Bottom ash, generated by energy from waste facilities run by Suez, is to have the non ferrous metal component recovered from it at a plant being developed in Ghent, Belgium.
The ash supplies will come from plants across Europe including those operated by Suez in the UK, and are thought to include its energy from waste facilities on Teesside and near Bristol.
The French-owned company this week described the development of the Ghent facility as an “innovation” and claimed it was the first plant in Europe to recover the materials.
Non-ferrous particles recovered from the bottom ash during the trials for the plant
An innovation from SUEZ makes its European debut: a process to recover non-ferrous metals from bottom ash produced by the waste-to-energy activities.
The project has received financial support from the Flemish government, said the company.
Fine particles
In a statement Suez explained that “Bottom ash is residue linked to combustion and the waste-to-energy process. It can be used for roads or runways or to produce stackable building blocks mixed with cement. Today, using the internally developed ‘Valomet’ process, Suez is going even further by recovering fine non-ferrous metal particles of between 0 and 20 mm in size from bottom ash.”
A pilot project began in Ghent in November 2015. Metal concentrates from bottom ash were processed and separated. Over a one-year trial period, the company said it extracted around 1,300 tonnes of fine metal particles, which were then returned to the production process, through foundries and metal refineries. This pilot project recovered tonnes of aluminium and denser non-ferrous metals such as copper, lead and zinc.
A statement from the company said: “In early 2018, SUEZ starts building a new industrial plant in the port of Ghent. The new site is scheduled to be operational at the end of the year. Its aim is to multiply the production capacity of the pilot site tenfold and to process up to 12,000 tonnes a year by 2019. The materials processed will come from European countries, including Belgium, France, the UK and Poland.”
In view of the significant investment in research, technology and training associated with this type of facility, Suez said it welcomed the support provided by the Flemish government.
Circular economy
Philippe Muyters, Flemish minister for employment and the economy, said: “The Flemish government has invested 1 million Euros to implement the new plant with a ‘zero waste target’, in Ghent. The facility will ensure a territorial anchorage of Suez’activities in Ghent, which is very good news for the economy and employment in the area. The Flemish support also encourages the international Group Suez to invest in the circular economy in Flanders”.
For Suez, Jean-Marc Boursier, group deputy CEO in France for company’s European recycling operations, said: “I would like to thank the Flemish government for supporting this innovative European project. In this new plant, SUEZ will recover bottom ash from its European energy recovery units from 2019 and will thus increase its production of non-ferrous metals such as copper, gold, silver and aluminium. This innovation marks a new stage in the circular economy, in which we give final waste a second life and protect natural resources.”
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Source: letsrecycle.com Metal
