The Customer Challenge
A large tank at Oldbury containing historic AETP sludge needed to be removed, treated and disposed of so that operations could continue. The two main challenges were first to mix the sludge in the tank so that it could be reliably sampled and analysed to confirm its suitability for disposal as LLW and to develop a robust treatment formulation and second to encapsulate the mixed sludge retrieved from the tank to minimise the volume of waste for disposal.
The Tradebe Inutec Solution
Tradebe Inutec’s innovative solution included working closely with the Oldbury project team to use a new mobile plant to deal with the sludge at Oldbury as well as using pioneering air-driven technology to homogenise the waste in the tank without adding to the volume of the waste.
Once removed, Tradebe Inutec developed a bespoke process to encapsulate the sludge into a cement treatment formulation that met LLWR requirements for disposal and used it’s proprietary direct-pour technique to make full use of the capacity of the ISO container.
Value to Customers
Tradebe Inutec’s team worked hand-in-hand with Oldbury’s project team, providing a safe and flexible solution. Our unique approach meant that Oldbury needed to dispose of fewer ISO containers of waste to the LLWR. When combined with a 7-week reduction in processing time that helped shorten the overall project duration by four months, there was a saving of £800,000 for the UK taxpayer.