MHIEC Receives Order for Plant Modification Work To Extend Operational Life of Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Facility With 225 Tons/day Processing Capacity in Kyoto

Tokyo, June 24, 2014 - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Environmental & Chemical Engineering Co., Ltd. (MHIEC), a group company of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), has received an order from the Otokuni Environmental Sanitation Association for modification work to improve core equipment at a municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration plant. The modification work calls for revamping of a stoker furnace (Note1) type incinerator with a processing capacity of 225 tons per day (tpd), with the dual aims of extending the plant's operational life and boosting its energy-saving capability. The order is for Phase II work at the plant; an order for Phase I was received in 2010. The newly ordered modification work is slated for completion in March 2018.

The Otokuni Environmental Sanitation Association handles municipal waste treatment for the cities of Muko and Nagaokakyo and the town of Oyamazaki, all in Kyoto Prefecture. The current incineration facilities consist of two stoker furnaces with 75tpd processing capacities and related equipment completed in March 1995, and a third stoker furnace and related equipment completed in March 2002. Power generation capacity at the plant is 1,200 kilowatts (kW). All of these installations were engineered and constructed by MHI. Phase I service life extension work, which was completed in March 2012, primarily involved upgrading of the comprehensive central monitoring control system and ash solidification equipment.

In Phase II, the operational lives of furnace units 1 through 3 will be extended and energy savings will be promoted throughout the entire plant. Increased power generation capacity and other new features will reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by more than 3.2 percent (approx. 125 tons) per year, thus contributing to curbing global warming. The adoption in furnace No. 3 of MHIEC's patented Hybrid Bag Filter (Note2) will eliminate the need for activated carbon, which until now has been used to reduce the level of dioxins in the flue gas, and thereby enable reductions in the plant's operating costs.

Recently the number of projects to modify and improve existing MSW incineration plants, both to extend their operational lives and to reduce their impact on global warming, is in an increasing trend as local governments face tight budgets that make it difficult to construct new facilities. Moves in this direction are also gathering further momentum with the central government's introduction in 2010 of a state subsidy system created to promote operational life extension and enhance energy savings of waste treatment facilities (Note3).

MHIEC took over MHI's waste treatment plant business in 2008, acquiring MHI's technological development capabilities in environmental systems and its abundant expertise in the construction and operation of waste management facilities both in Japan and overseas. On the strength of these assets, MHIEC today is in a prime position to provide comprehensive solutions encompassing all aspects from plant construction to operation.

Leveraging this latest order and its solid track record, going forward MHIEC will proactively propose further energy-saving enhancements and system improvements for stable operation at existing waste treatment facilities as well as ways to reduce lifecycle costs, including maintenance and management costs, in a quest to expand its business in this field further.

(Note1) A stoker furnace is a common feature of MSW incineration plants. In a stoker furnace, MSW is combusted as it moves along on a fire grate made of heat-resistant castings.

(Note2) The Hybrid Bag Filter is a highly advanced catalyst bag filter. Besides conventional ability to remove harmful substances, this proprietary product of MHIEC can also break down gaseous dioxins (DXN) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) thanks to a coating of catalyst applied to the bag filter's fibers.

(Note3) This program, which falls under the jurisdiction of Japan's Ministry of the Environment, targets effective use and improvement of existing waste treatment facilities as a contribution to the prevention of global warming. Local (city, town or village) governments that seek to extend the operational life of their MSW facilities are eligible to receive subsidies covering one-third to half of the project cost, dependent on the CO2 reduction rate.

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