ArrowBio Mechanical-Biological Waste Treatment Plant to be Developed at Avondale Landfill Site, Falkirk, Scotland

Oaktech Limited, owners of the ArrowBio MBT-Anaerobic Digestion technology in the UK and Eire, have signed a contract with Avondale Environmental Limited to commence the Design Development of a cc. 100,000 tonnes per annum capacity MSW treatment facility at the Avondale Landfill Site in Falkirk, Scotland.

Avondale Landfill - Falkirk, Scotland

Courtesy Bill Miller Photography of Falkirk (01324 624 708)

Avondale Environmental, who own and operate the Avondale landfill in the Falkirk area just off junction 4 of the M9 motorway, have chosen ArrowBio as their preferred technology partner for the development of a processing facility for treating mixed waste from both household and commercial sources. Waste will be diverted from landfill with recyclable materials recovered and renewable electricity generated for supply to the national grid.

Upon completion of the Design Development phase, the construction of the Plant will take 16 months, subject to receiving the necessary consent. This will provide nearby Local Authorities with the opportunity of moving some way towards landfill diversion targets required by the EU Landfill Directive.

Rated as one of the most consistent and among the highest for landfill diversion rates as well as methane-yielding processes, the ArrowBio technology, was featured in the Juniper MBT Report 2005, and went onto to be independently reviewed in Juniper's ArrowBio Process Review 2008.

The process was first developed by Arrow Ecology Ltd with a commercial-scale facility operating since January 2003 in Tel-Aviv, Israel. A 90,000 tpa installation commssioned by WSN Environmental Ltd. at Jacks Gully, Sydney, Australia was completed in summer 2008.

ArrowBio can take unsorted or part-sorted waste straight from the waste collection vehicle. Using a series of water-based processes, including settling and washing; the system is able to recover cleaned metals, plastics and glass. The hydromechanical sorting system prepares the biodegradable fraction of the waste for anaerobic digestion by shredding with high-pressure water jets then removing sand and grit through sedimentation. The resulting ‘soup’ is pumped into the anaerobic digesters where high levels of methane-rich (~70-80% methane content) biogas is produced prior to use in gas engine to produce green electricity. The UK and Eire patents holders, Oaktech, also confirm that other orders are in the pipeline.

In addition to the already hugely successful existing landfill gas energy centre at the Avondale Landfill Site, the Avondale ArrowBio project is expected to produce biogas capable of generating approximately 2.5MW renewable electricity, which will be available for supply to the national grid, as well as all of the power requirements for the facility itself.

For further information contact:

Stuart Gordon

Project Manager

Oaktech Limited

More information is also available on the Lets Recycle website.