At present the GCC countries produce a greater amount of waste per capita than any other region globally. The latest figures show that 80 million tonnes of waste is generated per year in the GCC – and estimated personal waste is as high as 2.5 kilos per person per day. “These statistics highlight the relevance of waste management in the region and create the need for a sustainable solution to meet the growing future environmental needs in the region,” says Khaled Al Huraimel.

The current trend is to find solutions to reduce and prevent waste to landfill. This is a significant challenge which many organisations globally have started to address. The UAE specifically is a developing country with an affluent population that is increasing, and the amount of waste that is generated is rising with every additional citizen, the CEO adds.

“The flourishing energy sector in the GCC region is opening up significant opportunities for industry players to develop new and innovative methods to produce energy from waste. Furthermore, Bee’ah is not just looking to transform waste in Sharjah. Having already opened an office in Saudi Arabia – Bee’ah is exporting its services to the largest Arab economy, as part of its ambitious plans to expand beyond the UAE.”

New Waste-to-Energy Plant in Sharjah

On the establishment of a wasteto- energy plant in the emirate of Sharjah, Al Huraimel says “it is centred upon our goal to enable Sharjah to become the 1st city in the Middle East to achieve Zero waste to landfill. This mission is in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah “to provide a sustainable environment for future generations”, he notes.

“This revolutionary new environmental project is a vital milestone towards achieving our future vision, which aims to affirm the emirate’s position as a leader in environmental protection,” the CEO underlines, adding that the objective of this project is to make considerable contributions towards reducing the environmental impact of waste by producing sustainable and renewable energy, in addition to preserving the environment and reducing the carbon footprint of the emirate and the country, which will be greatly beneficial to citizens and residents alike.

Partnership, technology and capabilities of the Plant

“Chinook Sciences is our Technology Partner on this project. As per the agreement, Chinook Sciences will design, build and manage a waste-to-energy gasification plant, which will be the largest of its kind in the world. The technology utilised within the new waste-to-energy plant includes an innovative and high-tech process known as the most eco-friendly way to convert waste to energy; gasification. This is widely recognised as a highly efficient and environmentally responsible solution for the future of waste to energy conversion and is the most sustainable alternative to the pollution generating conventional fossil fuels,” he explains.

The original objective of Chinook Sciences was to develop technologies that would bridge the gap between universities, national labs and the industry, at large, in the field of energy optimisation, and environmental technologies. The very early years were concentrated on providing technical consulting to blue-chip companies, and selling developed ATT technologies to companies that used it to recover valuables in the feedstock.

“As the technology matured and larger, more sophisticated gasification plants were built, Chinook advanced its model to providing turnkey plants under EPC and O&M contract structures. The core of the company is Gasification technology development, and the research and development regarding EfW activities. Around the technology, Chinook built a world-class engineering group that is capable of designing, building, installing, and commissioning EfW plants using ATT technology,” the CEO notes.

Al Huraimel says, upon final completion, the plant will be capable of processing 400,000 tons of waste annually, generating more than 80 megawatt. According to research by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the global Waste to Energy market is valued at approximately $20bn in 2013 and is expected to reach $23bn by 2020.

In his opinion the increasing demand for affordable energy around the world, in addition to the reduction of conventional energy sources and increasing concerns about environmental pollution from traditional methods of energy production is driving the growth in Waste to Energy markets.

Challenges in implementing the project

“The implementation of effective waste-to-energy solutions is rarely without challenges. Overcoming the specific obstacles facing our waste-to-energy plant in Sharjah requires acknowledging that often the road blocks to success are diverse and interrelated,” says Al Huraimel.

In his view, the three primary challenges related to this Waste-To-Energy project are: the need for legislations and laws to support such renewable energy efforts; raising the large scale investments required to fund infrastructure, and addressing the issue of increasing populations that bring with it a growing amount of waste per year – including the lack of awareness which invariably leads to increasing amounts of landfill waste.

Focus on raising awareness

“Overcoming the lack of awareness and raising public understanding of waste management issues has long been a central focus of Bee’ah’s work and is integral to the company’s vision,” the CEO remarks. Examples include educational initiatives conducted by The Bee’ah School of Environmental (BSOE) which has gained access to more than 210 schools across the Emirate of Sharjah, educating more than 200,000 students (from nursery to grade 12) on issues of environmental behaviour.

Critical aspects to consider including HSE

Al Huraimel states that the critical aspects to be considered in the Waste-to-Energy project include fulfilling their vision of zero-waste to landfill by implementing the most advanced technology while also targeting emissions and highly toxic residues caused by landfilling operations and traditional mass burn technologies.

“Furthermore Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) aspects are diverse, key HSE outcomes include cleaner air, reduced land pollutants, lower carbon emissions and a more sustainable society for both the present generation and the future residents of the Emirate,” he continues, also stressing that Residues are an important consideration in this process and that Bee’ah aims to convert residual waste to clean energy fuel resources and avoid landfilling activities without creating harmful residues.

Bee’ah’s three-phased strategy comprises enhanced operations at its material recovery facility, including the creation of an organic composting plant and will be followed by a second wave of solutions to remediate the current landfill in Sharjah, the CEO says.

So, what percentage of the waste is going to landfill at present and what amount is likely to be absorbed by the Waste-to-Energy plant after segregating recyclables, once the plant becomes operational?

The CEO says, “At Bee’ah we are committed to embracing the best environmental practices, to exploring innovative waste management solutions, and contributing to positively addressing the growing environmental issues related to landfills. At present the Waste-to- Landfill project aims to convert household waste to energy rather than sending it to landfills given that we have reached a 70% diversion rate so far. The project will help protect the environment and groundwater, and help us achieve our strategic goals towards nurturing a sustainable environment by making use of 100% of waste, converting the recycled waste to energy.”

Currently their Zero Waste strategy will develop a facility that would have a capacity of 400,000 tonnes of waste per annum and will be a fully integrated solution, encompassing measures and technology to handle the residual waste from Bee’ah’s many diverse waste streams through to the plant outputs of electricity, clean metals and inert materials ready for recycling and minimum residues.

“All of these commitments and strategic objectives have allowed Bee’ah to achieve 70% of waste diversion from the landfill. Achieving zero-waste across the Emirate of Sharjah is the primary objective before further expanding Bee’ah’s operations to other areas in the UAE and the region,” the CEO remarks.

Beeah's long term strategy for success of the Waste-to-Energy project

Their future vision is built upon a strong foundation of environmental management, says the CEO. “Over the past five years, Bee’ah has played a leading role in the waste management industry in the region and focused its efforts on investing and building the infrastructure towards the recovery of recyclable materials from the general waste streams generated in Sharjah. Making our vision viable for the long run is vital to the importance and success of this project. The sustainability of the emirate relies on projects that are both effective today and also for future generations.”

Furthermore, he says waste generation rates are expected to more than double over the next 20 years in lower income countries, increasing demand for efficient and environmentally-friendly ways of waste disposal, which further offers support for the viability of their long term strategy.

On the time frame for the Waste-to Energy facility to be fully operational, Al Huraimel says the first-of-its-kind plant will be operational this year. The first phase will have a capacity of 160,000 tons of waste, while the second phase will have a capacity of 240,000; and upon completion, the plant will be generating a net 54 megawatts annually.