Profitable washing plant

A project report written by two NTH students concludes that a washing plant for soil containing PCBs could become profitable after only a year of operation.

Last spring, all fourth-year students at the Dept. of Chemical Engineering did projects on waste treatment and recycling. Their reports were later presented during a seminar at NTH.

Ellen Thomsen and Ellen Worum based their work on a pilot plant for PCB washing operated by Aquateam a/s on a site owned by Oslo Energi. A large part of the site is contaminated by PCBs that have leaked out of old transformers. In the pilot plant, which has functioned satisfactorily, the earth is washed mechanically and the contamination is separated out. The two NTH students have drawn up plans for a large transportable system which would be capable of cleansing 15 tons of soil an hour. Their conclusion is that a plant of this sort would be extremely profitable at current prices, in comparison with burning everything. They envisage a profit of NOK 6 million after only a year of operation.