Warwick Smith / Staff
Bioplant NZ wants to build a waste power plant next to Feilding’s relay station.
A duo of experts consulting for companies that want to turn the garbage collected in Manawatu into a variety of useful products says the technology is sound and does not pollute the environment.
Bioplant NZ has applied to the Horizontals Regional Council for a resource agreement that a pyrolysis plant needs to be built on land leased from the Manawatū Regional Council in Feilding, next to the town’s transfer station.
According to the Ministry of the Environment, pyrolysis involves heating waste without exposure to oxygen, which in turn produces gases, liquids, and solids.
The bioplant requires consent from Horizon to release the gas into the atmosphere.
read more:
* According to air quality experts, the Manawatu pyrolysis plant has little impact
* Manawatu Waste Fuel Plant advertised as a way to turn waste into energy
* Publicly notify the consent process of the pyrolysis plant
* Concerns about Bioplant’s resource consent for waste power plants
* Scientists suspect that pyrolysis plants are as environmentally friendly as marketing suggests
Scientists and opponents oppose plants for fear of their potential environmental impact.
Two scientists at Massey University, Dr. Tricia Farrely and Professor Robert McCraclan, previously said they were concerned about the plant.
They were worried about the emissions to land and water, as well as the claims they had on their website that Bioplant did not produce greenhouse gases.
The statements Bioplant sought from various experts were published as part of the Horizons resource consent process.
Dr. Peng Hong Koh, an independent bioplant advisor with 10 years of experience as a consultant for alternative power and waste to energy projects, said he disagreed with those who said pyrolysis technology was new.
For the first time in New Zealand, similar plants have been in operation in Japan and South Korea for 15 years and have been forced to close due to violations of environmental regulations.
There were improvements in the process during those years, which means the proposed Feilding plant is of a high standard, he said.
Analysis of atmospheric emissions based on these plants in Asia has shown that the impact on the surrounding environment is not minor.
Annual dioxin pollution from plants-dioxin is usually a by-product of burning substances-is likely to be 0.25% of what a typical home fireplace makes, Ko said.
Dr. Efran Ibrahim, who proposed the experience of pyrolysis abroad, said he was detained in a bioplant in May to provide expert evidence.
Pyrolysis has been used for hundreds of years, he said, when South American farmers burn plant materials and cover them with soil to produce soil-enhancing materials.
He said the proposed field plant allowed the waste collected from Manawatu to be decomposed in a controlled manner and to capture, use or dispose of various substances.
Not all pyrolysis systems are the same, but early models generated excess waste and still had to be landfilled.
However, Feilding’s is similar to South Korea’s and is much more efficient, producing diesel, electricity, charcoal, and carbon credits, he said.
Some people who submitted with consent believed that pyrolysis did not work, but Ibrahim said it was inaccurate given that he worked in South Korea.
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“It produces large quantities of products without affecting the soil or waters of the area, while preserving the quality of the air in and in the immediate vicinity of the plant.”
Hearings regarding resource consent will take place in mid-July.