The SwissZinc project in a nutshell
Waste-to-energy plants convert waste to energy through combustion.
This combustion generates a very fine dust, also called fly ash, because it flies with the flue gas.
The flue gas must of course be thoroughly cleaned before it can be released at the stack. De-dusting with high performance filters is usually the first step of the flue-gas cleaning process. The de-dusting step is followed by acid scrubbing and DeNOx. After the complete treatment, the cleaned flue gas released at the stack typically contains less dust particles than normal ambient air.
The fly ash retained in these high-performance filters is mostly constituted of salts, but it also contains about 5% of Zinc.
Waste contains Zinc, and Zinc tends to "burn" (actually oxidize) at the temperature encountered in a Waste-to-Energy plant (800 to 1'000°C), which explains its accumulation in the fly ash.
With the project SwissZinc, we want to recover the Zinc contained in the fly ash produced by Waste-to-Energy plants in Switzerland.
We know this will work, because we do it already, as you can see in this movie from the FLUREC plant currently in operation in Zuchwil.
Our goal is to multiply the capacity of the existing FLUREC plant by a factor 10.
We want to produce 2'000t of Super High Grade Zinc per year, starting 2027.
Learn more in the blog in German or in French. Or ask your questions directly to Stefan Schlumberger or Robin Quartier.
This combustion generates a very fine dust, also called fly ash, because it flies with the flue gas.
The flue gas must of course be thoroughly cleaned before it can be released at the stack. De-dusting with high performance filters is usually the first step of the flue-gas cleaning process. The de-dusting step is followed by acid scrubbing and DeNOx. After the complete treatment, the cleaned flue gas released at the stack typically contains less dust particles than normal ambient air.
The fly ash retained in these high-performance filters is mostly constituted of salts, but it also contains about 5% of Zinc.
Waste contains Zinc, and Zinc tends to "burn" (actually oxidize) at the temperature encountered in a Waste-to-Energy plant (800 to 1'000°C), which explains its accumulation in the fly ash.
With the project SwissZinc, we want to recover the Zinc contained in the fly ash produced by Waste-to-Energy plants in Switzerland.
We know this will work, because we do it already, as you can see in this movie from the FLUREC plant currently in operation in Zuchwil.
Our goal is to multiply the capacity of the existing FLUREC plant by a factor 10.
We want to produce 2'000t of Super High Grade Zinc per year, starting 2027.
Learn more in the blog in German or in French. Or ask your questions directly to Stefan Schlumberger or Robin Quartier.
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Our CTO for all scientific & technical issues
Dr. Stefan Schlumberger stefan.schlumberger(at)kebag.ch +41 32 686 54 30 |
Our CEO for all other issues
Dr. Robin Quartier quartier(at)vbsa.ch +41 31 330 44 94 |