The National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Monday (June 2) it has awarded a tender to M/s REMEX Mineralstoff (REMEX) to develop and operate a facility to recover metals from incineration ash.
The facility is part of NEA’s long-term strategy to manage solid waste in Singapore and also part of the Government’s plans to move towards a resource efficient society. It will recover ferrous and non-ferrous metals from incineration bottom ash (IBA) generated by the incineration plants, the agency said.
Currently, ferrous metals between 10mm and 300mm in size are being recovered from the ash using magnetic separators at the incineration plants, and the residual ash is sent to the Semakau Landfill for final disposal. This conventional treatment system leaves the non-ferrous metals, such as aluminium and copper, and the remaining smaller pieces of ferrous metals that are still of economic value, intact in the residual ash, NEA said.
“NEA is currently studying possibilities for ash reuse, which will help resource-scarce Singapore to further increase resource recovery, as well as extend the lifespan of Semakau Landfill,” said NEA Chief Executive Officer Ronnie Tay.
REMEX will invest about S$15 million in the facility, which will begin construction in October and is expected to start operations by mid-2015. It will be able to process up to 1,800 tonnes of IBA per day generated by the four incineration plants in Singapore.
