NEWS > Cleaning up the act
Published: Thursday, 13 May, 2010
Sometimes, creating an environment in which enterprise can thrive is about literally creating an environment. Of course, the main considerations for an investor or a new enterprise are a product for which there is natural demand, a strong and accessible market, the infrastructure, the presence of skills and of relevant experience in the workforce, sound finance sources and
Sometimes, creating an environment in which enterprise can thrive is about literally creating an environment. Of course, the main considerations for an investor or a new enterprise are a product for which there is natural demand, a strong and accessible market, the infrastructure, the presence of skills and of relevant experience in the workforce, sound finance sources and reasonable costs. But there are other elements that make for a strong economy and not least among them is the opportunity and facilities for people to relax, to spend leisure time, to unwind and to recharge their batteries. In that
context, the restoration of a former coalfield into a nature reserve is a strong candidate for the overall improvement in an area which adds to the quality of life and, hopefully, the wellbeing of people that business should value.
So the news that parts of the thermal desorption plant, the major piece of equipment that will be used to clean up the most heavily contaminated soil at The Avenue in Wingerworth, near Chesterfield, have started to arrive on site, is encouraging. It is also the case that deconyamination skills learned during a project such as this will themselves become marketable capabilities as space on this crowded island becomes ever more scarce making even contaminated sites viable for all sorts of purposes.
The kit is being specially designed and made in various parts of Europe by VSD Avenue, the expert contractor appointed by East Midlands Development Agency (emda) to carry out the clean up operation. It will consist of many hundreds of parts, including a 30m high chimney. The plant will take six months to construct, and once fully operational in October 2010, will run for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, taking around two and a half years for the most heavily contaminated soil on site (around 500,000 tonnes) to be cleaned.
"Thermal desorption is an innovative technique that uses high levels of heat to break down the hydrocarbon chemicals contained within the soil," explained Marcus Foweather, Project Director at VSD Avenue. "There are many substances contained in the ground at the Avenue - such as heavy metals and petrol based chemicals - that if left untreated, could be harmful to people, wildlife and the environment. Much of this contamination is a result of the site's industrial heritage, and it is our job to clean this up in a safe way."
The thermal desorption process will treat the most heavily hydrocarbon contaminated materials on the site. These will be loaded onto a conveyor belt and then transported into a gas fired kiln which will then heat the soil to 600°C, causing the hydrocarbon contaminants to become a vapour. The vapour will then be heated to 1200°C and quickly cooled, before being passed through a 'bag house' to remove airborne particles and the gases will then be treated to remove other potentially harmful contaminants.
The Avenue is the largest single project in the National Coalfields Programme. It is costing GBP172.3m to deliver, the funding for which is coming via the Homes and Communities Agency's (HCA's) National Coalfields Programme, Communities and Local Government (CLG) and HM Treasury. emda is responsible for delivering the project.
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