On Thursday, at the Mont-Saint-Guibert (Walloon Brabant) landfill, the Shanks Company introduced the Minerve project. Partially funded by the Marshall Plan 2.vert of the Walloon Region, and supported by the GreenWin cluster,the objective of the project is to shorten the life cycle of buried waste and enhance the resources they represent. The Minerve project is only at its halfway point but has already achieved its objectives. For managers, the project will revolutionize the life cycle of buried waste and could position Wallonia as a European leader in this field. Specifically, the Minerve project (which stands for mineralization, Renewable energy, energy-matter valorization) will allow the characterization of landfill waste in order to define a mineralization plan. The injection of liquid and a suitable microbial mixture will accelerate the decomposition process and reach parts that are not easily biodegradable.
The process is then used to produce more bio-fuel, which is extracted to produce green electricity or heat. When the waste is mineralized, the landfill site becomes a "bank of materials" used to create alternative fuels or aggregates for construction.
Led by the Shanks Company, within the Greenwin cluster, the project is also being supported by the multinational company Holcim, an SME (Artechno), a research center and four academic departments. For Laurent Dauge, Shanks executive director, the Minerve project is a new business, transposable worldwide.
(Source: Belga)
