Water, Sewage & Effluent January February 2019 | Page 38

From waste to
wealth global
Anton Pieterse of Recor
shares his insights on
the potential of waste
and what the rest of the
world is doing.
By Ntsako Khosa
38
O
perating in South America
and in parts of Europe
and Asia, Pieterse says
that the culture in these
regions is what has
caused many of the
countries to see the value of waste.
“India is more open to the technology
we use. We’re seeing emerging
markets showing interest versus
counterparts,” he explains. Speaking
at the Mail & Guardian Circular
Economy: From Waste to Wealth
forum, he shared that Recor has the
ability to convert any waste into any
form of energy at any scale.
“We use a ‘green’ technology
known as ‘pyrolysis’. It is a recognised
renewable energy medium which
heats carbon without the presence
of oxygen; we convert it to gas and
then into energy. No toxic gases are
released during the process and
that is why it is a green technology,”
he explains. Some of the waste that
they can convert includes municipal,
medical, abattoir, industrial, fast-
moving consumer goods (FMCG),
sewage, sludge, tyres, and plastics.
This waste can be converted into
electricity or fuel. “Most municipalities
clean the water, but they don’t know
what to do with the rest, and that is
where we come in.”
Rand Water produces about 600
tons of mud pumped out on a pan,
every day. The mud/sludge would be
released during the filtration process
to give us clean water. Recor was
called to pitch to see if they can
beneficiate the waste into something
economically viable. “We melted the
Water Sewage & Effluent January/February 2019
mud and what was left was an iron
composite, completely stable and
inert. Further melting with carbon and
coal led to ferrosilicon, which sells for
USD1 000 a ton.” The project was
not taken further, as burning the mud
uses a lot of electricity and other
alternatives were not sourced.
Challenges, challenges
“Waste is the most underestimated
renewable energy source, yet it is the
most beneficial as it gets rid of waste
while producing energy if done right,”
he says. Despite this, he laments that
South Africa has not really seen a real
capture of waste. A conflict of interest
exists in terms of revenue, regulation,
and licensing. “I’ve met with people
from the power utility and they have
shown interest in our meetings;
however, there’s been little follow
through.”
Compared to other countries, he
says that technologies and solutions
implementation in local government
is virtually non-existent. “Corruption,
greed, and theft are some of the
reasons why. Perception also plays a
role because when they hear that they
need to build a waste-to-energy plant,
they think it costs billions to set up,”
he says.
Without the buy-in of government
and municipalities, it is difficult
for the private sector to enter
the market. “Government is the
enemy of waste-to-energy
conversion. If they do not
corrupt it, Eskom sabotages
it, through licensing and
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