Emerson’s control technology and software is being deployed at HaloSep’s plant for optimisation, research and technology (PORT) in Gothenburg to manage a chemical separation process that recovers valuable salt, metals and minerals from fly ash. By providing an alternative to landfill disposal, the HaloSep process increases the sustainability of the waste to energy industry.
Recovering materials from difficult waste streams is an important contribution to greater circularity. There are more than 2,600 waste to energy plants worldwide, with a disposal capacity of approximately 460 million tonnes of municipal waste annually. About 2-5% of the incinerated waste becomes flue gas residue known as fly ash, which is a hazardous material containing contaminants such as heavy metals, chlorides and sulphates. Millions of tonnes of fly ash are currently transported to landfills by truck, rail or sea, which is both costly and unsustainable.
HaloSep president Staffan Svensson said: "Due to the irregular nature of household waste, fly ash produced from incineration has varying properties requiring different separation processes. Our PORT plant will analyse fly ash samples from around the world, test specific separation processes and demonstrate circular economy benefits to potential customers. Emerson’s technology and expert advice on implementing automation throughout the plant has played a vital role in optimising these processes, which when deployed, will help increase the sustainability of the waste-to-energy industry.”
Emerson designed and implemented a scalable control system architecture at the PORT facility and worked with HaloSep to develop unique separation sequences to efficiently recycle fly ash with variable compositions. Emerson’s DeltaV distributed control system is ensuring the safe and efficient operation of the separation processes. In addition, DeltaV Live software is providing human machine interfaces for operators, with dashboards providing reporting and management and supporting optimised decision-making and operational performance.
Nathan Pettus, president of Emerson’s process systems and solutions business, said: “Emerson is committed to helping our customers in industries such as plastics, lithium-ion battery manufacturing and waste-to-energy generation, to meet today’s growing industrial, processing and energy demands through sustainable innovations that minimise environmental impact. Emerson’s technologies and expertise are designed to handle the complexity of HaloSep’s recycling process.”