Entsorga WV to open waste-to-solid fuel facility

Entsorga West Virginia (Entsorga WV), Kearneysville, West Virginia, has announced the groundbreaking of the first resource recovery facility using mechanical biological treatment (MBT) in the United States. The state-of-the-art waste-to-solid fuel plant in Martinsburg, West Virginia, is expected to be operational in early 2017.

Entsorga WV is a joint venture between Apple Valley Waste Technologies LLC, Entsorga USA and Chemtex International.

While the company says this is the first facility of its kind in the U.S., there are currently more than 330 MBT plants in operation throughout Europe, processing more than 30 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) annually.

“This is a significant milestone for the United States and we are truly thrilled to be providing this proven technology to convert waste into an EPA [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency] recognized alternative fuel source,” says Pietro Cella Mazzariol, CEO and director, Entsorga.

The facility, located at 870 Grapevine Rd., will use Entsorga Italia’s proprietary HEBioT (high efficiency biological treatment) MBT system, an Entsorga-patented technology that uses the decomposition of waste to prepare the material to be used for fuel. By using the HEBioT MBT system, Entsorga WV says it will recover biomass, plastics and other carbon-based materials from the mixed MSW stream and convert them into an alternative fuel source. When processing the MSW, Entsorga WV notes that it will remove other recyclable commodities, such as ferrous and nonferrous metals, using its proprietary system.

The MSW received at the Entsorga WV facility will be converted to a clean burning alternative fuel (solid recovered fuel or SRF), which will be used as an alternative or supplement to fossil fuels, the company says. This fuel is ideal for co-processing plants, including cement kilns and steel mills, as a source for the production of renewable energy.

At capacity, the plant will be capable of producing approximately 50,000 tons of SRF annually, which will be delivered to the Essroc Cement Plant and used in conjunction with coal in the production of Portland cement. The companies have entered into a long-term contract for the provision and acceptance of the SRF.

The use of SRF from the Entsorga process has been proven to generate emissions comparable to or less than those found in traditional U.S. fossil fuels, according to the company. The reduction of waste that will be disposed of in landfills as a result of the Entsorga facility will result in a greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction of 28,000 tons per year of carbon dioxide (or carbon dioxide equivalent), the company says.

The Entsorga MBT technology creates an EPA-recognized “engineered fuel.” The company explains that this means facilities using this specific SRF, as an alternative fuel, will not be subject to the EPA incinerator rule (Commercial/Industrial Solid Waste Incinerator Rule) and that the SRF meets certain standards that other fuels cannot meet.

The vertical integration of the model that will be deployed in Berkeley County further adds to the plant’s innovativeness and functionality, the company says. Residential MSW collected by Apple Valley Waste, which was previously destined to be landfilled, will be transported locally to a facility owned partially by the hauler and converted and used within the county as an alternative, renewable fuel. Additionally, a minimum of 100 temporary jobs will be created during the construction period of the plant and up to 20 permanent positions once it is operational.

John Decker, CEO of Apple Valley Waste, says, “We are extremely excited about the future of Apple Valley Waste and Entsorga. With the support of Berkeley County and the state of West Virginia, Apple Valley Waste will set an example as the ‘new age’ integrated waste company.”

Decker adds, “We will collect and dispose of waste to be used to manufacture a clean alternative fuel and then deliver it to its ultimate user all within the same county of West Virginia. To my knowledge, this is unprecedented.”

“The Berkeley County Solid Waste Authority is extremely enthusiastic about the Entsorga project,” adds Clint R. Hogbin, the authority’s chairman.  “The project represents the future of solid waste management, as this new facility may enable Berkeley County to become the first in the state to exceed West Virginia’s 50 percent landfill diversion goal for its residential waste stream.”

Frank E. Celli, director, Entsorga, and chairman of the board for Apple Valley Waste, says, “The Entsorga technology is revolutionary. We believe this is a ‘sneak peek’ at the next generation of waste collection and disposal and one that will have a meaningful impact on the country’s fossil fuel dependency.”

The project is being financed with $25 million in tax exempt, private activity bonds issued by the West Virginia Economic Development Authority on behalf of Entsorga West Virginia LLC.

Apple Valley Waste Services Inc. is a full-service waste management company based in Kearneysville, West Virginia, providing refuse and recycling services in Berkeley, Morgan, Jefferson and Hampshire counties in West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. The company is owned in partnership with Summer Street Capital Partners LLC a Buffalo, New York-based private equity fund.

Entsorga Italia S.p.A., the parent company of Entsorga USA, is based in Tortona, Italy. Founded in 1997, Entsorga is a leading provider of biological treatment solutions for both organic and MSW in Italy, United Kingdom, Slovenia, Eastern Europe and Greece. Entsorga says it has developed a comprehensive suite of solutions aimed at improving environmental protection.

Chemtex International is a global technology and engineering solution provider. The company delivers projects for clients in the polyethylene terephthalate (PET)/polyester, liquefied natural gas (LNG), energy and environmental, fibers and petrochemical industries throughout the world.