SRS involves mining sewers for cellulose fibers (toilet paper) that are then converted into pellets or pulp that can be used in a  variety of industries.

Custom-packaged per the specifications of each industry, the Recyllose pellets, which look like rabbit food, can be used as an alternative to ethanol, for heat or electricity, or they can be used as an additive for pulp or paper and bioplastics.

When burned, the pellets do not emit harmful gases, according to the company, but they also boast a higher caloric value than wood.

“Using Recyllose as feedstock for manufacturing plastic will lower production costs considerably,” according to the company literature, “thereby enhancing the cost effectiveness of the entire bio-plastics industry, while increasing the use of recycled sources as an alternative to fossil fuels.”

By mining sewers, Applied CleanTech claims that it can prevent half of the sludge from being formed, thereby cutting up to 30 percent of WWTP operational costs.

The SRS will be installed for a test period in early 2014 at Aa en Maas Water Board municipal WWTP at Aarle-Rixtel; Smurfit Kappa Roermond Papier, a leading paper producer, will also trial the resulting product.

If all goes well, Applied CleanTech will be invited to distribute their system throughout the Netherlands.

“We are delighted to start our first project in the Netherlands and we hope that after a successful trial period, our sewage mining technology will be installed across the Netherlands ensuring a greener, power efficient future for generations to come,” said Applied CleanTech Chief Executive Officer Dr. Refael Aharon in a recent press statement.

The Dutch are excited as well.

“The Dutch water industry is a worldwide leader water treatment and water management,” said Job Rosenhart, Energy Advisor for Dutch Industry at Agentschap NL.

He added that the agreement between Applied CleanTech, AA enMaas water board, Stowa and Smurfit Kappa Roermond Papier is about more than just mining sewers.

“In a broader sense, this agreement is strategic as it launches a new era of cooperation between Israel and the Netherlands in water and energy. We view this cooperation as strategic due to the cultural compatibility and complimentary needs and abilities of both peoples, and hope it would be the one of many such successful ventures between our two nations.”

The comparison is not without merit. The Dutch are renowned for innovations aimed at reducing their environmental impact, Israel’s clean tech savvy has made significant gains as well.

Looks like a match made in sewers.

The post Israeli Firm to Mine Dutch Sewers for the New Gold appeared first on Green Prophet.

The new RDF plant at the Hiriya Recycling Park will treat 1,500 tons of waste from the Tel Aviv metropolitan area every day, including wood, plastic, textiles, cardboard and paper, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Using a dry combustion process that emits zero harmful gasses, the waste will be transformed into fuel that can be used in the same way as conventional sources.

“This is a project that is going to generate a whole revolution in the treatment of waste in the Dan area and the whole of Israel,” said Gila Oron, head of the Tel Aviv region at the Interior Ministry.

The USD 113 million plant has been cooking since 2010 when it received original approval from the Interior Ministry, initial steps for its groundbreaking only took place recently during the International Waste Tech Conference initiated by the park and Dan Municipal Sanitation Association chairman Doron Sapir.

A collaborative project launched by the park, Veolia Environment and Nesher Israel Cement Enterprises, the 21,000 square meter plant will process 540,000 tons of waste each year, and a large portion of the energy generated will be used to at the cement plant.

Amit Marmur, Nesher’s environmental affairs manager, told Jerusalem Post that “using the fuel at the cement plant is both economically viable and safe.”

“We have one planet, we have limited resources and we are all responsible to manage them in an appropriate way,” he said. “We are following in the footsteps of many other factories and communities that have understood the value inherent in RDF.”

Abu Dhabi is building a 100MW trash to fuel plant, but the RDF facility at Hiriya will be the largest of its kind in the Middle East, and one of the largest in the world, according to Philippe Abraham, director of strategic planning at Veolia.

Not only will the plant divert just over half of the Gush Dan area’s waste into fuel, but the massive facility will also offer an excellent learning opportunity for visitors to the park, which has become quite famous for its recycling initiatives and art made from trash.

This combined with new solar initiatives will gradually make Israel less dependent on foreign energy sources, but we’re not likely to see the small nation give up its natural gas or shale oil ambitions any time soon.

:: Jerusalem Post

Image via Amir Paz, Flickr

The post Half of Tel Aviv’s Metropolitan Area Trash to be Used as Fuel appeared first on Green Prophet.