Energy from waste
In some industries, using waste to generate energy is already common. For example, Kemira helps municipal waste water treatment plants to generate biogas. First they treat the waste water and remove the sludge from it. The sludge is then fermented, and the fermentation generates biogas, which can then be used to produce clean energy.
Money just going up the chimney
Kemira has been capturing by-product hydrogen from industrial processes and using it to generate energy for some time. For example, hydrogen is produced as a by-product during the manufacture of bleaching chemicals for the pulp and paper industry. The hydrogen can be captured and used to generate heat, steam, and now electricity. At some plants, Kemira pipes hydrogen directly to an on-site power plant, which burns it to generate heat and electricity. Kemira then sells the electricity, turning a by-product into a source of revenue. Importantly, the only emission from burning hydrogen is water vapor.
Technical challenges
Hydrogen-powered vehicles are also a promising way to reduce emissions and it is possible to refuel them more easily than battery-powered ones, too. However, while using hydrogen has become easier, transporting, storing and dispensing it is still technically challenging. In fuel cell vehicles, hydrogen is stored under high pressure – at a higher pressure than compressed natural gas (CNG). And while places with large car manufacturers, like South Korea, Germany and Japan, are rapidly developing hydrogen-powered vehicles, the infrastructure needed to manufacture and distribute hydrogen is not yet fully in place.
Big opportunities
Jari Ihonen, Principal Scientist at VTT, has been researching hydrogen as a fuel for many years. “The value of by-product hydrogen is increasing. The challenge is to reduce the cost of purification and transportation so that it is competitive with fossil fuels or even cheaper.” Despite these and other challenges both the automotive and the marine industries are very interested in using hydrogen fuel cells. “One of the big opportunities is for plants that produce hydrogen as a by-product and to see if they can work out the logistics of selling it cheaply,” Jari says.
One person’s waste is raw material for someone else.
Circular economy – how to extract more value
In circular economy, products are designed to be recycled and waste is reused. This way, production becomes a closed loop of use and re-use. Finding ways to make side-streams valuable is something that Kemira has been working on.
“It’s really about trying to find closed loops where everything will be utilized, and creating side-streams rather than waste. Kemira is also actively looking at side-streams from other industries for sources of raw materials”, Virpi Tognetty, Director, Kemira R&D, says. “We’re putting more effort into it every year.”
“By recycling and re-using materials we can avoid the need for virgin materials. Different types of industries can form parts of the circular economy so that one person’s waste is another person’s raw material. There’s value in side-streams if you can find it,” Virpi says.
For example, Kemira has found a way to use acid waste from the steel industry as a raw material. “Pickling liquor from steel treatment contains dissolved metals, which we use as a source for our waste water treatment chemicals like coagulants. And we also use the acid as well. With some additional cleaning and thinking, you can quite easily use these side-streams for the production of other valuable materials and chemicals.”
Towards a sustainable future
Sustainability and the circular economy are an important mega-trend. “Both our industrial customers and their end consumers are increasingly requesting sustainable, environmentally friendly products and production methods that use less virgin raw material,” Virpi explains. “And we should also remember that not every raw material might be so readily available in the future. Although getting rid of side-streams can be costly, responsible companies take care of their waste. Again, it’s about closing the loop. While we’re working on reducing waste costs, it’s even better if we can turn waste into a profitable business. When we realize that side-streams can be valuable, it’s a clear business opportunity, and it’s also environmentally responsible.”
