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Babcock & Wilcox News
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Industrial Waste Streams to Fuel Australia’s Clean Energy Initiatives
In an article in Waste Management Review, B&W’s Andrew Waite discusses the environmental, social and economic benefits of developing localized energy-from-waste processing facilities in industrial areas. These facilities can help usher in the country’s lower carbon future – reducing landfill methane emissions and providing opportunity for biogenic CO2 capture.
Industrial wastes typically offer a higher calorific value than municipal solid waste because the waste stream is more consistent, which means less processing costs. Long-term, these plants can be designed to incorporate carbon capture and potentially provide another revenue stream.
Several facilities are being proposed for existing or new industrial estates in Australia. Similar facilities have been operating in Europe and the United Kingdom for years. In the UK several hubs are now taking the process further and creating hubs for carbon dioxide sequestration into old oil and gas reservoirs.
