The York County Solid Waste Authority recently awarded research funding grants to Pittsburgh Mineral & Environmental Technology, Inc. (PMET) and eco/Technologies, LLC (eco/Tech).  The purpose of the grants is to support and stimulate technological or market innovation that results in the development of non-traditional viable commercial uses for the municipal waste combustion ash from the York County Resource Recovery Center (RRC).  The Authority’s combined funding support to these two entities amounts to $243,542.  

PMET's research will focus on the use of RRC ash in their "Brixx" process to manufacture bricks for building applications.  Research work will include collecting ash samples, characterizing RRC ash with respect to parameters critical to the “Brixx” process, optimizing the ash mix for production, defining product standards, testing the product for functional and environmental performance, pilot production of approximately 3,200 bricks for testing and marketing and developing a scale-up plan for commercial Brixx production using RRC ash. 

eco/Tech will undertake two research projects.  One will explore the use of RRC ash in technical ceramics and the other will explore the use of RRC ash in compression-formed masonry products.  Research work will include defining product standards, identifying manufacturers potentially interested in incorporating recycled ash into their production processes, characterizing RRC municipal waste combustion ash with respect to parameters relevant to technical ceramics (TC) and compression-formed masonry products (CFM), and optimizing the ash mix for TC and CFM production based on multiple rounds of production and performance testing.

The work also includes quarterly reports and a final report describing the research program and presenting all testing data.  eco/Tech will team with Columbia University and Sustainable Dynamics, LLC to complete this research.   

The term of the agreements with both PMET and eco/Tech is 24 months, unless extended by the parties.  Work is expected to be completed within 12 months.

The Authority facilitates responsible solid waste management through an integrated strategy that emphasizes waste reduction, reuse, recycling and resource recovery.  The Authority is the owner of the York County Resource Recovery Center , a waste-to-energy facility located in Manchester Township that has been in operation since 1989.  Since 1998, the Authority has had an agreement with American Ash Recycling Corporation (AAR) to recycle 100 percent of the municipal waste combustion ash from the Resource Recovery Center . The ash is currently recycled into an aggregate material marketed commercially as “AggRite”.  AggRite is permitted by the state for use in a variety of construction applications.  

Pittsburgh Mineral & Environmental Technology, Inc (PMET), based in New Brighton, PA, is a full-service technology development and service company specializing in metals and minerals processing, coal ash utilization, waste stream management, and precision analysis.  PMET develops and commercializes technologies dedicated to waste minimization, waste treatment, and the conversion of industrial wastes to safe, usable, and profitable products.  Since 1985, PMET has assisted mining, minerals, chemical, and metals companies and electric power generators worldwide in improving the efficiency, effectiveness and safety of their operations; reducing waste; and converting formally landfilled wastes into profitable commercial products.  PMET's integrated analytical and process development services are performed for clients on a contract basis and are also employed by PMET to develop proprietary technologies currently being commercialized or available for commercialization.