8
Advances in solid waste management technology have continued to develop to deal with new waste streams, but a portion of waste plastic
cannot be recycled due to the economic cost of removing contamination such as blood, dirt and other plastics. There is no market for these ‘end
of life’ plastics, which inevitably end up in landfills.
BBL has a proven clean technology that will process even the dirtiest of plastics without the need to separate or wash before processing. Our clean technology is designed specifically to deal with non-recyclable
plastics destined to end up in a landfill.
BBL Energy
1
The environmental impact of plastic waste is becoming better known around the world. Hundreds of millions of tonnes of plastic are pro-duced around the globe each year — with only about 10 per cent being recycled. A grow-ing dependence on single-use containers, bottled water, and straws is leading to more plas-tics clogging our oceans and waterway, and presenting a serious threat to marine life.
An Ontario-based company is looking to reduce the envi-ronmental footprint of plas-tics and waste tire and oil with a new kind of recycling technology. Brett Lawson, of BBL Energy Inc., is working to establish the first recycling facility in Canada that takes waste plastic and used tires and converts them into light diesel oil and natural gas. He and his brother, Brad Law-son, are currently looking at sites in the eastern part of the province.
“A portion of plastics and tires are recycled but most are either put into landfill or incinerated. Our process can convert these ‘end of life’ ma-terials that are not currently being recycled into a reus-able energy source,” Lawson says, noting their equipment can recycle everything from plastic food containers to plastic bags, straws, plastic hospital waste, industrial drums etc., all of which can be processed in one machine at the same time.
Lawson’s family had al-ready built a number of businesses in Canada and the U.S. before moving into the recycling sector. His fa-ther, Grant, was the founder of Trillium Healthcare Prod-ucts, a company that contract
manufactured bar soap and pharmaceutical products for multinational companies in North America. Lawson and his brother are also entrepre-neurs and headed up a skin care business called Revolu-tionary Brands.
A few years back, the fam-ily was contacted by a friend in England who told them about a new kind of recycling process being developed by a Dublin-based company called Polyfuel Group. It uses a pro-cess called pyrolysis to break down plastic waste and tires into fuel oil, natural gas and carbon char. The company’s founder, Edward Mooney, had been researching this process for nearly 20 years.
“In simple terms, we heat the waste in an oxygen-free environment using hot air generated from non-condens-able gases,” Mooney explains in an email sent from his office in Ireland. “We turn the solid waste into a liquid and then into a gas. The gasses are then quenched and condensed into a liquid fuel.”
Pyrolysis-based recycling has been the subject of a number of scientific studies and academic research papers in recent years. As the need to clean up plastic waste becomes more urgent, there’s been a more concerted effort to develop new recycling solutions. While not widely on the public radar, pyrolysis has become a bit of a buzzword in
waste management circles. A number of engineers and in-ventors, from Ireland to India and the U.S., are working to de-velop pyrolysis recycling equip-ment. An increasing number of patents are pending as busi-nesses work to take this inno-vative technology mainstream.
The Polyfuel Group is one of the first companies to get off the ground and commercialize the technology. The first ma-chine, outside of India and Afri-ca where there are 30 machines in operation, is currently being installed in Wales. Lawson ex-plains that these recycling ma-chines are processing 18 tons of waste plastic per day, yielding an estimated 14,000 to 18,000 litres of light diesel in a single
24-hour period. The amount of light diesel oil and natural gas is dependent upon the type of plastic being processed and also the number of contami-nants in the plastic. They are also recycling used tires and oil and believe there is an oppor-tunity for the machines use in the oil sands.
“When we reviewed the information on the technol-ogy we realized it was a great opportunity not only to part-ner with the European com-pany, but also to bring the machines to North America,” Lawson says.
While he has confidence in this proven technology, Law-son acknowledges getting others to understand this
next-generation recycling method is a challenge, how-ever the company is making good progress. BBL Energy Inc. has recently announced a new contract that will see the company process more than 6,000 tons of waste tires annually in Canada, he added.
Lawson is working to raise awareness and is encourag-ing Canadian businesses to consider how pyrolysis re-cycling can benefit them. He believes any private waste handlers, municipalities or companies that handle dirty plastic, old tires and used oil can and would benefit from using their product.
“There is no reason for any plastic or tire to end up in landfills, oceans or to be incinerated. Our technology can convert these materials into usable resources, re-ducing the amount of fos-sil fuels that are required,” Lawson notes. “The busi-ness opportunities are basi-cally limitless.”
S P O N S O R E D B Y B B L E N E R G Y I N C .
THIS STORY WAS CREATED BY CONTENT WORKS, POSTMEDIA’S COMMERCIAL CONTENT DIVISION, ON BEHALF OF BBL ENERGY INC.
BUS INESSOntario company looking to bring new recycling technology to North America
BBL Energy ‘s Brett Lawson says the machinery shown above, known in the plant as “The Retort,” is responsible for process-ing shredded waste plastics, tires and used oils. SUPPLIED
“BBL Energy Inc. is working to establish a recycling facility in Canada that takes waste plastic and used tires and converts them into fuel oil.”
HEIDI WESTFIELDPostmedia Content Works
While pyrolysis is not new, there are distinct advantages to BBL’s clean technology. BBL provides a state-of-the-art clean technology pyrolysis process, providing the most economical and modern plant for design,
engineering and manufacturing of ‘end of life’ materials, including:
v contaminated plastics v grocery bags v straws v agriculture bags v chemical containers v used tires v waste oil v crude oil sludge
BBL’s machines have the capacity of processing H.D.P.E., L.D.P.E., P.E., P.S. PP, P.U.R., PETE, PVC (up to 3%).
The machines are modular, so can be operated independently or in groups.
The energy produced through the processing of feedstock include
natural gas, light diesel fuel and carbon ash.
Proven, Clean Technology
2
Feedstock is shredded to 21mm before conveyed through the machines; depending on the contamination of the waste plastic/feedstock, there
will be up to 65-85% conversion of waste plastic into pyrolysis oil.
The system has a unique vessel (retort) that converts the different plastic materials, at the same time, from their solid forms into liquids which are
further converted into gases. The process then cools the gases, converting the condensable gases into oil. The non-condensable gases (natural gases) are collected and provide the energy source to run the
machine.
The process runs at atmospheric pressure that saves wear and tear on the machine, stress on seals and reduces the amount of energy required for
the plastic conversion. Our system allows us to increase the temperature slowly to maximize oil output from the different materials.
The Process
3
NATURAL GAS
FUEL
The specific type of plastic is cracked at the optimal temperature to maximize oil availability. Similar pyrolysis machines that need to be
heated to much higher temperatures use more energy and cause additional stress on the machine, that can reduce the amount of oil
produced. As more pressure is required, it increases the risk of a leak and the possibility of an explosion.
The only water required is to clean the scrubbers. Controls on the system allow the operator to increase the temperature slowly to
breakdown the different plastics at their ideal temperature, maximizing the amount of oil available. The natural gases from the process are used
to run the machine, while the carbon ash is also a usable commodity.
BBL’s clean technology machines can be made to process plastic waste at 3TPD (Tons per day), 6TPD, 12TPD, and 24TPD .
The Process
4
5
Features and Benefits Automated plant that consistently maintains
reaction temperatures
Automated carbon cooling and discharge
Scrubber and effluent treatment
Waste heat recovery system installed
Advanced Fractional Condensation
Remote SCADA enabled
Automated vapour line cleaning mechanism
Automatic safety features; pressure release, emergency shutdown, reactor temperature
control
Robust retort made from high quality stainless steel 304 or 316L
Automated gas handling system
• Raw material flexibility – can process both tire and variety of plastic waste
• Maximizes oil yield; does not require oxygen reducing risk of fire
• No manual handling of carbon • Efficient carbon cooling system to cool down
carbon power from 450 Degrees C to room temp for safe bagging; no carbon spillage in nearby area
• Environment friendliness • No hazardous gaseous or liquid discharge • Higher energy efficiency • No losses in terms of waste heat
• Yield superior quality of fuel oils and base oils • Operates at atmospheric pressure, reducing risk
of explosion
• Plant operated from a central control room
• Reduced maintenance downtime, no need to manually clean vapor line
• Zero accident history • Zero accident risk • Continuous plants far safer as compared to
batch-type plants
• Longer plant life
• No discharge of hydrocarbon gases in environment
• Worry free reuse of hydrocarbon gases as a fuel for heating
• No need for flaring
Johnstown
In December 2018, BBL purchased their first North American site to house their clean technology machines in Johnstown, Ontario. BBL has partnered with a manufacturer in Ontario to build, install
and certify their clean technology machines to Canadian standards.
BBL will be first to market in North America with a proven technology that will significantly impact the environment and the
clean tech sector.
Manufactured in Canada to TSSA, CSA and MOE standards
MinistryofEnvironment
6
2822CountyRoad2,Johnstown,Ontario,CanadaK0E1T1(613)918-0889
Contact Information
Brett Lawson [email protected]
Brad Lawson
Dave Bohn (General Manager) [email protected]
