SMi Group reports: speaker interview with Novalux ahead of the Energy from Waste conference 2021, taking place on 1st – 2nd December.

LONDON, NON UNITED STATES OR CANADA, UNITED KINGDOM, November 30, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- SMi Group are pleased to announce the return of their Energy from Waste conference, which will return to London for its 14th year on 1st – 2nd December 2021.

Building on the success of last year, the 2021 event will bring together international waste management operators, developers, private equity financiers, technology providers and industrial end users to discuss the most crucial topics within Energy from Waste.

Interested parties can register via: http://www.efw-event.com/PR7

SMi Group caught up with Joseph Allcott, Managing Director, Novalux Energy Solutions Ltd for a speaker interview about his insight into the field of energy from waste.

Joe Allcott co-founded Novalux Energy in 2010 with an aim to disrupt the traditional energy model. By presenting customers with a choice of clean technology which makes good financial sense he aims to help reduce carbon emissions, provide solutions to excess waste, and help create a distributed energy system which is more sustainable and accessible.

See below the speaker interview:

What are the key attributes of Novalux which make it a market leader for the installation of distributed Energy from Waste plants in the UK?
Novalux has been installing renewable energy systems since 2010 and has diversified through many different technologies. This agnostic approach to technology has meant that we’ve always been able to recommend the best available systems for our customers’ needs without being tied to distribution contracts, whether that’s a multi-pronged approach to renewables or generating heat and/ or power, our main focus has always been designing and installing bespoke systems which are cost effective and beneficial to the environment. Our installation team has grown to 40+ engineers who have experience working with the technology we recommend. Because we’re not outsourcing the installation we’re able to better anticipate our customers’ needs during the quotation process, making our pricing more competitive than other renewables companies.

What do you see being the barriers to adoption of Energy from Waste plants?
The technology for generating heat and power from waste has been around for a long time, but it hasn’t been accessible for everyone. Our biggest challenge is making sure we educate our consumers that it is both possible and profitable on a smaller scale. The plant sizes we install range from 3.5MW or fuelled on around 10,000 tonnes of RDF per year up to 50MW which is up to 200,000 tonnes of RDF per year.

What are the fundamental things you would like people to understand about Energy from Waste technology?
There are two main types of technology which we would recommend when generating energy from waste through combustion: steam or thermal oil. Steam technology is more widely known as many of the large power plants rely on this, but it has major setbacks for smaller plants due to the relationship between high pressure and high cost. This means that to make installing a steam plant financially viable, the site must either have a need for steam in their processing, or require a system large enough to justify the CapEx. For thermal oil technology this isn’t an issue, making it ideal for plants up to 50MWth. Thermal oil can run at high temperatures without high pressure whilst pairing well with Organic Rankine Cycle, which also runs off thermal oil, harnessing heat from the boiler to generate power.

The technology we install is flexible, it can handle multiple fuel types including RDF, SRF, MSW, Straw, Biomass etc it’s even able to handle medical and hazardous waste. This is another reason why thermal oil technology is so versatile, it’s easy to change fuel which creates greater security for fuel in the future.

How does the technology which you recommend work?
Novalux recommends a Sugimat thermal oil boiler and Turboden ORC for the majority of decentralised energy from waste plants.
Horizon+ Rotary Thermal Oil Boiler:
Contrary to steam CHP systems, thermal oil boilers are able to run at high temperatures but at low pressure. This allows for lower capital and operational expenditure. After years of research and development the Horizon+ rotary boiler has been introduced to market. Due to the high ash content of RDF, the boiler continuously rotates whilst a granular sand is passed over the internal coil, automatically cleaning the heat exchange surface. Novalux recommends this technology to help customers cut down on maintenance and prolong the life of their system whilst ensuring peak performance at all times. The boiler can be paired with an Organic Rankine Cycle to generate power on site in addition to heat. Novalux has installed the first of these in the UK at Goodwood Estate.

Turboden Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC):
The Turboden ORC generates power from heat produced from a boiler. The technology runs off thermal oil so works well in conjunction with a Sugimat Horizon+ rotary boiler. The ORC has a closed loop circuit using a working fluid which continuously flows through a low RPM turbine to generate power. Due to the use of thermal oil the system has a high efficiency and is much simpler to operate in comparison to a steam turbine.

Nikisha Galoria
SMi Group
02078276000
email us here