Gleisdorf, Austria-based Redwave says it has been contracted to equip a pretreatment plant for household waste that is being built in eastern China.
The plant is being designed to use mechanical biological treatment (MBT) technology, and it will dry and sort the waste before introducing it into a local waste-to-energy (WTE) plant. The capacity of the facility will amount to 650,000 short tons annually, or 1,800 tons per day.
The purchaser of the plant is a private Chinese waste and energy group, according to Redwave. The company also says the contract value is in the range of €24 million ($26.5 million).
The facility will be erected in China’s Shandong province, with the start of operations scheduled for early 2018. Previously, in late 2015, Redwave received an order for an MBT plant to be located near Shanghai. That plant is being designed to process 270,000 sjort tons of household waste per year.
The German branch of Redwave is “focused on mechanical biological waste treatment,” says the company. It will work in cooperation with construction company BT-Wolfgang Binder GmbH on the two waste processing plants in China.
In many Chinese provinces, household waste is very high in moisture and thus low in heating value and does not burn independently in waste incinerators without supportive co-firing of coal, say the companies. Since the first step in the MBT process is drying, the plants are ideal for China’s waste stream, they say.
During the second step, known as mechanical treatment, recyclable fractions, such as ferrous and nonferrous metals, are recovered from the dry matter. Also, incombustible, inert materials, including glass, sand, stones and pottery, are separated.
All combustible waste components, such as plastics, wood, paper, cardboard and other organics, are processed to a so-called refuse derived fuel (RDF) with a sufficient heating value. It will be used in a nearby combined heat and power plant which employs circulating fluidised bed technology (CFB). CFB furnaces can be efficient but require a more homogenous and further preprocessed waste compared with traditional grate furnaces, says Redwave. Both MBT plants will be operated fully automated.
Redwave says the new project is the largest individual order for the firm.