Alternative waste technology //
Queensland gives pyrolysis a go
If proven to work, pyrolysis of waste tyres could have wide ranging benefits.( Credit: Tim Green, Flickr CC)
By Jacqueline Ong
QUEENSLAND could soon have its first commercial pyrolysis plant for the treatment of waste tyres and plastics. In June, consulting firm Iolar assisted a local client in obtaining approval for a“ small” plant from the state’ s Department of Environment and Heritage Protection( DEHP), which the client said would be treated as a pilot facility for now.
Given it is still early days, the client has declined to be named but provided
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In addition to wanting to find an environmentally friendly way of disposing of tyres, which there is no lack of in Australia, the company said it had a site in central Queensland that was“ perfect” for the operation.
The company has secured approval to process 5000 tonnes of end-of-life tyres a year and is able to do so at 10 tonnes per cycle.
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“ First, the tyres are loaded into the chamber and gasified through heating. The gases are condensed and the oil produced is used to heat the chamber. Once this is completed, the wire and carbon black is removed before commencing another batch,” a company spokesperson explained.
The entire process takes about 12 hours and a further four hours is needed to cool and unload the wire and carbon black. According to the spokesperson, 100 % of the feedstock can be recycled.
“ Carbon black can be reused in new products,” the spokesperson said, adding“ a proportion of oil is re-used in the process with the surplus refined and used as fuel oil.” The wire collected will also be recycled.
There is some scepticism and concern around pyrolysis technologies, particularly whether it can indeed be proven to work on a commercial scale.
“ The first challenge is to prove the technology as there is some doubt about it at present. We would like to operate it successfully for the next 12 months and then see when we can go from there,” the company spokesperson said.
“ If the pyrolysis process can be proven to work, the benefits are wide ranging. These plants could be set up around the country to handle waste tyres and the labour costs are minimal.
Iolar said the approval process was a lengthy one given the general lack of data around pyrolysis.
“ We initially met with DEHP to discuss the approval options in early 2014. Following that, the client went to China to look at a similar plant and we requested the emissions monitoring to be completed. We had enough information to prepare the development application and licence amendment in mid-2015. After responding to an information request and extending the approval timeframe to negotiate on emissions monitoring requirements, we finally gained approval in June this year,” Iolar managing director Patrick Navin said.
“ We were working with very little data and the data we had was from a similar pyrolysis plant overseas. However, heating came from a different fuel source, and emissions monitoring that we requested be undertaken was analysed using local standards. Due to language differences, it was difficult to convert the emissions into comparable data for the Queensland / Australian conditions and regulatory requirements,” he added.
The DEHP had requested that the plant be monitored on a continuous basis, which proved to be cost prohibitive.
“ So we assisted the client to engage a specialist air emissions consultant to assist with DEHP negotiations and come up with emissions parameters that were satisfactory to the DEHP, can be monitored on a one batch per month basis, and [ this ] reduced emissions monitoring costs.”
As part of the approval, the company is required to monitor emissions for the first 12 months and prepare a report for the DEHP. Emissions limits will then be reviewed.
Like the client, Navin believes that if proven to work, pyrolysis has a place in the sector and as such, should be given a chance.
“ We may not have all the answers to all the questions but some questions can be answered after commencement of operation and that’ s ok, as long as we can be confident that the surrounding community and environment are protected,” he said.
He also acknowledged that there were concerns about closures of pyrolysis plants overseas but said Iolar’ s research showed these closures were related to either the lack of approvals for the facilities or mismanagement of sites.
“ We don’ t see these issues with this plant,” Navin said.
The plant is currently in its commissioning phase and the company is hopeful that it will become operational by the end of July. iw
38 INSIDEWASTE AUGUST 2016 Weekly news updates at www. BEN-global. com / waste