ENVIRONMENTAL RECLAMATION SERVICES LIMITED Ltd
Advancing ex situ bioremediation through the use of chemical oxidation post-treatment
Start Date: January 2008 Duration: 6 months
The purpose of this project was to assess the use of chemical oxidation to accelerate remediation of high molecular weight TPH fractions and PAHs ex situ, in particular, for soils otherwise undergoing bioremediation treatment. As well as assessing the potential to degrade these contaminants of interest, the project assessed certain parameters such as oxidant concentration and catalysts (naturally occurring minerals (uncharacterised), iron salt and commercial formula) in order to determine the most cost effective approach. ëNaturalí soil pH was maintained in order not to inhibit bioremediation. Finally, moisture content was maintained at a level appropriate for bioremediation.
Conclusions:
Bioremediation is a cost-effective remediation approach for hydrocarbon contaminated soils. However, the bioremediation process may be slow (months or years), particularly for high molecular weight total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) fractions and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Chemical oxidation on the other hand is a potentially rapid remediation approach (taking weeks or months) and has been widely investigated for in situ applications.
The purpose of this project was to assess the use of chemical oxidation to accelerate remediation of high molecular weight TPH fractions and PAHs ex situ, in particular for soils otherwise undergoing bioremediation treatment. As well as assessing the potential to degrade these contaminants of interest, the project assessed certain parameters. An example is oxidant concentration and catalysts (naturally occurring minerals, iron salt and commercial formula) in order to determine the most cost-effective approach.
Although enhanced degradation of PAHs by chemical oxidation was demonstrated in one of the soils tested, the level was insufficient for soils to achieve site-specific remediation targets in an accelerated time period. In this soil, TPH which was at a comparatively low concentration was unaffected by the chemical oxidant. Overall, the effectiveness of chemical oxidation was impeded by the proceeding bioremediation treatment process.
Despite the unfavourable results, the project allowed ERS to develop its in-house knowledge and capabilities to offer laboratory treatability tests for chemical oxidation. Further work will be required to develop a ësmart treatment trainí for these two soil remediation techniques.
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Impact Laboratories Ltd
A feasibility study on use of waste liquid packaging board in the production of wood plastic composites
Start Date: April 2008 Duration: 2 months
The overall aim of the project was to determine the feasibility of whether waste Liquid Packaging Board (LPB) cartons could be incorporated as a raw material in the manufacture of Wood Plastic Composites following only a dry grinding/cutting treatment.
Conclusions:
The feasibility of using processed Liquid Packaging Board (LPB) as a feedstock in Wood Plastic Composite (WPC) manufacture has been successfully examined at small scale thanks to the SETN small project grant. Samples of LPB from 3 leading manufactures, Tetrapak, Elopak and SIG were processed, combined and used to prepare WPC to a standard recipe. The physical properties of the WPC samples were measured and compared to known standards.
The results clearly show that without optimisation of processing conditions, LPB can be successfully incorporated (up to 30% by weight) into a typical WPC recipe producing materials that are at least as good as WPCs produced from wood flour, or in some circumstances, better.
Overall, it can therefore be concluded that dry, ground waste LPB could be a cheap but effective raw material for WPC production. Also, waste LPB is problematic for recycling companies; therefore use in WPC production may provide an effective route to divert LPB from landfill. Any future work would be directed towards optimising LPB grinding, LPB addition levels, WPC formulations and processing conditions.
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Stewart Renewables Ltd
Effluent biogas testing
Start Date: June 2008 Duration: 2 months
The overall aim of the project was to determine the feasibility of designing and building a site specific anaerobic digestion (AD) plant to treat liquid dairy effluents whilst delivering a degree of self-sufficiency in meeting energy requirements.This project was split into 2 phases:
Phase 1: testing the effluent for biogas yield, including the degree of pH correction required to optimise biogas generation (SETN funded).
Phase 2: using the data derived from the testing phase and follow on tests to design a full scale plant.
Conclusions:
The whey produced by the dairy was tested using compositional analysis at Glasgow Caledonian University. Further lab-scale Mesophilic Anaerobic Digestion trials (MAD) were undertaken in conjunction with AquaEnviro Ltd.
The results from the trial indicated that the anaerobic digestion of dairy whey is possible; however, they did not produce the levels of biogas that had been expected. Analysis of the biogas indicated the presence of elevated sulphide concentrations which impacted on the methane producing bacteria in the system. A corresponding reduction in the removal of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) also confirmed this finding. Several other factors were identified which contributed towards the lower methane production:
1) High volatile fatty acid levels in the feed and the digester. The increased concentration of fatty acids resulted in a decrease in pH in the digester leading to an inhibition of the methane producing bacteria. This could be controlled through the use of alkaline buffers.
2) The seed bacteria used in the digester were sourced from a waste stream consisting of high sugar concentrations and lower levels of protein. This resulted in lower levels of biogas production. Future bacterial selection and control of the AD feedstock would result a higher biogas yield.
After determining that the bacteria in the reaction vessels were inhibited by the low concentrations of sugars in the original dairy effluent, further additions of glucose (C source) were trialled. These additions resulted in a short lived improvement in biogas yield. A recommendation for future work would be to source industrial based anaerobic bacteria that have been acclimatised to high protein based wastes. This would hopefully result in a more efficient reactor leading to higher biogas yields and reduced COD levels in the effluent.
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CatalySystems Ltd
Field trial of Advanced Photocatalytic reactor for Wastewater treatment in the Middle-East
Start Date: June 2009 Duration: 2 months
A multi-national company asked to trial a CatalySystems Ltd Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) water decontamination system for one of its large Middle-east facilities, which was having difficulty complying with local effluent discharge limits. All other conventional treatment methods tried by the company proved ineffective.
The CatalySystems AOP had been successful in laboratory-scale trials with samples from one of the company's plants.
Conclusions:
The SETN Small Project Fund enabled CatalySystems Ltd to undertake a field trial and demonstrate the efficacy of the technology to resolve a serious environmental discharge violation. The trial also acted as a showcase for the system's ability to destroy this contaminant for clients in other global industries.
Although the contaminants in the process wastewater had defeated prior treatment approaches, they proved to be extremely amenable to destruction by the photocatalytic reactor design employed by CatalySystems Ltd. This has led to considerable interest from the manufacturer of the lubes and coolants, these compounds being used across many different industrial sectors. It has also led CatalySystems Ltd to a further opportunity to treat waste water from a chemical and catalyst manufacturing company in mainland Europe.
In Dubai, the client is now awaiting a decision from regulatory authorities, who have recently indicated they may institute far more stringent discharge limits, requiring reuse and recycle with ìzero-dischargeî to the local waters. This has changed the emphasis of the CatalySystems Ltd trials and will mean that, rather than a simple case being made for a full scale system to keep COD below the given consent limits, we will now be working to make a case for water re-use and recycling. A further outcome of this pilot trial is positive data for a marketing flyer.
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Scottish Bioenergy Ventures Ltd
Selection of indigenous, fast growing, high protein algal strains for application in CO2 capture bioreactor systems with market value as a feedstock for fish food
Start Date: July 2009 Duration: 2 months
A pilot scale bioreactor was installed at the Glenturret distillery near Crieff. It is known that algae are highly effective at converting carbon dioxide into biomass that can be rich in proteins and oils. In this project the company isolated, cultivated and analysed indigenous species of freshwater microalgae that have desirable characteristics for use as a feedstock for farmed freshwater fish. The bioreactor operating conditions were optimised to maximise the CO2 capture efficiency and the algal biomass yield.
Conclusions:
Six species of wild algae were isolated from Loch Turret and the River Spey and grown at the Glenturret Distillery in a bioreactor using distillery flue gas, University of Edinburgh under lab conditions, and in St Cyrus using both natural and artificial light. Two species were identified as being desirable for the cultivation of shellfish food; Chlorella and Scenedesmus. These species of algae when analysed had protein levels in excess of 50%. In addition to this both species had a rapid growth rate. It was also observed that both species appeared to be resistant to invasive species of bacteria and other wild algae.
Copper in distillery effluent is a major environmental issue in the Scotch whisky industry. A preliminary experiment was conducted using distillery effluent kindly supplied by The Macallan Distillery to monitor the uptake of copper using Chlorella vulgaris. This experiment highlighted the fact that copper uptake occurs rapidly. In this experiment it occurred in the first 30 min. Further analysis must be conducted to determine the levels of copper in the post-harvest algal mass in a large scale reactor.
Further experiments altering the feedstock have been planned in a new collaboration with Edinburgh Napier University. Through manipulation of the environment, Chlorella and Scenedesmus species dominated the colony resulting in a more desirable algal biomass (i.e. protein content). These two species overwhelmed other species which had slower growth rates in the applied conditions. These two species will also grow throughout the winter months if they have the benefit of waste heat. Since all distilleries have an abundance of waste heat, it is anticipated that the system will be able to meet the needs of the industry throughout the year.
The algal biomass grown at the distillery appears well suited as a food for seed shellfish; specifically mussels and oysters. Scottish Bioenergy has established dialogue with the Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers. The company is now in talks with several Islay distilleries and key people from the shellfish industry. We are now exploring deployment of Scotland's only seed shellfish farm which will be feed with the algal biomass generated from distillery effluent. Waste heat from the distillery will be used to increase growth rates during colder months. Waste heat will also be utilised to keep the seed shellfish warm. This results in faster seed maturity.
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Sureclean Ltd
Pilot plant trial of a new separation system for heavy oil from silt/sludge using chemical and mechanical techniques
Start Date: June 2010 Duration: 3 months
The project aimed to establish a cost-effective treatment technique by conducting pilot trials for the separation of heavy oil such as weathered crude oil from silt/sludge giving rise to clean solid phase and wastewater using a combination of chemical and mechanical techniques. Unlike conventional oily sludge treatment (thermal treatment), the process is unique as it uses mechanical (high shear mixer) principles to enhance the release of heavy oil from the particle/sand grains. The heavy oil can be recovered for further processing; while the effluent phase can be further treated before being re-used in cleaning, water jetting and industrial processes. The solid fraction shall be tested after the trial and it is expected to be fit for inert landfill disposal. Applications include tank cleaning sludge, drill cuttings treatment, oil lagoon primarily seen in the Canada, North Africa and the Middle-east.
Conclusions:
The project showed positive results that gave Sureclean a greater confidence to pursue the soil washing technology further. Sustainable development of environmental technologies is inevitable to sustain future needs for clean water and land. Environmental legislation remains one of the key drivers for treatment technologies development. Therefore, Sureclean will aim to conduct further trials to enhance the technology. Sureclean hope to develop a full scale soil washing unit in 12-18 monthsí time. Sureclean aspire to produce an integrated solid and liquid waste treatment technology that are able to be ëplug-and-playí as well as being mobile and modular to provide treatment support to anywhere in the world, thereby reduce water environment pollution and reduce hazardous solid waste to landfill.
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Clean Earth Capital LLP
Spruce Fuel Cell proof of concept
Start Date: June 2010 Duration: 1 month
The aim of the project was to provide external corroboration of the Aluminium Air Fuel Cell Technology developed by the late Fred Spruce (the inventor) to support equity raising to allow LLP to apply for SMART funding.
Conclusions:
WRS Energy Ltd were approached by David Kipling of Spruce Fuel Cells LLP to report on the commercial and technical feasibility of an ëAluminium-Air Fuel Cellí development and the viability of the approach proposed by the proposed developer, Fearsomengine for the prototype systems to be developed using SMART support.
WRS Energy Ltd concluded that the scientific basis set out in the documents provided are sound, and are satisfied that the approach proposed by Fearsomengine appears reasonable and will both (a) restrict initial costs pending proof of the initial single cell, and (b) also provide the outcomes sought by Spruce Fuel Cells LLP to demonstrate a commercially viable innovation.
The approach to be taken will mitigate risk as far as possible, and that on the face of the technology, has potential to be commercialised. The next step of development is a commercial trial which will be undertaken in the near future.
Following on from this project the team were successful in applying for a £75k SMART Award.
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Moock Environmental Solutions Ltd
Feasibility and Market Research into Re-use of Enviro Pigments (spent toner cartridge pigments)
Start Date: July 2010 Duration: 2 months
This project undertook a feasibility/market research investigation into the current markets for Enviro Pigments which are recovered from spent toner cartridges from printers. This material is currently sent to landfill and it is anticipated that its use in various niche markets such as cementitious products could divert it from landfill by providing an alternative outlet. Current research being carried out by a Scottish University will provide information on the technical suitability of the process.
Conclusions:
The report describes the results of a study undertaken to evaluate the opportunities for the inclusion of toner powder recovered from OKI spent cartridges. Six million inkjet and laser cartridges are consumed in the UK each year. An estimated 50% of these cartridges are destined for the landfill. This equates to a minimum of 700 tonnes of toner powder as a waste product annually during toner production and cartridge manufacture in the UK.
Moock Environmental Solutions Ltd., based at Blairlinn Industrial Estate in Cumbernauld has developed a process to recover toner powder from a process for the full recycling of spent toner cartridges. Research was carried out to ascertain the viability as a raw material in various manufacturing processes. From the initial findings, composite materials such as rubber, plastic, fibre glass and bituminous products merit serious consideration. A comparison with other commonly used raw materials in those manufacturing processes indicated that the properties of Enviro Pigments, have similar chemical structure to carbon black, both being a derivative of oil. Asphaltic products for road construction, concrete and concrete products are not included as Moock Environmental Solutions Ltd. has established a project with Dundee University CTU and Aggregate Industries to assess the suitability for inclusion as a pigment for this market sector. Opportunities exist within the markets researched to develop a market. Environmentally, the effect of remanufacturing toner powder into a reusable product will assist companies in greatly reducing their carbon footprint.
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