This arrived in the mail today ECOGAS needs our grass root support
On the 25th of April 2018 the Society of Engineers on Aruba (SIA) organizes an event where Mr. Ramsey Halabi of ECOGAS will present the approach to a possible solution for our waste problems on Aruba.
The new Government of Aruba is determined to solve the waste problems on the island. For that the Aruban Government announced in the media in January of this year to be working on sustainable waste management solutions. And to do that the Government identified a three-track approach:
- A new / solid waste thermal treatment & energy recovery plant
- Closure and remediation of the current landfill at Parkietenbos
- Creation of a sanitary landfill for residual waste and in case of debris from disasters
To that extent the Government requested the market to participate by sending in Requests for Information (RFI) on the above three-track approach. The deadline for sending this information was on the 16 of March 2018.
In a press release by the current Minister for the Environment declared that local and international companies reacted on the RFI’s, even from Europe and China.
However according to Ecogas, an approach to deal with the waste generated on Aruba is already in place. Before the upgrade of its facility into a gasification plant in 2014, Ecogas mechanically sorted the incoming waste stream, which also included labor intensive work with a low yield on the marketable recyclables along with low market prices. New equipment such as shredders, bunkers, densifiers and gasifiers were installed. The process shifted into the production of RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel) which contains a considerable amount of energy value, while ferrous, non-ferrous metals and carboard are still separated for export. The intention is to process the RDF into gas which would be delivered to the power plant and drive either a generator or boiler for the production of electricity. The system worked but later was put on hold due to a single “out of spec” constituent. In the meantime the RDF which was extensively tested as per US EPA standards for its TCLP properties, is now bagged, baled, compacted and extruded into an Envirobale reducing its volume by 80% for further storing into available quarries.
Please visit the following Youtube site to learn about the principles of the gasification process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK6mzLOWhq0
The main question to be discussed during the presentation is: if the technical solutions are already in place, how come it’s not in operation?
You as engineers are invited at this presentation which will take place at the building of SONRISA Pavia, starting at 7 pm on the 25th of April 2018. A route plan to this building can be found by clicking on the following link:
Please confirm your attendance at this event
Please confirm your attendance by sending an email, mentioning your degree in Engineering, to [email protected] but not later than by noon on Tuesday the 24th April 2018.
