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Waste Minimization Services
OUR SERVICES
Waste Minimization Services
NICO is able to apply different technologies for the volumetric reduction of the waste, in order to obtain important optimizations from the volumetric point of view (up to a reduction of about 85%) and logistic, and therefore to achieve an important saving from the economic point of view.
Based on the experience gained and of the technologies owned by our company, we can list below the main types of volumetric reduction that have a great diffusion and effective application:
Industrial sludge dewatering
- Filter pressing
- Centrifugation
- Drying
Solid waste volumetric reduction
- Compactors
Industrial Sludge Dewatering
The primary objective of the treatment of production residual sludge is to minimize its volume and weight, and thus reduce the cost of final disposal. The process consists in separating the water from the sludge, through mechanical effect with the techniques of filter pressing, centrifugation, and through thermal effect with drying.
> Filter pressing
The sludge is distributed between the plates and the water contained in it, under the action of the hydraulic piston, flows out through the discharge channel. The process is fully automatic. In the filter press there is a probe that verifies the presence of water in the drainage channel. When the presence of water is not detected, the sensor stops the feeding of sludge to the filter press and the cycle is completed. At this point the cylinder of the filter press moves outwards, the fifteen filtering plates open, and the dehydrated sludge panels fall into the collection tank below. In this case the result is a volumetric reduction of about 85%, obtaining a great advantage in the subsequent disposal of the final waste that is significantly smaller than the initial quantities. Moreover, based on our experience and thanks to the introduction of an integrated water treatment system, the water coming out of this plant is treated to be reintroduced into the production cycle without the need to treat it as waste and then dispose of it.
> Centrifugation
NICO has been operating for more than thirty years providing centrifugation and sludge disposal services at the plants located all over the national territory of the most important industrial realities.
Our company has a specific authorization to operate mobile plants for waste treatment campaigns for the activities of centrifugation, filter pressing and drying of liquid and muddy waste.
NICO counts in its staff engineers and technicians with many years of experience in the sludge treatment field, accrued starting from the need of a more sustainable management of the sludge produced by the reclamation activities of industrial plants, and from the opportunities offered by the most innovative techniques available on the market.
> Drying
Drying or desiccation is the thermal process aimed at separating a liquid fraction dispersed in a solid material, through a mass transfer from the treated product, by evaporation of a compound at a low boiling temperature. In the vast majority of cases, the liquid to be separated is a solvent, and almost always water.
By definition, drying does not generate any chemical transformation of the compounds involved.
The application of thermal treatments to industrial sludge aims to drastically reduce the water content of the sludge, and therefore the quantities by weight and volume of the final residues destined for disposal.
The sludge is heated to a high temperature (max 70°C) and the interstitial and capillary water is removed, reaching dryness levels higher than 90%.
The separation of the liquid fraction is carried out with different methods, generally depending on the nature of the compound in which the liquid is dispersed and of the liquid itself.
The last generation technology available to NICO has the primary objective of drastically reducing the final quantity of sludge to be destined for final disposal, from which undoubted advantages arise, such as
- Significant reduction of the waste produced in the plant and consequently of the disposal costs
- Significant reduction and stops of semi-trailers in the plant
- Significant reduction, which today negatively characterize this waste and are the main cause of poor receptivity by disposal plants
- Significant reduction of the quantity of biological sludge to dispose and of the related problems currently linked to the scarce availability of this waste from the plants, both for lack of space (considering the large quantities) and for the intrinsic characteristics of the sludge (consistency, chemical characteristics, odors);
- Significant reduction of environmental impacts that the activity today involves.
- Significant reduction of the management costs of the entire chain (treatment + disposal).
NICO has designed, manufactured and manages an integrated platform of sludge dehydration from biological oxidation plant of one of the biggest national industrial plants.
The platform carries out the volumetric reduction of the sludge coming out from the thickeners of the biological plant through a process of centrifugation and subsequent drying.
> Compactors
Another technology widely used by our company for the volumetric reduction of waste, respecting Italian environmental legislation Dlgs 152/06, obtaining great economic advantages, is the use of compacting machines. This technology, already in operation in different sites and for different clients, is called DCS “Drawer Compacting System”.
In its mobile configuration is an effective system for the reduction and volumetric compaction of the dry fraction waste. The process of pressing – compaction, occurs with the alternating movement of the pusher, whose dynamics of straight stroke is ensured by robust self-lubricating polyamide slides. The particular design allows an easy adjustment and a simple replacement of the guides, without extracting the presser. The alternating action of the pressing unit allows the material to be conveyed and pressed inside the container and the penetration of the slider beyond the compression chamber favors a greater compaction of the material. The electro-hydraulic operation of the system with the range and type of power installable, allows to solve in an economical way, most of the problems related to the management of dry waste.