PreZero opens Spanish SRF facility with optical sorting technology from Pellenc ST

PreZero, an international waste and recycling management company, has opened what it says it Spain’s largest solid recovered fuel (SRF) production facility in Barcelona, Spain, with optical sorting technology supplied by Pellenc ST, headquartered in France.

Located in the Zona Franca industrial area, the facility is designed to process approximately 30 tons of nonrecyclable industrial materials per hour, or about 220,000 tons annually. According to the companies, the plant is expected to produce up to 77,000 tons of SRF each year while recovering more than 44,000 tons of recyclable materials.

The project includes more than €42 million ($48.67 million) in investment and is expected to create more than 85 direct jobs. The site also is expected to host Barcelona’s first biomethane unit, called Bioenergy, which is intended to enable renewable gas to be injected into the natural gas grid.

For the project, PreZero selected Spanish renewable energy equipment manufacturer Bianna Recycling as the plant integrator and Pellenc ST to provide optical sorting equipment. The installation includes six optical sorters from Pellenc ST’s Compact+ range, which are designed for industrial waste environments.

According to Pellenc ST, the sorters use its Flow detection chain, which combines near-infrared and visible-spectrum detection with focused lighting to improve the purity of recovered material streams.

The machines also connect to Pellenc ST’s Smart&Share SaaS software platform, which allows operators to monitor indicators related to SRF quality, including heating value, chlorine content, PVC levels, moisture and biogenic carbon content.

The facility is intended to support energy recovery from nonrecyclable industrial materials while reducing landfill disposal and contributing to alternative fuel supply for industry, the companies say.

“The plant thus becomes an example of tripartite cooperation capable of addressing today’s environmental challenges,” says Juan A. Gázquez Serrano, director of industrial business north, PreZero Iberica.