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Transforming hazardous waste into resources with HaloSep & Vestforbrænding
Halosep and Vestforbrænding Collaborate to Pave the Way for Sustainable Waste Management
In a groundbreaking partnership, Halosep and Vestforbrænding are at the forefront of establishing the world's first facility dedicated to extracting metals from flue gas residues.
Located at Copenhagen's largest combined heat and power plant, Vestforbrænding, the facility aims to process approximately 15,000 tons of ash annually, extracting valuable metals such as zinc, along with other resources like road salt and purified ash. This innovative process, named HaloSep, is made possible with support from the EU's LIFE program.
The challenge of waste incineration and the birth of HaloSep:
Every year, Vestforbrænding's operations recycle over 570,000 tons of waste, providing more than 180,000 Danes with district heating and electricity. While energy recovery from waste is an environmentally friendly solution, the challenge lies in handling problematic by-products. Across Europe, hundreds of facilities face the same dilemma.
Halosep's patented technology addresses several issues associated with waste incineration. By neutralizing alkaline flue gas ash and hydrochloric acid in an integrated process, HaloSep produces treated and washed ash, a saline solution suitable for discharge or use as road salt, and a metal concentrate containing recoverable zinc and other metals.
EU support for sustainable innovation:
Recognizing the potential of HaloSep, Halosep and Vestforbrænding secured funding from the EU's LIFE program to construct a demonstration facility for this groundbreaking technology. The installation, taking place within Vestforbrænding's existing facility in Copenhagen, marks a significant step toward a more sustainable waste management solution.
Per Wulff, Energy Manager at Vestforbrænding, highlights the numerous benefits of the project:
"It's a win-win in many ways. The facility reduces the use of chemicals for purification, and the washed ash complies with current EU leaching requirements for local deposition. Moreover, it is free from heavy metals like cadmium, lead, and zinc. Transportation of ash to landfills is reduced, as less ash is generated and transported over shorter distances."
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