Swedish recycling company Ragn-Sells and Swiss cleantech company Hitachi Zosen Inova are to build a facility for processing flue gas treatment residues at Högbytorp, Sweden. The process enables salts to be extracted from the waste product which can then be reused in industrial and chemical processes.
The flue gas treatment residue processing facility being built at the Högbytorp site of the Swedish recycling company Ragn-Sells will collect and wash residues from industrial processes, enabling the recovery of various commercial salts. Following a joint project development phase, the client, Ragn-Sells Treatment & Detox AB, has commissioned the Swiss cleantech company Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI) to supply and integrate the entire process technology.
“HZI is a well-known name in plant construction and has many years of process technology experience. These were crucial factors in our choice of partner for this project,” says Ragn-Sells project head Ulrik Améen.
Making a Sustainable Circular Economy Reality
With the objective of creating a sustainable circular solution, once commissioned the installation will extract useful materials such as various salts such as potassium chloride, sodium chloride and calcium chloride as well as ammonium sulphate from the residue. These materials can then be reused for industrial or chemical purposes.
For HZI this project marks a return to familiar territory: in the past the company has successfully developed and installed diverse fly ash washing systems at thermal waste treatment plants. “Given the various interpretations of the European legislation on treatment and landfilling fly ash and residues in different countries, the Ragn-Sells facility marks the way forward,” says Ruedi Frey, Senior Engineer at HZI. “We’re proud to be able to contribute our know-how and experience to this prestigious project.”
The responsible Service Manager at HZI, Stefan Forsberg, adds: “What makes this project special, is that we combine the proven ash leaching technology with brine cleaning and salt recovery for the first time.”
The solution produced by the washing process will then be vaporised in a distillation process, with the crystallised salts separated out. After that the cleaned residue will be dewatered and used as feedstock for new production processes.
Work to build the relevant section of the building will begin in autumn 2020, and assembly of the process technology will follow in January 2021.
Download media release
Download image (Image: Salarium Högbytorp)