Our Solutions
Alternative Raw Materials
In most heavy industrial operations (non-chemical and petrochemical), wastewater treatment solids represent the largest component of the waste generated in a facility. Unfortunately, they are faced with a dynamic environmental market with a future that is unclear at best for the management of those volumes.
Oftentimes, these waste streams are taxed by states and require dedicated resources to manage the administrative and compliance aspects as a special waste. In most cases, such waste streams can be reclassified as recycled or co-product materials freeing up valuable resources and reducing overall operational expenses.
Headwinds presenting existing and future challenges:
· More restrictive regulations driven by “climate change” initiatives
· Additional capital demands to meet those requirements
· Increased treatment volumes resulting from those requirements
· Rapidly escalating costs of landfill disposal which remains the primary options for managing treatment solids
· Fewer options for managing Industrial sludges as landfills shrink the percentage of these materials they take at individual facilities due to construction integrity issues.
· Few non-landfill options with sufficient capacity to address their issues
· Escalating focus on legislation and regulation around producer cap-and-trade, carbon tax and GHG reduction and elimination and the need to identify and implement reliable and compliant waste to raw feedstock conversion programs
One of the few alternatives capable of managing the volume from industrial operations is cement manufacturing. Wastewater treatment sludges are generally heavy in some of the four key components of cement manufacturing.
· Calcium based products such as lime
· Silica
· Iron
· Alumina
Even though, these constituents are attractive to the cement kilns, several major issues have prevented the expansion of this option when generators have contacted cement kilns directly.
· Industrial wastes may contain valuable constituents, but they often contain constituents creating issues for the kilns (sulfides, moisture content, alkalinity, etc)
· Though the volumes are large as a percentage of the plant generation, they are too small to go direct to cement kilns, which are designed to handle continuous feeds of large volume (>3,000 tons per year minimum) products such as limestone.
· Cement kilns are not in the “waste” business. They are designed to handle large truck, barge, rail or conveyed deliveries. In general, they do not have front-end approval systems to evaluate a large number of waste streams nor the receiving systems to manage receipt of smaller truck traffic shipped on an inconsistent schedule.
· Each cement kiln has its individual idiosyncrasies dependent on available local feedstocks, shortages of specific materials in the area, ability to handle various constituents, material handling systems, kiln capacity, etc. As a result, a large waste stream might be attractive for the industry but the specific kilns needing that material may not be located geocentrically to the generation point.
All of these issues have led to failed attempts, frustration from generators and kilns and the inability to provide sustainable options for the industrial market and value commodities for the cement kilns.
Syndesis has evaluated all of these issues and determined that few industrial solids will fit the kiln requirements in their geographic area, even if they are generated in sufficient volumes to be attractive to the kilns. As a result, Syndesis is identifying locations today to take in a variety of industrial waste solids and “manufacture” a combined engineered product that meets ALL of the requirements of the local kilns including consistency and volume.
Alternative Low Carbon Solid Fuels
The cement industry has been using alternative high Btu liquids fuels for decades. However, these markets for these materials have become more competitive, prices continue to escalate, and additional volumes are difficult to acquire. Much of the high Btu solids (plastics) have already found recycling markets and niches.
However, there are still significant volumes that are going to landfills or waste-to-energy facilities where none, or very little, of the Btu value is recovered. Using the same principles as we do with the ARM, Syndesis will create a feed product for the kilns, matching their physical and chemical requirements and material handling capabilities while utilizing the full value of the Btu content.
Cement Kilns
Many of the issues identified for the generating customer have proved just as frustrating for the cement kiln industry. They want alternative raw materials (ARM) and alternative low carbon fuels (ALCSF) but have kiln limitations (specific constituents, moisture, storage, materials handling, etc) and do not have the desire or the resources to find all of the sources of these materials in the industrial market.
Given the need and the desire for these materials, there are a few questions to reflect on if you are a cement kiln in need of ARM or ALCSF.
EBIT is critical to support every initiative, so what would it do for your EBIT if…?
A cement kiln could:
• Offset 100,000 TPY of raw feedstock while
- Increasing kiln output, profitability and bottom line contribution
• With ARM containing significant volumes of CaO2, Iron, Silica and Alumina
• And be paid a nominal amount per ton to take the volume or
• Find high-Btu Low Carbon Solids Fuels at a lower price than energetic liquids
• Find a $20 to $30/ton reduction in commodity cost for ARM
• Could you invest more capital for carbon and materials handling if you had $1,000,000 in NEW revenue?
What if you could secure those volumes without…?
• Building ARM/ALCSF manufacturing facilities to attract the smaller volumes with no disruptions to your existing operations.
• Building a new salesforce in an area you are neither familiar with nor being able to use them to sell more cement.
• Building the IT front-end data/tracking platform required to access that market and translate industry information into viable kiln information.
• Refocusing a significant portion of existing internal personnel to secure a quality market share.
What if there was a company…?
• Who could help you offset raw material costs, provide the front-end technology platform to the customers, secure the industrial volume and create a new revenue stream for you?
• Who can help you make more profitable cement without becoming a full-time waste manager?
• All it requires is some time to share your goals and the SPECIFIC needs (and limitations) of YOUR kiln network.
• At Syndesis, we are committed to one thing, connecting industrial treatment solids with quality and sustainable cement kiln options.
- Syndesis is the answer to your ARM and ALCSF requirements.
The Syndesis Process
The staff at Syndesis has made a commitment to understand both the generating customer and the cement kiln needs. As noted earlier, cement kilns are in the business of making cement and their operations are not designed to handle solid waste in the forms or volumes the industrial market generates. As a result, Syndesis has designed a process utilizing an industry standard profiling system (Non-hazardous Solids Information Sheet) and an analytical system to generate the information important to the cement kilns. After review and lab analysis, the system generates a Kiln Material Data Sheet (KMDS) providing kiln specific data to the cement kiln and valuable data back to the industrial customer.
Steps in the Syndesis Process
· Complete a Syndesis NH Solids Information Sheet (NHSIS).
· Collect a sample of the solids- 1 gallon (four one-quart bags is preferred)
· Send profile and sample to Syndesis (see “Contact” section for instructions).
· Syndesis will confirm receipt via email
· Syndesis will review and complete any additional laboratory requirements for the kiln
· Within ten days, Syndesis will return a copy of the complete KMDS to the industrial customer for review.
· If the volume is sufficient to consider direct shipment to the kiln (generally 3,000 to 10,000 tons per year), Syndesis will send the completed KMDS, the appropriate kiln paperwork (may require customer signature) and a sample to one or more kilns for evaluation and approval. This process can take up to six weeks depending on the kiln.
· After approval and tentative quote, the kiln may require one or more trial loads to ensure acceptance requirements handleability.
· Once the material has been approved and trial loads successfully completed, Syndesis will provide a contract for long-term sustainable management. Syndesis will arrange for transportation and all paperwork for active management of the material.
· If the material is too small to be managed directly or has constituents requiring blending before shipment, the approved will come from a Syndesis co-processing facility. If the material is appropriate as an ingredient for the engineered Syndesis kiln product, the customer will receive an approval number, quote and contract.
· Syndesis will provide access to on-line e-manifest for shipment to the facility. Shipments will be received on a scheduled basis.
Syndesis is presently developing an IT platform which will use this web site as a customer portal. Once completed, all of the components of the transaction will be completed through the portal except for samples (the system will provide labels and tracking information when it comes online).
The Syndesis process is designed to significantly reduce the time required to move from initial contact with Syndesis to active management of industrial solids in a sustainable system.