{"id":16394,"date":"2021-06-29T14:08:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-29T11:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/?post_type=showroom_cpt&p=16394"},"modified":"2022-12-05T18:35:27","modified_gmt":"2022-12-05T16:35:27","slug":"plastic-refinery-in-riihimaki","status":"publish","type":"showroom_cpt","link":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/en\/projects\/plastic-refinery-in-riihimaki\/","title":{"rendered":"Plastic refinery in Riihim\u00e4ki"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t
\n\t\t\"Muovijalostamon\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Plastic refinery in Riihim\u00e4ki<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\tDescription<\/em>\t\t\t\t\t

Fortum Waste Solutions Oy, expansion of Plastic refinery in Riihim\u00e4ki<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\tCommission<\/em>\t\t\t\t\t

Primary design and project management, construction consultancy, procurement assistance, safety coordination and structural, electrical and automation design of services outside the primary equipment<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\tYear of implementation<\/em>\t\t\t\t\t

2018<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\"Industry<\/figure>
\"Responsible<\/figure>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n\t
\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t

Plastic refinery expansion in Riihim\u00e4ki tripled Finland\u2019s plastic recycling capacity<\/h2>\n

The collection of household plastic packaging began in Finland at the start of 2016, and at the same time, Fortum started the construction of the country\u2019s first plastic refinery in Riihim\u00e4ki. The plant was expanded just a couple of years later, while the quality of the fuel recovered from plastic was also improved. Sweco was the principal designer of the project.<\/p>\n

The plastic refinery located in Riihim\u00e4ki processes separately collected consumer plastic packaging and industrial plastics. According to Finnish Plastics Recycling Ltd, in 2019, the amount of household plastic collected grew by 79\u00a0per\u00a0cent from the previous year. \u201cThe growing collection amounts meant that the expansion became absolutely necessary,\u201d explains Development Manager Jarkko Toropainen<\/strong> from Fortum Waste Solutions.<\/p>\n

The aim of the expansion project was to significantly increase the processing capacity of the plant, and currently, the plastic refinery can process about 30,000\u00a0tonnes of different types of plastic in a year. \u201cWe gained new storage facilities, updated our processes and separated two interconnected sorting units. We can now drive them both simultaneously,\u201d Toropainen says.<\/p>\n

Another goal was to be able to separate PVC from other plastics. If plastic that has been collected cannot be recycled into new material, the Riihim\u00e4ki plant turns it into recovered fuel, and PVC is harmful to this process. In the expansion project, the sorting plant gained new optical separators that detect PVC plastic. \u201cThis allowed us to reduce the chlorine content of the material, which improves the quality of the recovered fuel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Renewal of the extensive sprinkler system<\/h4>\n

Sweco was in charge of designing the structures and auxiliary services located around the primary equipment. The tasks were expanded along the way. \u201cThere were no barriers between different companies working on site, as the experienced project manager was able to find the right people for all the tasks,\u201d Toropainen states, full of praise.<\/p>\n

The project required electrical and automation design, among others, as a new fire-extinguishing system was created. \u201cSprinkler design and installation was the single most challenging task in this project and also one of the biggest successes,\u201d Toropainen says.<\/p>\n

Working at night due to heatwaves<\/h4>\n

Procurement was carried out in an exceptionally tight schedule, and Sweco offered support in drawing up the material for invitations to tender. \u201cWe found a contractor with the requisite experience and an open-minded attitude to tackling a tight schedule,\u201d Sweco\u2019s Project Manager Arto Hakola<\/strong> says happily.<\/p>\n

Cooperation was also needed in the site installations during the long heatwaves of summer 2018. \u201cThe heat made it impossible for us to work in the lightweight halls during the day, meaning that some installations were moved to the night shift,\u201d Hakola explains. This was challenging in itself, as fewer plant employees and supervisors were present during the night.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is always challenging to make changes to existing facilities,\u201d Toropainen admits. The key thing was to take other operations in the plant area into account. \u201cThe area also contains waste incineration plants, meaning that safe movement and logistics were highly important!\u201d<\/p>\n

The project utilised a virtual model that allowed designers to study everything at the correct scale, including the positioning of elements in relation to each other, right from the design phase. \u201cIt was an eye-opening and surprisingly life-like experience to view the environment using a virtual headset,\u201d Toropainen explains.<\/p>\n

Plastic refinery is the first step in the value chain of circular economy plants<\/h4>\n

Each kilogram of recycled plastic saves 1.5\u00a0kilograms of carbon dioxide compared to using virgin plastic raw materials. In addition to the Fortum Circo\u00ae recycled plastic granulate produced in the plastic refinery, the Riihim\u00e4ki plant area produces district heating, electricity and recovered fuel.<\/p>\n

The European Union aims to increase the recycling rate of plastic packaging to 50\u00a0per\u00a0cent by 2025. Finland currently stands at about 30\u00a0per\u00a0cent (2018). \u201cPlastic recycling is a cornerstone of our strategy, and we will continue to develop new solutions in the sector,\u201d Toropainen says.<\/p>\n

According to Sweco\u2019s Leena Pirhonen<\/strong>, an expert on circular economy, the separate collection of plastic types shows how the operational principles of industrials plants are changing. \u201cIndustrial raw materials increasingly come from recycling and reuse processes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pirhonen feels that the Riihim\u00e4ki plant is a significant first step in the circular economy of plastics, in which Sweco also wants to be involved. \u201cThe plastic refinery kicks off a circular economy value chain that transforms waste into valuable raw materials.\u201d<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Plastic refinery expansion in Riihim\u00e4ki tripled Finland\u2019s plastic recycling capacity. Sweco was the principal designer of the project.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":14049,"template":"","showroom_cats":[147,160,156,161,158],"showroom_expertise":[],"showroom_partners":[],"showroom_location":[],"showroom_client":[],"class_list":["post-16394","showroom_cpt","type-showroom_cpt","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","showroom_cats-sustainability","showroom_cats-circular-economy","showroom_cats-industry-energy-and-environment","showroom_cats-environment-and-nature","showroom_cats-industry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/showroom_cpt\/16394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/showroom_cpt"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/showroom_cpt"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"showroom_cats","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/showroom_cats?post=16394"},{"taxonomy":"showroom_expertise","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/showroom_expertise?post=16394"},{"taxonomy":"showroom_partners","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/showroom_partners?post=16394"},{"taxonomy":"showroom_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/showroom_location?post=16394"},{"taxonomy":"showroom_client","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sweco.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/showroom_client?post=16394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}