Challenge

In 2009, Laflèche Environmental, Inc., (LEI) a wholly owned subsidiary of Montreal based TransForce, Inc., built a 52,000 square foot (4,831 m2) enclosed plant designed to receive up to 50,000 tonnes of source separated organics (SSO), including food residuals, paper, leaf and yard waste and other organic materials. The existing composting agitator at the Moose Creek plant (supplied by another vendor) was unable to meet the performance criteria required for the plant to achieve its design capacity. LEI operating staff had to extend its operations from 10 to 24 hours a day to allow sufficient time for the agitator to process all of the compost bays and was still not able to meet the required throughput.

Solution

When the additional operating time and associated maintenance costs to run the competitor’s agitator became prohibitive, LEI contacted Siemens for a potential solution.  Siemens worked with LEI to develop a plan to install a customized IPS Compost Agitator into the existing facility. Part of the modifications included installation of rails to the existing bay walls. The original agitator rode directly on the concrete walls and was unable to maintain proper traction throughout the operating cycle. This rail installation was relatively easy and was done in conjunction with the other modifications. Siemens and LEI collaborated on the details, and LEI completed the modifications while Siemens built the new agitator.  The overall project was completed within an aggressive schedule.  The new agitator was ordered in June 2010, delivered in early January 2011 and was operating within a few days, dramatically increasing production.

Results

Once installed and in operation, the IPS Compost Agitator was easily able to process the required number of bays in the original 10 hour workday, enabling LEI to meet its production schedule, achieve the compost plant design capacity and deliver a quality compost product to its end users.  Overall operating and maintenance expenses were reduced, throughput was significantly improved and the automatic operation allowed plant personnel the opportunity to focus on improving overall facility operations. 

Trucks deliver the waste to an enclosed receiving area designed for mixed waste preparation and feedstock mixing.  A front end loader transfers the feedstock to the front of the composting bays where the automated agitator mixes and moves the material from the front end to the discharge end of the bays over the next 25 – 30 days. The composted material is transferred to an enclosed curing area where it matures for 30 – 60 days before it is screened. After screening, the compost is distributed to farmers or stored in two separate partially covered structures for up to six months.  Owned and operated by LEI, the facility also includes a landfill and leachate collection ponds. Plans are underway for the installation of a landfill gas power generation facility.

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