Union Industries, the UK’s market-leading manufacturer of bespoke warehousing and industrial solutions, has ‘drawn the curtain’ on waste ammonia at a significant waste recycling centre in the South East. Amey, the main contractor at the centre, required a robust solution to prevent the contamination of ammonia across the site.

The global consultancy and infrastructure support services company turned to Leeds-based Union Industries and its bespoke, heavy-duty industrial curtains to solve the issue.

The replacement curtains were used to separate the Aerated Static Piles composting process from the main Bio Hall area of the centre. The composting process accelerates the rate at which organic materials, such as food and garden waste, biodegrade.

As oxygen is pumped through the waste, bacteria from the piles composts the waste and produces ammonia as one of its by-products. The increased temperature, as a result of the composting waste, evaporates ammonia and water from within the piles into the air, which spread into the surrounding environment.

Despite the negative pressure extraction systems installed into each of the composting booths at the centre, corrosive gases were still able to readily spread into the main biohall.

Union Industries installed its high-grade stainless-steel industrial curtains to replace the existing highly corroded system in place at the waste recycling centre. The curtains deliver a corrosion resistant solution to wide-ranging applications, which are made with lacquered PVC coated polyester.

The installation featured additional lateral tensioning straps for the curtains, PVC pelmet and a hardwearing ‘ramskin’ flap to the curtain base, which were incorporated into the design to maintain an effective seal around the curtain. This preserved the negative pressure within the bays and minimised the gases escaping into the Bio Hall.

The difference was immediately noticeable as condensation formed within the bays and was visible on the vision panels installed within the curtains, as opposed to it escaping into the adjoining area. This had previously been the case and the cause of the issue for Amey.

John Allen, AD Supervisor at Amey, said: “The curtains now ensure the atmosphere is drawn through the correct ventilation system. This leads to the ammonia scrubber before it is released to the atmosphere through a biofilter, and without Union Industries support or products this wouldn’t have been achieved.”

Alan Hirst, Sales Director at Union Industries, added: “This was another large-scale installation by our team, and one that was delivered on-time, to budget and provided an effective solution for the customer. No job is too big, small or, in this case, uncomfortable and messy. There was a noticeable difference once the curtains were in place, which has greatly enhanced the day-to-day running of the waste recycling centre.

“Our industrial curtains are built on decades of engineering excellence and experience, which have been installed all over the country to solve similar contamination issues across a range of sectors. We are proud of the positive feedback from the customer and look forward to working with Amey again in the future.”

UNION INDUSTRIES

www.unionindustries.co.uk

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