Rubbish collection

Ambitious targets on waste reduction, fuelled by fears that the UK could run out of landfill sites by 2020, are driving research into a host of so-called waste-to-energy technologies that could divert rubbish away from landfill and make a meaningful contribution to the UK’s energy mix.

One such system — a form of pyrolysis technology that can be used to generate heat and power from a variety of waste products -— is currently being developed by engineers at Aston University.

Developed at Aston’s European Bioenergy Research Institute (EBRI), the system, known as the Pyroformer, has been designed to treat a range of organic waste products to generate cost-effective heat and power.

Currently undergoing tests at Harper Adams University in Shropshire, the Pyroformer will be installed at EBRI’s new £16.5m laboratory later in the year.

EBRI project manager Tim Miller told The Engineer that it will be used to power the new building and part of the Aston campus by feeding its vapour stream to a gasifier that will then feed combined heat and power (CHP) engines. His colleague Prof Andreas Hornung, head of EBRI, added that the patented system will act as an industry showcase for the technology, an educational site for students and a training site for engineers and technicians. ‘Our mission is to be the nucleus —  the hub — for that whole development in Britain,’ said Hornung.