Minergy Corporation Process Solves Waste Woes For Fox Valley Industries

INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY

Minergy Corporation Process Solves Waste Woes For Fox Valley Industries

Minergy Corporation, Milwaukee, is a developer of projects and technologies for recycling high volume industrial waste, including fly ash, paper sludge, municipal sludge (biosolids) and foundry sand. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wisconsin Energy Corporation.

GLASS AGGREGATE TECHNOLOGY

As a leader in the development of alternative solid waste management technologies, Minergy Corp. is currently constructing a state-of-the-art facility in Neenah which will recycle paper sludge into a pair of useable products. The products include glass aggregate, a glass-like substance used in construction industries, and steam. The plant’s capacity has been designed to process all the paper sludge produced in Winnebago County — which accounts for two-thirds of the entire waste stream in the county, and represents more recycled material than handled by the combined municipal recycling programs in the entire state of Wisconsin during 1995.

Minergy Corporation’s innovative technology includes drying the paper sludge and then mixing it with natural gas to fuel a high temperature recycling process. The clay component of the paper sludge will be converted into glass aggregate through this process, while a heat recovery system will use energy from the wood fibers to produce steam.

One of the focuses of Minergy Corp.’s environmental solutions is targeting its technologies to the beneficial reuse of high-volume wastes. The Fox Valley Glass Aggregate Plant is no exception. The glass aggregate will be sized and shipped to distributors, while the steam will be sold to the adjacent P.H. Glatfelter paper mill. Markets for the glass aggregate include sand blasting grit, abrasives, roofing shingle granules and asphalt aggregate.

This technology has been selected by the Winnebago County Solid Waste Management Board — after reviewing proposals from 11 companies — as an alternative to disposing of paper sludge in its landfill, which is reaching capacity. The plant features a number of closed-loop process designs for receiving, drying and material handling, which maximize the project’s environmental benefits.

ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

Neenah, and the surrounding Fox Valley area, will reap a variety of economic and environmental benefits from Minergy Corp.’s glass aggregate plant. For starters, between 100 and 120 jobs are being created during the 24-month construction period. And, once the plant is operational, between 20 and 25 permanent skilled manufacturing positions will be created to maintain and operate the facility. Indirectly, the new operation is estimated to create 60 to 75 support jobs in such areas as maintenance, hauling, etc.

Minergy Corporation’s glass aggregate plant will have an annual operational and maintenance budget of over $3 million, with preferential purchasing from local companies to help support the local economy. And by solving a growing landfill problem generated by paper sludge, the glass aggregate plant will serve some of the area’s largest businesses and help retain local employment. This will protect the region’s existing jobs, help assure the region’s continued economic growth, and strengthen the position of local paper companies as world-class competitors.

The Fox Valley Glass Aggregate Plant will embrace environmentally friendly technologies. The facility will exceed all federal, state and local health and safety standards, and state-of-the-art air quality control equipment is being installed to clean emissions in excess of those standards. Finally, the plant will provide over 90 percent of the steam requirements of the P.H. Glatfelter Paper Mill, replacing portions of an aging boiler system and eliminating the need to operate an older sludge combustor at the paper mill.

For more information about Minergy Corporation’s paper sludge recycling program, contact:
Richard O’Conor, Director Minergy Corporation
1000 N. Water Street, Suite 1805
Milwaukee, WI 53202
414/221-2306