The months of September, October and November were dedicated to sustainability at KH Engineering. As a company, we assist our clients in advancing their energy transition, but we are also curious about how our colleagues personally implement sustainability. In addition to large-scale and impactful projects, small and daily actions also contribute to the transition to a more sustainable world. Our colleagues shared their stories to inspire and motivate each other. Be also inspired by the stories of Amaru Gonzalez Pereira and Kees Vonk.
Sustainably processing organic waste
Amaru Gonzalez Pereira has been working at KH Engineering as a Process Engineer for over four years. Since two years ago, she has also been the COO at 8Circular, a startup that has found a solution to process organic waste sustainably and decentrally. ‘Together we produce an enormous amount of waste’, says Amaru. ‘About 40% of that is organic waste. When this is dumped in a landfill, it decomposes and produces methane; a harmful greenhouse gas that significantly contributes to global warming.’
Look to nature
‘At 8Circular, we thought it was time to learn from nature’, says Amaru. ‘In nature, waste doesn't really exist, because everything is reused and goes around in a cycle. We wanted to turn the waste problem into an opportunity, with the help of a fly: the black soldier fly. How it works? The flies mate and lay their eggs, which we collect and put in the organic waste. When the eggs hatch, the newly born larvae start eating the waste for about fourteen days and begin to grow. Because the larvae break down the waste, we reduce the amount of waste and the emissions of CO2 and methane into the atmosphere by more than 60%. Moreover, little water is needed and we can recycle the remains into compost and animal feed.’
Multiple aspects of the solution
Amaru is committed to making the world a better place by working on the development of better systems for the future food and livestock feed industry and the circular economy. As an engineer, she loves complex processes and this project is particularly challenging because it combines nature and technology in a sustainable way. ‘We actually need to change our human habits, as consuming less would result in less waste. But there are always multiple aspects to a solution. Thanks to the black soldier fly and a well-thought-out process, we reduce emissions and create valuable products.’
‘My advice to others would be: be aware of what is happening around you and the impact of your own actions. Look at what you see from different perspectives and remain positive and critical.’
Energy-efficient, gas-freE and prefab home
Commercial Manager Kees Vonk has also worked on a sustainable project, in the form of a new home. Until 2021, he lived with his family in a farmhouse dating back to 1890, but it had reached the end of its lifecycle and was very energy-intensive. The farmhouse has since been demolished, and a new, much more energy-efficient, gas-free prefab house has been built on the same site.
Sustainable transport
Sustainability was a focus right from the start of the project. For instance, the new house was entirely produced in large hoistable sections at Danilith in Belgium. This factory has a modern and environmentally conscious concrete plant and a highly automated and robotised construction process. ‘Therefore, only one transport movement to the construction site was needed, instead of about five hundred in a normal situation’, Kees explains.
Wood gasifier
‘Since we could completely determine the design of the new house ourselves, we considered many alternatives. The vision is to use as little electrical energy as possible. We ultimately chose a wood gasifier to relieve the electricity consumption of the heat pump (air-to-air) during the winter months.’
How does the wood gasifier work? It’s an old principle. Kees: ‘The wood is burned in the upper chamber of a small stove (about 80 liters capacity), but the smoke gases released are drawn downwards, without a fan, and the after-burning or gasification takes place in the lower chamber. This means optimal combustion and high efficiency; with dry wood, you can easily achieve 93%. Water pipes run alongside the wood stove. The heated water (about 80 degrees Celsius) goes to two tanks: a large tank with heat exchangers of a thousand liters and a smaller tank of a hundred liters, which can react faster to the heat demand. A normal pump setup regulates the heat distribution to the underfloor heating. And tap water is also supplied from the tank. The next step is to start supplying the washing machine and dishwasher with hot water.’
Cold draught
‘People sometimes ask why we choose this unusual route’, says Kees. ‘Our motivation is to do things at home that are not financially obvious or subsidised. Some people say that wood stoves are polluting, but this wood gasifier certainly isn’t. It even meets the much stricter German standards.’
‘Do I have any tips for the reader? Insulation, insulation, insulation. And a fourth: think about the letterbox in the front door. It's an often overlooked source of cold drafts.