BEFESA

In the activity of industrial waste management, Befesa has a highlighted presence in Spain and in Latin America. Befesa is the leading company in Spain when it comes to managing industrial waste (measured in terms of treated volume). It is also a prominent figure in the Latin American countries in which it operates (Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Peru).

Befesa’s main competitive edge is the fact that it operates across the integral industrial waste management cycle and is therefore able to harness significant synergies between the various links in the chain.

Befesa assumes the transport, temporary storage, treatment and appreciation, as well as recovery and final disposal in a controlled and safe manner, according to the Spanish and European environmental regulations. It also provides a wide range of industrial cleaning services with high added value in most industry sectors.

Another of their areas provides effective solutions for the collection, transport and disposal of transformers, condensers and PCB contaminated materials, as well as the recycling of plastic film used in greenhouses covered. It also develops desulfurization tasks, producing sulfuric acid from sulfur residual, and the electrical energy produced is sold and returned to the grid. Finally, it offers solutions for soil decontamination.

Through its centers and offices located across Spain, Befesa aims to provide its customers with an integral waste management service, while minimizing or reducing the potential environmental impact through proper management.

Befesa’s growth strategy in the area of industrial waste management is based on achieving organic growth in the management of nonhazardous waste in the countries in which it operates and on penetrating new territories offering high potential.

The industrial waste recycling market will continue to grow, spurred on by increasingly heavy legislative and environmental pressure not only on production companies but also with regard to the treatments required.

Demand for Befesa’s industrial waste management services flows in from small and medium-sized companies with a strong local component, and also from the environmental divisions of large industrial corporations generally associated with the construction trade.

In Latin America, Befesa developes a potent activity in the management of industrial waste through its plants located in Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Peru. From there, it provides comprehensive environmental services, including management of hazardous and non-hazardous waste and industrial cleaning, among others. Befesa always operates using advanced and secure technologies, and thereby contributes to sustainable development in the countries where it operates.

• • Industrial waste

    Befesa manages, recycles, valorizes and reuses waste through cutting-edge technology Ander the 3R rule: “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle”, based on the premise that the best waste is no waste. This way, materials that can be put to subsequent use are recovered, thus helping to reduce our reliance on new raw materials. The company accomplishes this not only through its 15-plus network of centers distributed throughout Spain, which treat waste to reduce the associated contamination, but also through its transfer centers, at which waste is separated, classified and sent off for recovery, recycling and/or valorization, helping to reduce the consumption of natural resources. Lastly, it has a safety landfill site for the controlled disposal of waste that cannot undergo any further form of treatment.

    Befesa maintained its leading status within the sector by managing 941,665 t of industrial waste in 2010, 28 % of which was classified as hazardous industrial waste. Work also continued during the year to remodel the physicochemical treatment plant so as to enable it to treat third-party industrial waters, thereby extending the range of management services offered to customers. The rainwater, potentially contaminated water and clean rainwater network at the Nerva center was also remodeled.

    In Latin America, Befesa also occupies a highlighted position in industrial waste management. Befesa Chile, through its company Soluciones Ambientales del Norte, operates in the integral management of solid hazardous and non-hazardous industrial waste. It achieves this through temporary storage and final disposal systems and treatments aimed at valorizing the waste and minimizing the hazard posed by it, recycling wherever possible. The waste, which is mainly produced by mining and industry, is managed safely and responsibly, contributing to the country’s sustainable development.

    The company’s Sierra Gorda plant, located in the Atacama desert, 120 km inland from the city of Antofagasta and 1,600 km from the capital city of Santiago, takes up a 40 ha plot of land and has been operating since May 2008. The facility managed over 22,500 t of waste in 2010, and moreover Befesa Chile has been busy making investments, such as the acquisition of four trucks, primarily intended to serve major mining clients from regions I to III. Work was also completed towards the end of November on the second hazardous waste landfill site, which will be able to store 80,000 m³ of the material. The company also continued to work on various contracts signed with important companies from the mining industry, such as Minero Escondida (BHP Billiton), Cia., Minera Quebrada Blanca (Teck), Cía., Minera Lomas Bayas (Xstrata), Soc., Minera Química, Compañía Minera Ines de Collahuasi (Angloamerican) and Electroandina (Endesa). In light of this, the company has tightened its safety and mining standards, inviting its competitors to follow suit.

    Befesa Peru, which focuses its activity on providing comprehensive environmental services to industry, has also made significant investments in 2010. Thus, the Chilca facilities enjoyed a number of improvements, including extensions to the laboratory and administrative office area, construction of a truck washing area, extension of the fire protection system to cover all treatment and operating areas, construction of three lixiviate treatment tanks, roofing for the temporary waste storage platform and start-up of the industrial effluent treatment plant. The year 2010 also saw Befesa Perú start up the country’s first commercial incinerator, which is capable of treating 1,800 t/year of inflammable and hospital waste.

    Befesa is the first company in Peru to be authorized by the Ministry of Health’s Directorate- General for Environmental Health (DIGESA) to carry out the treatment and final disposal of hazardous industrial waste. It has also secured the approval of the Environmental Impact Study (“Estudio de Impacto Ambiental”). The company successfully managed over 11,400 t of waste over the year.

    Befesa Mexico and its subsidiary, Sistemas de Desarrollo Sustentable (SDS), are involved in the management of hazardous waste for industry and the public sector. These activities foster sustainable development by offering a responsible alternative to the management of hazardous waste, which might otherwise lead to significant environmental contamination. In 2010, Befesa Mexico continued to expand its business of managing waste ultimately intended for third-party facilities. Whereas previously specializing almost exclusively in hazardous waste confinement, the company is now experiencing demand for cement furnaces, confinement of non-hazardous waste and incineration. The company also opened a waste transfer center in Tultitlán, State of Mexico, in 2010.

    For its part, Argentina Befesa is involved in the management, analysis, transport, recycling, recovery, treatment, temporary storage and incineration in its plant in Pacheco. At the same time, it provides the service of processing of aerosols, tubes and lamps, electronic waste management and disposal, through secure landfill, of hazardous and non-hazardous industrial waste at the facilities at Campana. It also provides shredding and compaction of waste and contaminated materials in order to reduce its volume and prepare loads to process or recycle.

  • Industrial cleaning

    The industrial cleaning division’s activities contribute to the sustainable development of the industries it serves, combining the goals of minimizing waste production, maximizing waste recovery, reusing raw materials and developing more efficient equipment, leading in turn to lower energy consumption. Its wide range of services includes mechanical and high pressure hydrodynamic cleaning processes, ultrapressure hydrodemolition and hydrocutting; chemical cleaning and steam blowing; air through circuits and boilers; changes of catalyst beds; cleaning of refinery tanks and oil installations, both manually and with automated systems; on-site waste treatment through mobile and fixed plants, and cleaning of interchangers.

    In 2010, the division attempted to consolidate its standing in the pre-operational chemical cleaning market for thermal power and solar thermal plants by securing and performing work on Abengoa’s Solnova 4 parabolic trough solar power plant in Sanlucar la Mayor (Spain), and the ISCC Hassi R’Mel plant (Algeria). The company has continued to expand outside Spain, where it has been carrying out automatic cleanings of tanks, catalysts and heat exchangers in France, Portugal, Switzerland and Italy, and submitting bids for work to be carried out in 2011. It also made its first commercial contacts in the Near East, where the construction of large petrochemical installations will provide the company with opportunities for further work, mainly in tank and catalyst cleaning.

    The activity there hasn't been less intense in Latin America during 2010. Befesa, acting through its subsidiary Befesa Servicios, is involved in industrial cleaning, physical and chemical cleaning of aqueous waste, recovery and distillation of stainless steel solvents, sludge centrifugation, oil and derivative product tank cleaning, and the production of an alternative fuel for cement furnaces. Thanks to an intensive sales campaign, actual order intake and performance for 2010 outstripped expectations.

    Improvements were also made to the process of producing alternative liquid fuels from waste. On a final note, the company successfully completed the three-year process of extracting all the liquid and semi-solid waste from Tank 263 at the YPF La Plata refinery, which measures 50 m in diameter, has a floating roof and an interior slop volume of over 30,000 m³. In 2011 it will make cleaning and treatment of waste resulting from Tanks 5001, 5004 y 5007 in La Plata refinery. Befesa Argentina also provides industrial cleaning outside industrial cleaning.

    Similarly, Befesa Peru, which is specialized in providing the industry with integral environmental services, also started up its industrial cleaning service in 2010, meaning that the company has had to invest in resources and assets such as tank trucks for sludge suction and its facilities.

  • Plastics

    Befesa Plásticos manufactures special low density polyethylene pellets by recycling the film used as greenhouse covering. The pellets are then sold and used for a variety of applications, such as manufacturing sheeting for the construction industry (waterproofing and protection), sacks and bags, irrigation piping and electrical and telecommunications ducts. They can also be injected to create pots or otherwise used to obtain modified asphalts. As the only Spanish company capable of carrying out the complete recycling cycle from collection to product manufacturing, Befesa is the European leader in this particular field.

    Over 2010, Befesa recycled 14,625 t of film and used irrigation pipes, and likewise produced 11,200 t of polyethylene pellets, thus maintaining its position as market leader in the low density polyethylene recycling business, a field in which it operates in all the major regions of cultivation under plastic in Spain: Alicante, Murcia, Andalusia and Extremadura.

    Also, the R + D + i department of Befesa Plastics has developed in recent years a process for reusing waste fiberglass. This material is not currently recycled and more than 120,000 t per year are sent to dump in Europe, what is an environmental problem unsolved untill now.

    The work has culminated in the construction of a pioneer plant for the recycling of fiberglass. At the plant, fiberglass is going to be used to reinforce plastics, obtaining a material that is used, among others, in the automotive and appliances sectors, insulation of buildings and even for the blades of wind turbines. This new plant will allow a diversification of production and a synergy between the two facilities that will enhance the vulnerability of society that currently depend on a single product / waste: polyethylene and greenhouse film.

    The major innovation of this plant is the process that allows mixing glass fiber with a thermoplastic matrix to obtain the compound. This is an internal mixer capable of mixing different types of materials and reinforcements, with an extruder for processing the prior mixture.

    This will allow mixtures of different materials and thus produce entirely different business references for different application areas, all using waste to reinforce plastics.

    This installation is flexible and has the potential to expand its capacity and type of recyclable waste. The R + D + i department of Befesa Plastics is already working on the recycling of other materials such as wood and rubber, among others.

  • PCB

    Befesa Gestión de PCB operates out of Cartagena (Spain) and specializes in providing effective solutions for the collection, transportation and elimination of transformers, condensers and materials contaminated with PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls). Using cutting-edge technology, the company recovers all reusable materials while eliminating all contaminated materials for good.

    PCB are a number of hazardous chemicals that suppose a serious threat to the environment due to their toxicity, persistence and bioaccumulation capacity. PCB have proven neurotoxic effects, among others, and at present its use is banned in many countries. Because of their characteristics of stability, persistence, easy diffusion and high toxicity, they are a serious environmental problem, what explain the need to eliminate them.

    More than 3,600 t of PCB-contaminated devices and materials were treated by the company during 2010, confirming its market leadership in Spain. This makes Befesa Gestión de PCB the company of reference for PCB treatment in the electricity sector. Because of its high stability and high dielectric constant, PBCs became very attractive compounds for the industry, which employed them on a widespread way until the mid 70's , especially in transformers and capacitors, where PBCs were used as dielectric fluids.

    Befesa also plays in Latin America activities related to the management of PCB contaminated materials. For example, Befesa Peru, which focuses on providing comprehensive environmental services to industry, deals with the handling, loading, packaging, internal transportation, shipping and export of highly hazardous compounds, such as PCBs, that can not be treated in Peru because there is no appropriate technology for processing. Consequently, these hazardous wastes are exported to be destroyed in plants equipped for that purpose, within the framework of national and international legislation and according to stablished in Basel Convention. Thus, by using the best available technology, the company contributes to environmental protection and public health. Befesa Argentina holds also the activity export of PCBs.

  • Soil decontamination

    This division provides integral technical solutions to the problem of soil contamination. Over 2010, the company pressed on with contaminated soil investigation and diagnostic projects for top-tier customers within the petrochemical, steel, real estate construction, energy and chemical industries, among others, and was similarly involved in a host of other soil decontamination activities, such as bioremediation treatments, on-site treatments, and soil excavation and management.

    Over the year, the soil management and decontamination department continued to cement Befesa’s standing as a benchmark company when it comes to investigating and restoring contaminated soil in Spain. Given the slumping levels of business seen in the real estate market, Befesa has focused on the industrial sector, primarily the oil sector, where the company has conducted numerous investigations into contaminated sites across the Iberian Peninsula.

    Other highlights include the on-site restoration work being performed on the Canary Islands and Ceuta, both emerging markets where Befesa has already set up operations, along with the decontamination work on the land previously occupied by the Tussam bus depots in Seville, which has converted the land to residential use.

  • Desulfurization

    In the area of recovery of sulfur waste, Befesa produces sulfuric acid and oleum (a compound rich in SO₃) by using the residual sulfur recovered from petrochemical plants. The company provides viable solutions to the environmental problems associated

    with oil plants by applying the cleanest and safest processes, while using the heat generated at the different stages of the process to produce electricity that is sold and returned to the grid.

    As part of the Special Plan of Interior Sefanitro Reform (PERI) of the municipality of Baracaldo (Vizcaya), the land occupied by Befesa Desulfuración facilities were classified as urban land for residential use. This has led to the programmed cessation of its activity in July 2011 and its facilities are currently being dismantled.

    In order to continue its activity, in late 2009 began the construction of a new plant on land of the Port of Bilbao, municipality of Zierbena (Vizcaya). The facility will have capacity to treat 120,000 t of sulfur and to produce 350,000 t of sulfuric acid, leading to an associated power generation of about 90,000 MW per year.

    This new plant, called Befesa Valorización de Azufre, is currently under implementation and will provide a major environmentalimprovement in all fields, because it will offer the most modern and efficient technologies, many of which are considered best available techniques according to the BREF of reference.

    During 2010, 261,100 t of equivalent acid were produced, with an associated electricity generation of 49,900 MWh. After deducting selfconsumption, this resulted in sales of 24,000 MWh of surplus electricity.