23 Jul 2018

AVR, a Dutch company specialising in the regeneration of energy from renewable sources, operates a waste-to-energy plant for the treatment of urban solid waste in Duiven, Arnhem area of the Netherlands.

Supported by an international partner for the sale of gas and technological solutions in the sector, AVR has contracted Tecno Project Industriale to implement a large-scale carbon capture project to recover CO₂ from the flue gases that are emitted by the waste-to-energy plant.

Under the contract, which commenced early in the year, TPI will install a facility for CO₂ recovery using selective solvents, which will convert waste gas generated by the combustion of refuse into a useful resource. Carbon dioxide obtained from stripping, compression and liquefaction processes will be stored in special tanks and transported to local farms to be integrated into the process of chlorophyll photosynthesis in greenhouses.

This will allow the end-users to benefit from an eco-friendly and ready-to-use resource, alleviating the environmental impact linked to the use of methane gas.

This 100% eco-sustainable project maximises the facility’s potential by allowing the non-stop recovery of useful fumes derived from the waste-to-energy process, which to date have been utilised exclusively during the winter months for local heating. The continuous recovery of emissions will allow the company to offset the costs of running the plant with a much quicker and more effective return on investment.

This type of technology will also make a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gases emissions generated by the incinerator, which are harmful to the atmosphere.

This project will serve as a benchmark and a replicable business model for all companies both in the Netherlands, which is already particularly sensitive to the issue of sustainability, and throughout the rest of Europe.

The planned facility will be unprecedented in Europe in terms of its size and innovation. It represents a major challenge in a new application sector for TPI — which has so far concentrated its business on more standardised systems in the food and beverage sector — as well as a great opportunity.

The Bergamo-based company, selected from a number of international competitors, has demonstrated remarkable flexibility in developing a credible and functional solution that fits the confining parameters of an engineering design imposed by the client.

The recovery facility, which consists of CO₂ extraction and storage plants, is expected to enter operation in the summer of 2019. TPI is responsible for fulfilling the entire project: from the feasibility study and the construction of the highly customised facility, to installation and start-up.

A project of this magnitude also represents a feather in the cap of the entire SIAD Group — of which TPI has been a part since 2014 — which has always paid close attention to the vital issues of sustainability and renewable energy.

Once again, the Italian company has succeeded in applying Italian manufacturing excellence to the application of a pioneering and innovative project, producing a winning solution in a short time and maintaining high quality standards that comply fully with the client’s requests.