Displaying items by tag: Solid Recovered Fuel

UK: Axion Polymers has invested significantly in new laboratory and testing facilities to ensure consistent quality of its solid recovered fuel (SRF) products and to satisfy the stringent standards of its technical end markets.

It has installed a laboratory-scale furnace at its large-scale processing facility, Shredder Waste Advanced Processing Plant (SWAPP), in Trafford Park, Manchester to enhance accurate measurement and testing of the physical and thermal properties of its Axfuel® SRF 30, an alternative fuel used by the cement industry, among others.

Axion has also recruited a quality control team working within ISO 9001 operating procedures to conduct in-house product testing, including analysis on critical aspects such as SRF calorific value and chemical composition. Samples are sent on a weekly basis to external laboratories for further testing and verification.

Derived from automotive shredder residue, Axfuel SRF 30 is a sub 30mm-sized mixture of textiles, fibre-fluff, plastic, foam and rubber, with a gross calorific value of 18 - 22MJ/Kg and available in large tonnages.

"We have made this important investment because alternative fuels from waste need to be treated as a product, not as a waste. If SRF is to deliver the fuel benefit and meet the technically-demanding specifications of our end markets, it has to be of consistently high quality so customers can buy with confidence," said Axion director Roger Morton. "By operating within strict quality controls, we can ensure our reliable supply of SRF is produced to exceptionally high standards. As this fuel is sourced from end-of-life vehicles, giving it a second life as an alternative high-energy feed is going to be an attractive option for companies who want to demonstrate their environmental credentials."

Portugal: N+P International has announced the signing of a five year contract for the supply of solid recovered fuels (SRF) into a number of cement plants belonging to the Portuguese cement companies Secil and Cimpor. The contract was signed by Gestão Ambiental e Valorização Energética, a subsidiary company of Secil, Cimpor and SGVR, responsible for sourcing and supply of alternative fuels and raw materials into the Portuguese cement industry.

"In the past years we have invested millions to develop UK market, to provide end users of our SRF sustainable supply concept. We have put a lot of effort in optimising quality levels of SRF in the UK market, as well as investing in the development of sustainable logistic chains. Now N+P has several port sites at strategic locations and the possibility to use a large number of sea containers," said Karel Jennissen, chairman of N+P.

By signing the contract N+P has committed to supply over 700,000t of SRF in the next five years. The majority of the SRF is already sourced and contracted by companies in the UK recycling market. A minor part of the volume will be sourced in Italy and France.

UK/Lativa: Recycling and resource management company, SITA UK, has signed a three-year contract to supply 180,000t of solid recovered fuel (SRF) to Cemex in Latvia. The fuel will be produced by processing residual commercial waste in a purpose-built facility at Ridham Docks in Kent. Once processed, the SRF material will be used as a fossil-fuel replacement at a Cemex plant in Broceni, southern Latvia.

"We have invested over Euro7.53m developing a new processing facility to produce and bale SRF at Ridham. This brand new, purpose-built facility was commissioned in August 2012 and we are sending our first shipment to Latvia in September 2012," said Andy Hill, head of organics and alternative fuels, at SITA UK.

SITA UK uses residual commercial waste, which has a higher calorific value and lower moisture content than municipal waste. Its facility in Ridham can process up to 50t/hr. The company has a one year trans-frontier shipment permit to export the SRF to Cemex in Latvia.

Earlier in April 2012, SITA UK and Cemex announced their intention to develop two waste recycling plants to produce alternative fuel for Cemex's Rugby plant in Warwickshire. SITA UK, a subsidiary of Suez Environment, is a recycling and resource management company employing over 6000 staff with a turnover in excess of Euro879m/yr.

UK: Plans to burn used tyres and plastics for energy at Lafarge's Aberthaw works in South Wales have been submitted to the Environment Agency for approval. Lafarge's comes after it sent out 5000 letters to residents explaining the latest proposals and held two public consultations. The proposal has previously sparked concerns among some residents and environmentalists.

The plant's management team says that the move would cut costs and reduce coal burning and CO₂ emissions. The proposal comes six years after the Lafarge meat and bone meal (MBM) from cows and sheep as a sustainable waste-derived fuel at the plant. If the move is approved by the Environment Agency, the used Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF), including papers and plastics, and end-of-life car and van tyres, could save up to 15,500t/yr of coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 20,000t/yr.

James Kirkpatrick, manager at the Aberthaw works, which has an integrated capacity of 0.55Mt/yr, said the plan had been prompted by increased competition in the cement market and a serious downturn in demand for construction products. "Since it was introduced in 2005, we have used 50,000t of MBM which has significantly reduced our consumption of fossil fuels," he said. "Extending the range of sustainable waste-derived fuels we can use offers us a good way to keep a check on our costs which have been escalating."

Keith Stockdale, secretary of Barry and Vale Friends of the Earth, said, "The Environment Agency will have to impose strict conditions on the burning of this potentially hazardous waste."