International Symposium MBT 2007

From the 22nd to the 24th of May around 300 participants from 37 countries came together in Hanover for the 2nd International Symposium MBT and Automatic Waste Sorting 2007. This symposium organised by Wasteconsult has established itself to the most recognised conference about mechanical and biological treatment (MBT) of waste.

Not only in Europe, but also in developing and emerging countries, there is an increasing interest in the MBT technology as presentations from India, Thailand and Iran have shown. In addition to material separation for recycling and energy recovery the production of compost from mixed municipal solid waste is a frequent treatment goal in these countries.

The majority of the presenters and participants came from Western Europe and Australia. It can be assumed that the MBT capacities will increase significantly in these countries in coming years. Also, an MBT plant could there be considerably cheaper than in Germany partly due to lower requirements (e.g. exhaust gas treatment and landfill criteria) and due to other objective targets of the plants.

The symposium did not only deal with the current situation of MBT plants but it also set a another focus on the increasing recovery and quality improvement of utilisable material streams due to sensor-based sorting techniques and optimised processing techniques. In the short term, there is a demand for improvement particularly at the high-calorific fraction to produce products in the line of the market.

The main chapters of the proceedings are:

I.General and International Aspects of MBT
II.Short Presentations (of different process techniques)
III.MBT Experiences and Optimisation
IV.Mechanical Treatment and Automatic Sorting
V.Fuels (RDF) and Recycled Materials
VI.Biological Treatment
VII.Sampling and Analytical Methods
VIII.Emissions and Emission Treatment
IX.Posters