Polyflow, Ambassador Enterprises Form New Company. EMR, Chinook Sciences Break Ground on ASR Plant.
Polyflow, Ambassador Enterprises Form New Company
Polyflow LLC, based in Akron, Ohio, and private equity firm Ambassador Enterprises, Fort Wayne, Ind., have completed an agreement to form Renewable Energy Solutions by Polyflow to commercialize Polyflow’s energy recovery equipment and technology. The firm will be known as RES Polyflow and will be headquartered in Akron with Jay Schabel, Polyflow CEO, heading the new company.
Schabel says, “Our goal is to be the worldwide standard for profitable energy recovery from plastic waste. With the addition of Ambassador Enterprises as our strategic partner, RES Polyflow will produce and demonstrate our continuous feed waste-to-energy recovery system.”
The project was supported in part by the Ohio Third Frontier Advanced Energy Program with a commercialization grant secured in 2011, Schabel adds.
Tom Stone, a representative of Ambassador Enterprises, says, “After a thorough review of waste-to-energy technologies we are convinced that the Polyflow process offers the most economically feasible solution being commercialized. We are excited to be a part of this business opportunity that has the capability to impact the world in a positive way.”
The patented process and proprietary equipment developed by RES Polyflow converts mixed and unwashed plastic waste, tires and carpet into a range of energy products, including transportation fuels, octane enhancers and chemical intermediates used in the production of new plastic and rubber.
RES Polyflow’s efforts are focused on establishing independently operated energy recovery facilities as well as selling licensed equipment to energy park developers, recyclers, landfill operators and organizations managing large polymer waste streams. In addition to implementing the technology in North America, the company says it is eyeing opportunities to export RES Polyflow’s equipment to Europe, China, India and Australia.
More information on the technology being used at Polyflow can be found in the article, “Staking a Claim,” which appeared in the Spring 2012 issue of Renewable Energy from Waste.
EMR, Chinook Sciences Break Ground on ASR Plant
Innovative Environmental Solutions (IES), a joint venture between United Kingdom-based European Metal Recycling (EMR) and New Jersey-based Chinook Sciences Ltd., has started construction on what the companies say will be the largest “end-stage recycling plant” for auto shredder residue (ASR). The plant is being constructed at EMR’s West Midlands, U.K., scrap processing facility.
The facility has been designed to process 350,000 metric tons per year of shredder residue from end-of-life vehicles and appliances by deploying Chinook Sciences’ RODECS recycling and gasification technology. The shredded material is expected produce 40 Megawatt hours of electricity and recover more than 190,000 metric tons of plastics, glass, aggregates and metals. EMR says that while 75 percent of the material from the automobiles is easily-accessed metal, recovering the remaining 25 percent of primarily non-metallic material has historically been more of a challenge.
The companies say that IES’ deployment of Chinook Sciences’ RODECS recycling and gasification technology will be integral to EMR’s ability to achieve its recycling goals while displacing fossil fuel power generation, resulting in an estimated reduction of carbon dioxide emissions of 2 million metric tons. In addition to the West Midlands plant, IES has gained planning permission at additional sites for similar facilities.
“The West Midlands facility is part of EMR’s commitment to the environment as well as providing a sector leading sustainable solution for end-of-life consumer goods,” says Chris Sheppard, CEO of EMR. He adds, “EMR continues to be a company that takes the lead in developing and applying advanced technologies to ensure that we remain at the forefront of the recycling industry.”
“We are very pleased to have begun construction of the end-stage-recycling facility at the West Midlands site,” says Rifat Chalabi, chairman and CEO of Chinook Sciences. “The facility will encompass the deployment of four of Chinook Sciences innovative RODECS systems to ensure all valuables in the feedstock are recovered, including the energy rich organic materials that are ultimately the source of the electricity. The process is clean and efficient and will set a new benchmark for the recycling of end-of-life vehicles and consumer goods.”