Dealing with an odour problem
30 Mar 2011
Ensus is continuing to battle an odour problem that has been affecting people living near its bioethanol plant in Wilton, Teesside for most of the last 12 months.
The company is still receiving complaints about emissions of an unpleasant odour, which has been caused by problems with two driers and an associated scrubbing system.
According to Ensus, the fabrication of two thermal oxidisers required to remove the “brewery-type odour” emanating from the animal feed drying section of the plant is now nearing completion. The units are being built in Prague by Megtek as part of an £8-million project to resolve the problem.
The first unit was due to be loaded on 24-25 January and shipped to Teesport, arriving on site on 31 January. The second unit was due to be delivered in mid-February.
Both units will be assembled and fully tested to check the safety systems and their operability before the plant is shut down at the end of April and the units connected into the plant.
ABB is managing the project, with K Home International responsible for the design and construction management. The design, off-site fabrication and on-site work is progressing well.
The Environment Agency (EA) has an enforcement notice in place requiring completion no later than the end of May.
Ensus’s engineering solutions have also included raising the height of the existing stack by 30m to 70m.
“We unreservedly apologise to people in the immediate area who have experienced the odour,” Peter Sopp, engineering director of Ensus, said in a statement back in early 2010.
“We recognise that many people have found it unpleasant and would like to emphasise that the current situation is not acceptable to us and does need to change.
“Reducing the impact of the odour remains our most urgent priority and will form the basis of our approach until we can implement more effective medium- and long-term engineering solutions.”
Last March, Ensus dispatched the first tanker of bioethanol from its recently-started wheat biorefinery on Teesside. The cargo went to Shell, which is taking all the output of the new £250-million plant on a 10-year contract.
Annual production of the Ensus biorefinery is expected to meet about a third of the UK’s requirement under the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation. The plant will also produce 350,000 tonnes a year of high protein animal feed, which will replace imports.
