Page 55 from: September 2014

55September 2014

C O M P A N Y P R O F I L E

of operation or would consider investing in the

Enval equipment. Just like in the movie ‘Field

of Dreams’, it was a case of ‘If we build it, they

will come’, Boorman acknowledges. Given the

location of Enval’s plant, perhaps ‘Airfield of

Dreams’ is more appropriate.

The additional investment obtained from exist-

ing and new funders in 2012 was specifically

targeted at helping to make Alconbury a real-

ity. The money came from a syndicate of local

investors, while household names to have

backed the development of the facility include

multi-national brand owners Nestlé, Kraft

Foods Group and Mondelez International.

With regard to the business model, a central

processing hub would make shipping costs ‘pro-

hibitive’ given that the target materials are light

in weight and so it has always been Enval’s inten-

tion to develop and prove the equipment – both

technically and commercially – for sale to, hope-

fully, multiple users. The company is building

the complete business case at Alconbury so that

prospective customers can be shown actual vol-

umes and costings when working on a gate-fee

basis. ‘Once people have seen what Alconbury

will be able to do, we hope to turn ongoing dia-

logues into sales,’ Boorman adds.

Funding received
At present, laminated materials of the type tar-

geted by the Enval process are not among those

that UK householders are requested to separate

for recycling. In 2013, however, a report from the

UK’s Waste & Resources Action Programme

underlined the feasibility of material recycling

Milestones in the Enval
story
Mid-1990s: Professor Howard Chase began
investigating potential environmental applica-
tions arising from the microwave heating of
carbon at the University of Cambridge’s Depart-
ment of Chemical Engineering.
1997: Chase began supervising Carlos Ludlow-
Palafox in his PhD research into the microwave
pyrolysis of plastics and plastic-containing
wastes in batch systems.
2006: Following the design of continuous pro-
cess equipment, the two men – together with Dr
Alex Domin – founded Enval. The fi rst bench-
scale prototype of the process was launched in
the same year.
2008: The fi rst pilot plant was completed.
2010: Enval opened its engineering facility in
Luton dedicated to showcasing the technology.
2014: The commissioning of the commercial-
scale facility at Alconbury.

facilities (MRFs) using existing eddy current and

near infrared sorting equipment to extract the

aluminium-containing packaging from a co-

mingled input. ‘It will be necessary to work with

MRF operators, local authorities and others to

alert the public that the likes of fruit juice pouch-

es, coffee bags and toothpaste tubes can now be

put into the recycling stream,’ Boorman explains.

To this end, it was announced in June that fund-

ing had been received from the UK government’s

Department for Environment, Food and Rural

Affairs to enable a consortium to scope out,

develop and trial new approaches for collecting

flexible packaging materials containing alu-

minium – such as dedicated retailer bring banks

and segregation at the kerbside – with a view to

boosting their recycling. In addition to Enval,

the consortium led by LRS Consultancy will also

consist of big hitters representing various com-

panies in the packaging-related supply chain,

namely waste management group SITA UK,

food giant Nestlé (UK), soft drinks icon Coca-

Cola Enterprises and leading retailer Tesco UK.

Options to be trialled
The initial scoping study is already well in train

and has been exploring the viability of a range

of collection and communication approaches

for households and commercial premises. This

work will lead into trials to test collection

options for flexible packaging, as well as to pro-

vide insight into how consumer behaviour and

attitudes influence collection models.

The idea, says Enval, is to assess various collection

methods to ascertain ‘the most effective solution

for different demographics and locations’.

The scoping study is due for completion any

time now and the aim, says Boorman, is ‘for trial

schemes to be implemented almost straight away

and to run through 2015’. With the focus falling

on the aforementioned fruit juice pouches, wet

petfood pouches, toothpaste tubes and coffee

bags, the collected material will go through

Alconbury to assess quality and viability.

No geographical restriction
Although the UK market is an obvious target,

Enval is placing no geographical restriction on

the search for buyers of its equipment. ‘We are

looking at a global market,’ Boorman insists,

given that the recycling of such laminates is a

‘ubiquitous’ environmental issue. Globally, flex-

ible packaging is expected to achieve a com-

pound annual growth rate of 5.1% between

2013 and 2018. All companies along the flexible

laminates chain – including, for example, alu-

minium foil manufacturers, fillers and retailers

– have a profound interest in seeing an end-of-

life solution for this type of packaging because,

at the moment, ‘they can’t tick the box of recy-

clability’, Boorman states. As further encour-

agement, Enval reckons return on investment

for its equipment can be within three years.

The universality of the laminated packaging

recycling issue has already prompted a healthy

number of overseas delegations to visit the

Alconbury facility since trials started in Janu-

ary; these have included a Latin American sci-

ence, technology and innovation group com-

prising government officials and company

executives, and two dozen members of Den-

mark’s Copenhagen Cleantech Cluster.

Enval has built it, and the visitors have

come….

Reverse view of the Enval pyrolysis plant.

The Enval process: a commercial-scale plant has been installed at
Alconbury.

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