Compressors key to new energy-from-waste project

London – Atlas Copco Compressors has supplied equipment for a project to convert domestic and industrial waste into energy is being commissioned at Dargavel, Dumfries in Scotland. Designed, built and funded by Ascot Environmental and operated by ScotGen Ltd the plant uses hazardous and non-hazardous waste to provide power and heat production while managing residual wastes usually destined for landfill.

The project, which is being commissioned at Dargavel, Dumfries in Scotland, is said to use an entirely new process to treat waste and generate heat and electricity from waste that would otherwise go to landfill. Atlas Copco was originally contacted for its proposals for a compressed air supply by process engineering consultants Otto Simon Ltd, who were assisting Ascot Environmental with the project.

Manchester-based environmental, civil and building services group Ascot Environmental claims its design will offer a commercially viable non-landfill alternative for 60ktpa of waste. The plant is able to process waste from domestic, agricultural and industrial sources and will generate 6.2MW of electrical power per year for the National Grid.

Heat from the gasification process could also be used by local industries, while the energy-from-waste plant has capacity to deal with the municipal waste from the population of a town or city of 250,000 people; operating 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.
 
The Dargavel installation currently comprises two network-linked GA37+ 8bar, oil-injected rotary screw compressors, said Atlas Copco. These are designed for integrated air treatment and downstream filtration and are equipped with an OSC600 oil/water condensate separator, an EWD 330 electronic condensate drain, a 3,000 litre air receiver, plus an ES4i integrated sequence controller.
 
The compressed air system supplies all of the plant and instrument air with its main application being in the flue gas filtration facility. Here pulses of air are required periodically to clean the filtration bags housed in three units on site. Air is also supplied to the continuous emission monitoring system to ensure that all emissions to atmosphere are cleaned of contaminants to a level that satisfies environmental requirements.
 
“In view of the material we handle and the nature of the gasification conversion process, it is vital that we maintain a reliable emission monitoring system at all times. We need to comply with the strictest air quality and pollution prevention regulations,” said Lloyd Brotherton, project director at Ascot Environmental. “The batch oxidation system technology comfortably conforms to these standards and enables us to meet and surpass even the most stringent requirements.”