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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND TECHNICAL SERVICES BY DEPUTY M.R. HIGGINS OF ST. HELIER
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 5th MARCH 2013
Question
Would the Minister advise where the information detailing the type of items burnt at Bellozanne and the chimney and flue temperatures can be accessed and, if the records are not accessible to the public, why not?
Answer
The Bellozanne Incinerator burns municipal solid waste and commercial waste. The make up of this waste is detailed in the solid waste strategy 2005.
The Transport and Technical Services Department has archived the log sheets for the last 5 years of operation of the Bellozanne Energy from Waste Plant and these records are held at the offices at Bellozanne. The Department will be transferring these records to the Jersey Archive during the second quarter of 2013. In the interim period, should a member of the public require any data about the Bellozanne EfW then they only need contact the Department and Officers will endeavour to provide them with the information that they require.
However, I would like to state that although the Department holds operating data including the temperature of the flue gas at various points within the boilers these temperatures have no relation to the likely dioxin content of the flue gases.
The more relevant temperature which is important from a combustion point of view is the combustion temperature. The waste incineration directive sets out that the combustion temperature must be in excess of 850°C for two seconds. The temperature of the combustion at the flame will be significantly greater than 850°C and the flue gas will cool as it rises up the gas pass. The 'two second' residency temperature will move depending on flue gas flow rate. Therefore this temperature has to be calculated using complex computer calculations. This is a requirement of modern 'WID' (Waste Incineration Directive) plants.
The Bellozanne Incinerator did not have the facility to calculate the 'two second' residency temperature therefore the data recorded cannot accurately be used to determine the 'two second' residency temperature. It is fair to say however, that as Bellozanne did not have any start-up burners, the combustion temperature at start-up and shutdown would not have met the 'two second' residency temperature requirement. The gas cleaning installed at Bellozanne was only designed to remove particulates, so the emissions from Bellozanne would be significantly higher than a modern plant.
The Bellozanne incinerator was not designed to meet the 'WID' standard, and hence would not have met this standard.