Pyrolysis pilot for green waste gets green light in Hong Kong

Global engineering firm Black & Veatch has been assigned to review the technology, market, environmental and regulatory aspects of a proposed green waste-to-biochar plant being considered by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) of the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

A consultancy service agreement to assess environmental engineering techniques for a proposed “woody waste recycling plant” involves Black & Veatch in Hong Kong’s effort to increase the recycling rate of yard waste and wood waste.

According to a news release issued by the Singapore office of Black & Veatch, it will be “the owner’s engineer of Hong Kong’s first pilot plant for woody waste recycling.” The pilot plant will have a capacity of 24 metric tons per day, says Black & Veatch.

“Black & Veatch is ready to support Hong Kong’s sustainability visions,” comments says Andy Kwok, managing director of Black & Veatch Asia North. “We have worked with a large number of utilities and government agencies on waste-to-energy projects throughout the world, and many of them involve the conversion of biomass by means of pyrolysis or gasification to energy products.”

Says James Chan, a project director at Black & Veatch Hong Kong, “The unique aspect of this pilot project is its focus on the production of biochar-type products, which are expected to find sustainable outlets in the Hong Kong market.”

Black & Veatch describes biochar as similar to charcoal, and as being made by burning biomass in a pyrolysis process. Biochar improves soil fertility and captures and stores carbon dioxide safely, says the firm.

The Hong Kong pilot plant project also will explore if biochar can be produced to meet higher quality standards for other beneficial uses, according to Black & Veatch. For Hong Kong’s woody waste recycling plant, potential feedstock includes used pallets, yard wastes and spent bamboo scaffolding.

Black & Veatch says it will be responsible for preparing a reference design, assisting in procurement, supervising construction and commissioning, and then overseeing the Hong Kong pilot plant testing.

The company says reducing waste is one of the Hong Kong government’s strategies to optimize resources and reduce landfill disposal, while supporting sustainability. Woody waste recycling is a core element of the city’s biowaste management strategy to divert biomass resources from landfills.

Black & Veatch describes itself as an employee-owned engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company with a more than 100-year track record of innovation in sustainable infrastructure. The United States-based company was founded in 1915 and says it has been involved in more than 100 countries in “addressing the resilience and reliability of our world’s most important infrastructure assets.” The firm had revenue of $3.5 billion in 2018.