Outstanding biomass treatment with the QZ - MeWa Recycling ...

NEWS
March 2009
Outstanding biomass
treatment with the QZ
Enables gas output
to rise by up to 30%
>>> Page 4
Newsletter for customers and staff
Topics:
Latest:
Granulator with new
hydraulic pendulum pusher
>>> Page 2
Market & trends:
Austria leading the way with
refrigerator recycling
>>> Page 6
MeWa internal:
MeWa continues to grow
>>> Page 8

Latest news
Granulator with new hydraulic
pendulum pusher
It’s been ten years since the
first 1608 series MeWa Granulator
left production to be delivered
to Gescher in the Münsterland
region. It proved a huge
success and now, some 35,000
operating hours later, the customer
Hubert Eing Kunststoffverwertung
GmbH has replaced
the original with an updated
version incorporating a hydraulic
pendulum pusher.
I
t just never stops operating. With its
low-wear blade blocks, the MeWa
UG Universal Granulator is particu-
Typical content:
Mixed plastic waste
larly used for shredding
tyres, cables, oil
filters, domestic, industrial
and residential
waste and plastics.
This versatile
post-disintegrator’s
reliability is making
it one of the
true success stories
in MeWa’s machine
fleet.
With improved
blade geometry and
a hydraulic pendulum
pusher, this updated,
state-of-the-art model can now
process even greater throughput quantities
compared to the original UG 1608 series.
Advances have also been made with
its mechanical handling. With the new hydraulic
pusher, both pendulum and cylinder
are external. As well as being very
low-maintenance, this arrangement also
prevents contamination from material residue.
“The cutting geometry of this machine
matches our requirements profile perfectly,“
says Stephan Eing, managing director
of Hubert Eing Kunststoffverwertung
GmbH, describing the reasons the company
once again chose the MeWa Granulator
for their recent replacement investment.
The UG 1608 with hydraulic pendulum pusher.
The family-run company ordered its first
1608 series MeWa Granulator 10 years
ago. Based in Gescher, the company mechanically
treats some 40,000 tonnes of
plastics from Dual System collection bins
for outer packaging. The material is shredded,
extraneous materials are separated
and then mechanically recycled. In addition,
the company produces around 60,000
tonnes of derived fuels per year from processing,
industrial and municipal waste.
The materials are treated using flexible
processing to ensure homogenous output
fractions. Determining the desired particle
size is simple using the quick-change
perforated screen in the granulator. The
principal customers for the refuse-derived
fuels are from the power station, cement
and lime industry. ■
Homogenous treatment for refuse
derived fuel.
Münsterland
The riches of the Münsterland
region are located amid sprawling
green grasslands interspersed with
woods, hedge banks and the gardens
of old farmhouses – magnificent palaces
and imposing castles (like Burg
Gemen near Borken).
The region is popular for cycling tourism.
The region’s most attractive sights
can be found on the “Route of 100
palaces and castles“, a cycling route
stretching almost 100 kilometres.
MeWa-News March 2009

Tyre recycling plant
in Kazakhstan taking shape
When’s the summer going to start
for real? This old German song
could scarcely have expressed
the wishes of the MeWa fitters better during
the erection work in Kazakhstan. And
no wonder, with minus temperature deep
into double figures. Kazakhstan’s continental
climate is characterised by its cold
winters. Even in the
factory, the thermometer
sank to below minus
25 degrees Celsius
at times.
Thick gloves, coats
and boots were the
order of the day. “Our saying was: just
keep moving,“ says MeWa mechanic
Lothar Riedel, talking about the assembly
work during the long Kazakh
winter. It appears the team heeded this
advice though as the assembly quickly
gathered pace. By now, the complete preshredder
together with granulators and all
the electrics are ready for commissioning
at the site. The start of March saw the second
part of the plant set off for the Asian
territorial state.
MeWa-News March 2009
This steel structure,
together with its
integrated machinery,
forms a construction kit
which can be assembled
piece by piece.
Tyres shredded to granulate pass
through an intricate purification process
in the plant. The granulate purification
unit, which has separation stages arranged
on three levels, was fully preassembled beforehand
in the new assembly hall at the
MeWa site in Gechingen.
Sophisticated separation
technology separates
fibrous materials,
steel wire, stones
and rubber from one
another. At the end,
the rubber granulate is
99.95-weight-per-centfree
of extraneous materials and is ready
to be sold in various quantities.
To ensure smooth and efficient assembly
of the plant in Kazakhstan, it was
loaded into standard freight containers in
entire sections. This steel structure, together
with its integrated machinery, forms
a construction kit which can be assembled
piece by piece. Delivery is expected in the
capital Astana after Easter. By then, it will
virtually be the start of the hot season.
Latest news
Autumn saw the first
section of the new tyre
recycling plant set off for
Kazakhstan. The shredding
lines were erected
in extreme climate conditions
and the complete
granulate purification
unit followed soon after.
And during the hot continental summer
months in Kazakhstan, the sweat will flow.
Then, no doubt, many a fitter will be dreaming
of ice-cold refreshments! ■
The pre-shredder and granulation unit have
already arrived in Kazakhstan.
Wrapped up warm: the MeWa team
defy the cold.

Market & trends
Outstanding biomass
treatment with the QZ
Enables gas output to rise by up to 30%
S
Josef Kröll has been operating a state-of-the-art
biogas system in Zillertal, Austria since the start
of 2008. In order to treat the bio waste, the farmer
uses the MeWa Querstromzerspaner – with
resounding success.
chlitters is a family-friendly holiday
village located at the entrance to Zillertal,
popular with tourists above all
because of its sunny location and magnificent
surrounding countryside. This combination
of agriculture, tourism and environmental
protection
also plays a key role in the
state-of-the-art plant at
Biogas Schlitters GmbH.
In an eco-friendly process,
the plant in Schlitters
produces electricity,
heat and compost from around 6,000
tonnes of municipal bio waste, food waste
from various tourist hotels, bed and breakfasts
and guest houses using food which
is out of date or frozen but still packaged
from supermarkets and stores.
A key role in the plant design, which
is by Finsterwalder Umwelttechnik GmbH
(Fitec) from Bernau in Bavaria, is played
by a recycling technology machine: all bio
waste initially lands in the patented MeWa
Querstromzerspaner (QZ) for treatment.
The machine forms an enclosed system
and, in contrast to conventional shredding
techniques, is fit-
The chains of the MeWa
Querstromzerspaner
work like a
mortar crushing herbs.
ted with chains rather
than blades too. This
is immediately associated
with several
benefits.
• Higher gas output
Whereas machine systems with
blades merely shred organic waste,
the chains on the QZ work like a
mortar crushing herbs. This process gives
rise to a considerably larger surface area.
In the ensuing fermentation process, a
significantly larger contact surface is provided
for the bacteria. The retention time
of the biomass in the fermenter is speeded
up and gas output is therefore increased
significantly.
• Optimal treatment of substrate
The type and composition of the quantities
delivered to Schlitters each day fluctuates.
Operators can react to this by varying
retention times and formulations in
the Querstsromzerspaner. Latterly the QZ
has even replaced the otherwise conventional
mixer. At the end, an optimally treated
substrate is produced. Contamination
by odours is also reduced considerably
due to the enclosed system.
• Opening of packages
The machine can also open packaged
food, plastic bags and deep-frozen meals.
In a subsequent separation stage, these
packages can also be separated from organic
substances.
MeWa-News March 2009

• Metal parts are no problem
The machine is not sensitive to the metal
parts that are also frequently found in
bio waste. The axle of a collection barrel
or mineral parts such as stones or concrete
slabs are no obstacle for the QZ. Indeed
the recycling machine was actually originally
designed for metal compounds.
In a last step, the substrate is homogenised
in just one operation and treated
making it ideal for the bacteria in the
fermenter. “Opening packaging with the
Querstromzerspaner replaces a biological
pre-treatment phase which would otherwise
have to be carried out using hydrolysis,“
explains plant construction engineer
Klemens Finsterwalder.
A separator finally separates extraneous
materials such as bones or wooden
pieces, metal or foil packaging. The biomass
is then sanitised and conducted to
the fermenter where liquid manure from
agriculture is added.
For plant operator, Josef Kröll, investment
in the Querstromzerspaner has already
paid off. In Schlitters, the expected
increase in biogas output was taken into
account early on at the design stage. A
block heating station converts the output
at the end to heat and 330 kW electrical
MeWa-News March 2009
The QZ 900’s treatment
of biomass is impressive.
energy. All that is left at the last is fermentation
residue.
“This not only smells more pleasant
than liquid manure, it is better fertiliser
too,“ explains Josef Kröll. This means the
ecological balance in Schlitters is harmonious
and the countryside – the most
valuable resource in this tourism region –
profits most. ■
Market & trends
Typical content of a bio waste collection barrel.
Input: packaged food.
Output: perfectly treated substrate
Plastics can be separated easily.
System control via computer:
Josef Kröll at his workstation.

MeWa-International
Commissioning: Egbert Tölle, REMONDIS board;
Michaela Hinterholzer, Austrian MP; Ernest
Gabmann, deputy state governor; Dr Helmut
Kolba, managing director UFH RE-cycling; Elmar
Kniesel, MeWa assembly manager; Gerhard Jokic,
managing director UFH RE-cycling; Juliana Günther,
mayor of Kematen (from left to right).
Austria leading the way with
refrigerator recycling
When it comes to environmental
protection, Austria is
considered a flagship country.
The country’s politicians therefore
rightly appeared proud
at the commissioning of a
state-of-the-art refrigerator
recycling plant in Kematen
near Linz in February 2009.
W
ith the project in Kematen
“We are setting new standards
for refrigerator disposal
in Europe.“ Both Ernest Gabmann,
deputy state governor of Lower Austria
and Dr Leopold Zahrer from the Austrian
Ministry for the Environment were in
agreement on this in the speeches they
gave on the occasion of the inauguration
of the new plant. At the new waste
disposal operation, up to 300,000 refrigerators
will be treated each year and
90 tonnes of CFCs gained. The plant’s
operation will correspond to a saving to
the environment of 900,000 tonnes of
CO 2 each year.
Use of CFCs was banned in Germany
in 1996 when the refrigerant was
identified as ozone depletant number 1.
Despite this law, the number of CFC refrigerators
still in operation throughout
Europe is estimated at more than 200
million. This generation of refrigerators
is now reaching the recycling plants.
“The plant enables CFC and pentane
refrigerators to be processed simultaneously
without having to be separated
beforehand,“ explains MeWa
managing director Helmut Oberguggen-
berger talking about the plant’s advantages.
Besides the extraordinarily high
rate of CFCs regained, investors were
impressed by the plant’s economic operation
and results.
With its rotating chains, the MeWa
Querstromzerspaner (QZ) exposes the
individual fractions from the refrigerators
in just one processing step. In doing
so, the QZ separates the material compounds
of the refrigerators into iron, aluminium,
copper and plastic. At the end,
the secondary raw materials are fed into
containers ready for collection as category
1 cooling waste for sale.
“The latest technology enables almost
95 % of all materials from a refrigerator
to be regained as raw materials
for new products,“ explains Dr Helmut
MeWa-News March 2009

Kolba, managing director of the newly
founded UFH Recycling GmbH based
in Vienna. The future operating company
is a joint venture of UFH Holding
GmbH, the market leader among Austrian
collection and recycling systems and
REMONDIS, one of the world’s largest
service providers in the area of closed
loop recycling management.
In an initial step, all recyclable components
such as cables and glass deposits
are removed. Next, environmentally
harmful refrigerators and the compressor
oil are drained off by specialists and
the compressors are removed from the
old refrigerators. The QZ 2000 thereafter
processes around 50 to 60 refrigerators
MeWa-News March 2009
per hour in an insulated system. The
shredded PUR foam is sieved off and
free from CFC residue. Environmentally
harmful gases are finally cooled down
in cryogenic condensation, liquefied
then collected in special reservoirs before
being disposed of later. After the
QZ, mechanical processes separate the
iron and other metals and plastics from
one another.
30 employees working in three shifts
together with state-of-the-art mechanical
engineering ensure a high turnover
of around 1,000 refrigerators per
day. Therefore the entire requirements
of the Alpine Republic are covered by
the new plant. ■
MeWa-International
Homogenous output:
Aluminium and copper fraction.
The MeWa team has built the refrigerator recycling system in just
eight months’ construction time so it is ready for commissioning:
Elmar Kniesel, Jens Holzbach, Hans-Gerd Wilke, Mustafa Smailovic,
Daniel Treyer, Wilhelm Schöffler (from left to right).
Degassing system Stage 1.

MeWa internal
MeWa continues to grow
MeWa has 35 new employees.
The MeWa sales team.
New faces in management
Helmut
Oberguggenberger
I
Helmut
Wiedemann
n line with growth, MeWA has further
adjusted its organisational structures
in accordance with the increased challenges
of the market. In this context, Helmut
Wiedemann was appointed to the
management team at the start of 2009.
In the future, the qualified technician
and mechanical engineer will lead the
The picture at MeWa’s end-of-year
celebration for 2008 was an impressive
one as it showed all 35
colleagues who have joined the company
over the last two years.
During this period, the number of employees
has risen by almost a third but
this is not the only reason for the positive
mood within the company. Despite the difficult
economic situation generally, MeWa
entered 2009 with a satisfying volume of
orders and hence with great confidence.
The key to this success is MeWa’s proven
company together with managing partner
Heimo Wabnig and Helmut Oberguggenberger
and Ulrich Hink, who are also
part of the management team. Helmut
Wiedemann has occupied a leading role
in the company for the past few years as
construction design and operations manager.
In future, the 52-year-old from Althengstetten
will also assume the role of
technical managing director.
Starting from 1 January 2009, Helmut
Oberguggenberger was awarded sole
power of representation. This means that,
in the future, he can represent the company
on his own in dealings with third parties.
Originating from Carinthia, Mr Oberguggenberger
has been part of MeWa
management since 2005. ■
quality when it comes to product, planning,
service and consultation.
With a view to continuing to provide
this standard in the future, the entire
MeWa sales met at the start of the year for a
major conference which was used for an
intensive exchange of experiences. ■
MeWa-News
Imprint
Publisher:
MeWa Recycling Maschinen
und Anlagenbau GmbH
Gültlinger Straße 3, 75391 Gechingen
Tel. 0049 (0)7056 925-0
E-Mail: info@mewa-recycling.de
Internet: www.mewa-recycling.de
Editor: Harald Pandl
Printing: Druckhaus Weber GmbH,
Althengstett
Design: MeWa together with
Creativ-Werbung M. Dostal, Tiefenbronn
Photo credits: MeWa, Münsterland e.V.
Title picture: Canola field
Publication: 4 times a year
"Kudder" – that is what the Swabians
call odds and ends or swept
up dirt. All this is put in a dustbin
("Kudderoimer"). Here we would
like to collect anything special,
curious or funny from the recycling
sector. Ideas welcome.
Rubber hands.
MeWa-News March 2009