Pilot plant opened
In May 2011, the Minister for the Environment Hon Dr Nick Smith opened a pilot plant installed at Rotorua District Council’s Wastewater Treatment Plant. This was a milestone event in the Waste 2 Gold research project involving Crown Research Institute Scion and the Council, who joined forces in 2008 to develop a new approach to the management of organic waste.
The thermal oxidation pilot plant has been developed by Scion to trial the process at a level that will provide sufficient data to determine if the technology could work at a full commercial scale. The pilot plant uses thermal deconstruction to “cook” the biosolids (sewage sludge) and break them down into re-useable chemicals and a range of other by products. These can be used for fertilisers or in the production of bioplastics and biofuels.
The thermal oxidation pilot plant has been developed by Scion to trial the process at a level that will provide sufficient data to determine if the technology could work at a full commercial scale. The pilot plant uses thermal deconstruction to “cook” the biosolids (sewage sludge) and break them down into re-useable chemicals and a range of other by products. These can be used for fertilisers or in the production of bioplastics and biofuels.