Handling organics solids and sludges
SRM, one of Europe's largest waste disposal companies, has developed a process that enables it to accept organic containing solids and sludges in 'bulk' form, including in skips and tipper vehicles.
This has become important because the final phase of the Landfill Directive now often prevents such material from being sent to landfill sites.
The solids handling plant has been designed and built by SRM's own research and development and engineering teams. The type of material it can accept includes filter cakes, vehicle paint shop sludges, centrifuge wastes, tank bottoms and oily sludges, all of which can be processed into Cemfuel - used as a fuel in cement kilns and helping to replace finite fossil fuel resources.
The very high temperatures in a cement kiln - over 1450 deg Celsius - ensure that all organic materials in the fuel are completely and safely destroyed.
Material is analysed on arrival at SRM's Heysham plant and discharged into a large hopper. From there it is transferred via a screw feed mechanism into a dispersion vessel containing a mixture of carrier solvents - themselves derived from wastes - and an additive that helps break up the solids into suspendable particles.
It then passes through a macerator into an agitated storage tank before being recirculated through the macerator and dispersion vessel. The process is repeated until the mixture is stable enough to be sent into the Cemfuel blending system.
Although SRM is well able to handle hazardous solid wastes in drums it is not always practical for its customers to supply it in this way, which makes the new solids handling plant a welcome additional solution to the problem.
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