Bee'ah starts up mixed-waste MRF

Sharjah, United Arab Emirates-based environmental management company Bee’ah has begun processing municipal solid waste (MSW) at the company’s recently renovated material recovery facility (MRF). The MRF features a 75-metric-ton-per-hour (tph) system with the latest in recovery technology from Eugene, Oregon-based Bulk Handling Systems (BHS) and its subsidiaries Nihot and National Recovery Technologies (NRT).

The facility is the largest in the Middle East, processing more than 500,000 metric tons of MSW annually; BHS also says the comprehensive system retrofit has made it the most advanced in the region, reaffirming Bee’ah’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of environmental innovation.

“In years past, our trommel-based system was creating uneven size fractions and contamination through mixing,” says Daker El-Rabaya, Bee’ah’s managing director of waste processing and treatment. “We were unable to effectively separate organic material from dry commodities and were very dependent on manual sorting.”

He adds, “The system BHS delivered is more efficient, increases our capacity and is automatically creating material fractions that were previously unattainable. Screen and air technology effectively remove organics and inert materials early in the process to present segregated fiber and container line fractions. We are optically targeting both containers and film to produce marketable products from a challenging material stream. The technology has introduced Bee’ah to a new level of performance; we are very pleased with the results.”

The plant’s old trommel screens were replaced with two BHS Tri-Disc screens, which have greatly improved screening efficiency, reduced power consumption and allowed for better use of space, the supplier says. The new system has increased throughput, recovery of organic material and the recovery of other commodities, including plastic containers. Plastic film recovery has doubled with the installation of the FiberPure system, a combination of NRT optical and Nihot air technology, BHS says.

“Bee’ah is an innovative company, proactively adapting to new technology,” BHS CEO Steve Miller says. “The company’s commitment to recovery and processing excellence is a benchmark for others to follow. The system was already among the largest in the world, and is now among the most advanced. Bee’ah is a true leader in its space, and while we were excited when chosen as the system provider, we are more excited today to see the MRF performing at a high level. We look forward to ensuring success for years to come.”