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Making the most of community rubbish
19/07/2005

The Bio-energy Research Group is developing a new approach to help local decision-makers choose the most sustainable and economic process for energy recovery from waste. The project is being sponsored by Compact Power, a waste to energy firm in Bristol, UK. The local approach is being developed by PhD student David Longden. It analyses the amount of waste produced, the cost of energy recovery methods, and national landfill and carbon emission legislation to give councils a range of options for producing energy from waste. Councils can choose the option of one large-scale plant, like the Tyseley Energy from Waste Plant in Birmingham, or a network of smaller local plants, like the Advanced Thermal treatment network under construction by Compact Power in Avonmouth, Bristol. Planners can choose between generating power only or using a combined heat and power plant that maximises energy recovery. David is testing his approach in case studies with Warwickshire and Cornwall County Councils. Looking to the future, David believes local power generation will be the way forward. “These new small-scale energy recovery plants are modular. They can be geared to a community’s waste disposal needs after allowing for maximum recycling and waste minimisation. Council decision-makers must be made aware of the small-scale approach and the feasibility it offers in achieving sustainable waste management.” Dr. John Brammer is supervising the project and has been working with Compact Power for the past three years. Dr. Brammer sees Compact Power as an ideal industrial partner because it is a firm that is “enthusiastic, forward-looking and serious about renewable energy R&D.” Compact Power specialises in flexible, modular designs that can process waste streams of widely different calorific values. The plants have a nominal throughput capacity in the range of 6,000 to 30,000 tpa generating heat and electricity (350kWe – 8MWe). Larger facilities can be built on this modular basis if appropriate to local conditions. The plants can process waste or biomass with a thermal conversion technology that uses pyrolysis, optional gasification and high temperature oxidation. Additional Information: Dr. John Brammer j.g.brammer@aston.ac.uk David Longden longdedm@aston.ac.uk Compact Power www.compactpower.co.uk