Research and development
As a leading and long-term player in our sector, we are committed to research and development (R&D). NOAH continuously monitors interesting technologies and processes that can be relevant for the circular value chain and improve today’s processes for the treatment of hazardous waste.
Operations-related research is primarily carried out in the process division of the treatment facility on Langøya. This research focuses on optimising today’s operations process in terms of the planned receipt and processing of various types of waste. The priorities are safe operations at the facility, HSE (health, safety and the environment) and discharge into the external environment.
On Herøya in Porsgrunn, NOAH has a division that is heading the technology development efforts in the organisation, as well as the future utilisation and recycling of resources from hazardous waste. The hazardous waste received by NOAH contains a number of components that can be technically difficult to recycle, primarily metals, salts and other minerals. Testing and laboratory activities are carried out on Langøya, at consultancy firms and other technology partners.
NOAH’s activities include working on specific and long-term technology and research projects related to the:
- Extraction of valuable salts from fly ash
- Detoxification of stabilised hazardous waste
- Utilisation of CO2 from industrial flue gas for stabilising hazardous waste
- Development of new products that can be production factors in other industries in the future
Since 2016, NOAH has worked to develop a process solution for the recovery of salts from inorganic hazardous waste. This project is funded by Innovation Norway and the plan is to establish a pilot plant at the Herøya Industrial Park. The goal is to verify whether pure chloride salts can be produced and utilised as raw materials in Norwegian industry. Read more about the project here.
CO2 is a resource that can be used to stabilise hazardous waste. A pilot facility has been installed on Langøya for small-scale testing focusing on the processing and stabilisation of fly ash. Possibilities to scale up the processes are evaluated continuously.
NOAH and various other Norwegian and international companies consider the recovery of metals from fly ash an exciting possibility. The extraction of metals from fly ash or gypsum, as well as the removal of chlorides, will also enable a different and new use of materials that are currently disposed of – and will help minimise the future disposal need for hazardous waste. NOAH aims to continue this development work for metal recycling and other resource utilisation of gypsum that is currently disposed of at landfills.