Encyclis announces ‘UK’s first’ EfW plant using HVO

The 12-month research and development programme took place at the Newhurst Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) in Leicestershire. It utilised HVO as part of its start-up process following a planned maintenance outage this month. HVO is currently fuelling the plant’s auxiliary burners, plant vehicles and emergency generator – resulting in a reduction of carbon.  

Encyclis CEO Owen Michaelson said: “This industry-leading achievement is a testament to the dedication of our teams and another example of the action we are taking right now to decarbonise our energy-from-waste operations. The fact that we are the first to achieve this is a source of immense pride. 

“The climate challenge demands action, not words, and that’s at the heart of our strategy. We are working to provide a public sanitation solution that not only recovers energy and other resources from residual waste but actively cuts carbon emissions through initiatives like this, and our carbon capture programme.” 

Details of the HVO programme 

The EfW process relies on a fuel source for auxiliary burners, which heat combustion chambers to the required temperature during the start-up and shutdown phases that occur when plant maintenance work is required. These burners are usually fuelled by diesel or natural gas. 

Encyclis’ principal engineer, Shaun Tolley, started the research programme in collaboration with the Germany-based manufacturer of its burners, Saacke.  

The programme involved three key stages: chemical analysis; extensive testing at the Saacke R&D facility in Bremen, Germany; and operational trials at the Newhurst facility in Shepshed, Leicestershire. 

Testing at the Bremen facility covered a range of operational scenarios to determine the specific combustion properties of HVO and the technical modifications necessary to make the switch to HVO.  

The details of the trial were shared with regulators and operational experts to ensure efficiency and safety before being deployed at the Newhurst facility. Following an initial delivery of 40,000 litres of HVO, the plant started up successfully following a planned five-day maintenance outage.  

Encyclis said that monitoring of the process showed that the use of HVO enabled enhanced combustion efficiency, cleaner burning performance, finer atomisation rates and elimination of soot.  

Once longer-term performance testing is completed, Encyclis plans to expand the use of HVO to replace diesel across its fleet of energy recovery facilities.