 15%. Magnets and an Eddy Current Separator will increase ferrous and non-ferrous recovery by 25%. The BHS Total Control controls package will integrate pre-existing and new equipment, empowering the entire system with advanced SCADA technology.

“BHS is selected according to stringent criteria, including technical know-how and manufacturing experience, to ensure their products, methodological knowledge and business strategies match Bee’ah’s high standards. This agreement reaffirms BHS’ exceptional reputation as high quality manufacturers and experienced integrators of whole system solutions,” said Daker El Rabaya, MD of Waste Processing, Treatment and Disposal Bee’ah.

Pakistan: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has deferred the approval for setting up a tire-derived fuel (TDF) plant at the Bestway Cement plant in Farooqia. The decision has been left by the EPA to consent from the local community, according to local press.

EPA Director General Dr Bashir Khan said at a public meeting that unless local residents were satisfied, Bestway Cement would not be issued a no-objection certificate. Residents have cited dust, smoke, noise and water pollution as reasons to object against the proposed plant. Qamar Hayat, a local activist, said that locals would allow the EPA to approve the TDF plant when they were guaranteed pollution would be monitored and that health hazards and property losses would be checked.

Czech Republic: The Global CemFuels Awards 2016 has announced winners in six categories. The Suez Environnement solid recovered fuel facility at Malpas Farm, Rugby, which supplies the Cemex Rugby cement plant, won Outstanding Alternative Fuels (AF) project. LafargeHolcim won AF-user company of the year. N+P, Netherlands received the award for AF-supplier company of the year for the second consecutive year. Linder-Recyclingtech won the award for innovative technology for AF use. Frederico Contente, Masias Recycling was awarded project manager of the year. Jan Theulen, HeidelbergCement was awarded CemFuels Personality of the Year.

The Global CemFuels Awards 2016 took place as part of the Global CemFuels Conference and Exhibition. The awards are nominated and voted for across the alternative fuels industry. The specialised annual alternative fuels conference for the cement and lime industries took place on 22 – 23 February 2016 in Prague.

Featured image: Jan Theulen, HeidelbergCement (right) and Robert McCaffrey, Global Cement (left)

South Africa: Interwaste has launched the first refuse-derived fuel (RDF) plant in South Africa, according to local media. It is expected to take a minimum feedstock of 12,000t/yr. The production line was imported in 2015 and it is based at the company’s Germiston depot. It is the first of four intended RDF lines. It is currently producing a solid recovered fuel to European specified standards.

“Interwaste continually invests in innovative solutions that have the most environmentally sound waste management opportunity at its core, solutions that make us market leaders and place us in a favourable position within the competitive waste management environment.,” said Allan Willcocks, CEO at Interwaste.