EXCLUSIVE: Plans for two separate Welsh facilities to manage residual waste have come to fruition this week, at opposite ends of the country.
Flintshire county council has provisionally granted permission for a mechanical biological treatment plant in Deeside, North Wales, which will manage up to 182,000 tonnes of residual municipal, commercial and industrial waste per annum.
The Deeside facility will comprise of a materials recycling facility and anaerobic digestion plant, utilising technology by ArrowBio
The application has been made by Logik WTE Ltd, which according to Companies House, is a developer of building projects.
ArrowBio
The facility will utilise ArrowBio’s hydromechanical separation and preparation process. The company says the process recovers 70% – 90% of materials and produces high methane (CH4) content biogas for several green energy uses.
Unlike traditional MBT plants, which tend to be dry systems, the ArrowBio process uses water to separate out the residual waste by density, in addition to cleaning the waste.
The development comprises a system where waste is mechanically sorted using water with the biodegradable elements then being treated using anaerobic digestion (AD) technology. Recyclate will be removed during the mechanical separation and sent for reprocessing.
Outputs of the facility will be biogas, a refuse derived fuel (RDF), compost like output (CLO), while the AD element of the facility would produce up to 2MW.
Waste for the facility will be sourced from North and Mid-Wales and the North West of England.
Swansea
Meanwhile in the south of Wales, Biffa is preparing to put in an application to develop a small-scale energy from waste facility in Swansea.
The waste management firm entered a pre-application process for the facility which will treat around 21,000 tonnes of trade waste, currently collected by Biffa in the Swansea area.
Currently, this waste is transported out of the local authority area for disposal via landfill.
In Wales, there is a requirement to carry out pre-application consultation on panning applications for major developments.
The pre-application process for Biffa ends today (July 20), following which the company can submit a full application.
In terms of public feedback, Mark Walton, director of planning at WYG and consultant for Biffa, said so far there has been “nothing unexpected”.
Renewable energy
The proposed development will generate 0.4 megawatts of renewable energy in the form of electricity, which will be exported to the National Grid and low-level heat.
It will represent an investment of around £5 million by Biffa in its existing facility at Clarion Close – a waste management and transport depot.
A pre-application for Biffa to develop a small-scale energy from waste facility in Swansea has closed today (picture: WYG)
The proposed facility will comprise the recovery of metals from imported waste with the residual material used to produce energy via advanced thermal ‘incineration’ treatment.
Treatment
In terms of the treatment process: “Collected waste brought to the facility, once weighed, will be transferred to the reception area located within the proposed treatment building,” a pre-application statement reads.
“The waste will be visually inspected before being shredded and then passed through a magnet and eddy current separator to remove recyclable materials. Recyclable materials will be stored within the building before onward transfer for reuse. Sorted residual waste will be dried, to reduce the moisture content and thus increase the energy efficiency, before being transferred to the burner.”
If approved, the building footprint will be increased from 945 sqm to 1,125 sqm, with an emission stack 25m high. The construction period is estimated at around one year.
It is noted that the new facility will create 15 new full-time employment opportunities whilst retaining the 40 personnel who currently work at the site.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
