Innovation driven by research
Our research combines scientific expertise with commercial-scale trials to develop new solutions for difficult waste streams, enhance biological performance and unlock more value from residual waste.
Turning research into real-world solutions
Every new waste stream presents a new opportunity to learn. Our research combines laboratory science with commercial-scale trials to understand how biotechnology can recover more value from residual waste, improve environmental performance and solve emerging industry challenges. The insights gained don’t stay in the laboratory, they directly inform the development of our technology and the solutions we deliver to customers.
Our main areas of focus include:
Recovering more value from residual waste
Exploring new opportunities to separate, recover and valorise materials following treatment, including ferrous and non-ferrous metals, organic fractions and other valuable resources that can support further recovery.
Unlocking difficult waste streams
Developing biological solutions for highly contaminated, moisture-rich and complex waste streams that are traditionally destined for landfill or low-value disposal.
Advancing biotechnology performance
Continuously improving the efficiency of our biological processes to maximise waste reduction, enhance operational performance and increase the value that can be recovered from residual waste.
Reducing environmental impact
Driving improvements across our processes to minimise environmental impact while supporting more sustainable and resource-efficient waste management.
Research in action
Every research project strengthens our understanding of how biotechnology can solve real-world waste challenges.
From validating landfill diversion pathways to exploring new waste applications, our latest trials continue to demonstrate the potential of biological innovation in residual waste processing.
Demonstrating biological stability through AT4 compliance
Recovering value from residual waste remains our preferred outcome, whether through material recovery or the production of Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF). However, we recognise that suitable recovery infrastructure is not always available. In these circumstances, demonstrating the biological stability of treated waste becomes increasingly important.
The AT4 test measures the biological activity of biodegradable waste to determine whether it has been sufficiently stabilised. Waste that meets the required AT4 limits is significantly less likely to generate methane, odours and leachate after disposal. Compliance is already required for certain waste streams in the Republic of Ireland and is an important part of Scotland’s Biodegradable Municipal Waste Landfill Ban.
These results demonstrate the ability of Advetec’s biotechnology to significantly stabilise biodegradable waste while reducing its volume and moisture content. Where landfill remains the only available disposal route, this provides waste operators with greater confidence that treated material can meet the biological stability requirements of applicable legislation.
46%
Mass Reduction
91.31%
Moisture Reduction
4.04
AT4 mg 02g DW
Offensive washroom waste trial
Waste collected from bathrooms in shopping centres, service stations, railway stations and care homes, has proven to be challenging for the waste industry to segregate or extract more value from. This waste stream typically includes sanitary products, nappies, tissues, and paper towels. It is generally high in moisture, making it heavy, rich in ammonia, and odorous. Historically, there was no other offtake available other than landfill or incineration in Energy from Waste (EfW) plants.
The trial using the Advetec XO system aimed to use biotechnology to treat washroom waste and produce high-quality SRF, a valuable alternative to carbon-heavy fossil fuels. It also aimed to demonstrate the benefits and commercial advantages of processing washroom waste on-site at commercial waste sites.
After conducting extensive on-site trials with the waste handler, we collected and provided data on the waste’s characteristics, the performance of the XO unit, and the quality of the resulting floc. Sampling expert Alfred H Knight demonstrated that the moisture content had been reduced by over 50%. This, combined with other factors such as satisfactory levels of chlorine (0. 5%), NCV over 20, and ash content at 12%, classified the floc as high-quality SRF. The analysis indicated that the floc had a low moisture content of 5%, was stable, and not susceptible to further biological degradation – making it AT4 compliant.
This is an important development, for both waste handlers and waste producers. By utilising biotechnology, facilities like shopping centres, hospitals, and care facilities can divert washroom waste from landfills and low-level incineration, contributing to the circular economy. This presents an exciting opportunity, particularly given the increasing pressures to demonstrate a focus on sustainability, landfill restrictions, new regulations regarding Scope 3 reporting, and the anticipated rise in Energy from Waste (EfW) gate fees driven by the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Transitioning to more sustainable disposal methods and treatments offers both commercial and environmental benefits for forward-thinking waste handlers.
Washroom waste trial results
51.9%
Mass Reduction
51.52%
Moisture Reduction
20
More than – Net CV
13.04%
Ash content
0.53%
Chlorine
5.48%
Floc Moisture
MSW organic fines trial
The data presented in the figures below illustrates the outcomes of the performance evaluation of the XO6 unit employed at a commercial location facility in the Republic of Ireland for processing MSW organic fines.
The trial conclusively showed that the resulting output obtained from specific feedstocks can serve as a beneficial soil enhancer, which can be repurposed and reintroduced to the land as a sustainable practice to replenish depleted nutrients and incorporate essential organic elements to safeguard against soil erosion.
Mass reduction
Mass reduction
21.26
Tonnes – Total Input
11.37
Tonnes – Total Output
46.5%
Reduction
Our appetite for ongoing R&D demonstrates our evidence-based approach to improving waste management practices and helping the industry think differently. We must consider the myriad uses technology can have to tackle waste challenges– whether that’s helping to recycle it back to land or turning it into valuable Solid Recovered Fuel.
