From waste to energy: EEW gets closer to circular economy

EEW - Energy from Waste Delfzijl focuses on thermal residual waste processing. The company incinerates waste that is not recyclable or has not been offered for recycling. Companies in the neighborhood use the energy released in the process. “This is an important part of the chain to a circular economy. We must also process non-recyclable waste; in this way, companies in our region do not have to burn gas but can use the heat released during combustion. The process is more than 50% green,” says Wilfred de Jager, director of EEW.

EEW – Energy From Waste is a German company with 15 waste processing locations in Germany and branches in the Netherlands (Delfzijl) and Luxembourg. “Since local companies can use the heat released during the incineration of the waste, the CO₂ emissions of the industrial park as a whole are reduced,” says De Jager.

Burning less and less

Thermal waste processing is EEW's most important branch, but the company is nevertheless investigating the possibility of incinerating as little waste as possible. Some waste streams can be recycled and serve as new raw materials. To this extent, EEW is working on a new factory hall to sort plastic. “It would be great if, in addition to the energy from thermal waste processing, we could also sell sorted products to companies in the area,” says the director. He is pleased with all the innovative companies in the Delfzijl area.

After waste incineration, EEW can also recover valuable materials. “Minerals and metals can be extracted from the slag, the incineration residue. For example, we can recover phosphorus from the ash from sludge processing. “If there is added value in products by recovering raw materials from them, then we are happy to work on that,” says De Jager. He also underlines that the company will launch more circularity-oriented projects in the coming years, “while no expansion of waste incineration capacity is planned.”

Useful substances from flue gas

The energy generated by waste incineration is partly green. However, harmful substances are also released during incineration. “We do our best to limit this as much as possible. That is why we use flue gas cleaning, among other things. In this way, we ensure that the emissions from our plant remain well below the Dutch legal standards. In terms of nitrogen dioxide (NO_x), we even have the cleanest waste-to-energy plant in the Netherlands,” he explains. In addition, the company is working on various pilot projects to filter useful substances, such as CO₂ and NO_x, from the flue gas so that it can be reused in industrial processes.

In addition to residual waste, EEW will also focus on processing sewage sludge, the residual flow that remains after sewage has been purified. De Jager: “The energy released in this process is 100% green. Harmful substances are still discharged during incineration, so flue gas cleaning is just as important here. In addition, we also look at the recovery of raw materials, such as phosphorus, out of this waste stream.” However, less energy can be produced from sludge than from residual waste.

The step toward circular

Is there still room in the circular economy for thermal waste processing? De Jager: ”Recycling plastic and metal and recovering additives and water are the most important themes for us. Ideally, we would like local companies to reuse these materials. We want to put the residual waste to the best possible use for society. As the final step in the value chain, we can thermally process waste that cannot be recycled in any other way. This closes the loop.”