Keppel opens Tuas waste-to-energy plant

It will build Memstill demonstration plant to test desalination technology
Rachel Sim Business Times 1 Jul 10;

KEPPEL yesterday officially opened its 1.6 hectare Keppel Seghers Tuas Waste-to-Energy Plant and also announced plans to construct a Memstill demonstration plant to test the desalination technology.

The waste-to-energy plant comes under the National Environment Agency's (NEA) Public-Private Partnership initiative, and Keppel Integrated Engineering (KIE) will operate and maintain the plant for 25 years under a contract awarded by the NEA.

The plant has a capacity to treat 800 tonnes of solid waste daily to generate more than 20MW of green energy.

Of the energy produced, about 15-20 per cent is channelled to the day-to- day operations of the plant while the rest is channelled to external sources.

'This plant, together with Senoko WTE Plant, which was divested to Keppel in 2009, enables Keppel to treat almost half of Singapore's incinerable waste,' said Michael Chia, deputy chairman and chief executive of KIE.

Both the WTE plants and the Keppel Seghers Ulu Pandan NEWater Plant form the initial portfolio of K-Green Trust which was listed on the main board of the Singapore Exchange yesterday.

KIE also announced plans for a new project this year.

'With the support of PUB and EDB, we will be taking a big stride in our water solutions with the construction of a Memstill demonstration plant on Jurong Island during the fourth quarter this year,' said Mr Chia.

The plant, to be built on Singapore Refining Company's petroleum refinery located on Jurong Island, will also study the applicability of the new desalination technology.

Keppel's plans for building sustainability have not been confined to Singapore as it has already set up plants in Greater Manchester as well as in Qatar and Doha.

Keppel also holds 60 per cent market share of the imported WTE technology in China and is equipping what would be China's largest WTE plant in Shenzhen.

'Looking ahead, KIE will continue to carry out research in both waste and wastewater treatments. We will improve our current technologies as well as push out new and innovative environmental solutions that can help Singapore and other global cities drive their sustainable development,' said Mr Chia.

Greener way to get fresh water
Keppel to test process that uses heat from waste to produce power
Robin Chan Straits Times 1 Jul 10;

KEPPEL Corp is a step closer to introducing greener water desalination technology in Singapore.

The firm announced yesterday that it is set to start testing a process which uses waste heat to save on energy at a demonstration plant being built in Singapore Refining Company's compound.

Using a treatment called Memstill being developed with a Dutch technology centre, it will harness heat generated from waste to produce the power to turn salt water into fresh water.

Mr Michael Chia, deputy chairman and chief executive of Keppel Integrated Engineering, said the demonstration plant will be up and running by the end of the year and will have an initial capacity of 100 cu m.

Mr Chia was speaking at the official opening of the Keppel Seghers Waste-to-Energy (WTE) plant at Tuas.

It is Singapore's fourth such incinerator and has been operational since the fourth quarter of last year.

The smallest and most compact of Singapore's incinerators uses 800 tonnes of garbage per day to generate 20MW of energy, and is the first to be built under the National Environment Agency's Public-Private Partnership initiative.

Mr Teo Chee Hean, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, the official guest at the opening ceremony, said the introduction of incineration meant that only 2 per cent of Singapore's waste, comprising mainly non-incinerables, went to Semakau Landfill.

Singapore - whose residents produce about 7,000 tonnes of unrecycled garbage a day - has succeeded in putting in place an efficient waste management system despite its small land space, said Mr Teo, but it cannot rest on its laurels.

'We must continue to innovate and look for more efficient methods of managing waste - by reusing or recycling as much as possible and reducing disposal because the sustainability of Singapore depends on it,' he added.