Transforming Incineration Bottom Ash (IBA) into NEWSand
A Zero Waste Nation Challenge
Singapore's Pulau Semakau landfill is the world's first offshore landfill created entirely from sea space. The landfill was opened in 1999 and is expected to run out of space by 2035.
The goal of the Singapore Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment is to reduce the waste sent to its only landfill by 30% each day under the country's first Zero Waste Master Plan. Enabling the unrestricted use of recycled IBA as a construction material will help Singapore on its way to becoming a zero-waste nation.
ZA's Mission:
Transforming IBA into NEWSand with the world's most advanced IBA treatment technology
Meeting the Most Stringent Environmental Standard in the World
Producing NEWSand that meets stringent environmental standards and engineering specifications at an acceptable cost is the biggest challenge of this project. The environmental standard for NEWSand is more comprehensive and stringent than that of other countries to protect Singapore's drinking water sources and ecosystem. ZA's WCI technology is customized for Singapore's IBA to be resource-efficient and cost-effective.
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Our Featured Innovations
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Featuring the lowest environmental impact and highest material recovery rate, ZA's proprietary wet IBA treatment technology WCI is a process that can be easily tailored to produce different grades of materials for any application. ZA has built Singapore's first IBA treatment plant with this technology in 2019 and has successfully demonstrated it to the National Environment Agency of Singapore.
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ZA-TECH™ is our patented specialty chemicals, a proven technology developed to tackle the different heavy metals and organic pollutants in waste and wastewater. Since 2013, ZA-TECH™ has been successfully applied in the region for treating solid waste, e.g., incineration bottom ash, incineration fly ash, sludge, contaminated soil, soft clay, and various challenging types of industrial wastewater.
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Material Recovery
The ferrous and non-ferrous metals in the IBA can be almost 100% recovered with the WCI process, closing the material loop. The inorganic materials are thoroughly cleaned and stabilized to make superior construction aggregates. Even the sludge generated from wastewater treatment can be converted into high-value aggregates, helping the process achieve near zero waste.
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From Waste to Construction Material
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We have built on ZA's many years of fundamental research and industrial practices. We possess the state-of-the-art knowledge base and most robust capability in IBA sampling and characterization, leaching studies, treatment and utilization, EIA and LCA, and standards and policy setting.
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Currently, our treated IBA is being used as the subbase materials in Tanah Merah Coast Road in Singapore, and the performance is as good as conventional materials.