Factory plans to use 'muck' to help power site

Chris Young - LDRS
·2 min read
Haworth Scouring
The business on Birkland Street is one of the largest wool scouring factories in the world [LDRS]

A factory in Bradford plans to use "muck" from the wool it cleans to help power its site.

Wool from across the world is cleaned at Haworth Scouring, leading to a large amount of wastewater and dirt.

The company wants to install new tanks to use the waste for "anaerobic digestion" - a process that creates energy from biological waste.

The plans claim this would help the business move closer to net zero as well as reducing journeys to and from the site.

'Displace electricity'

The company has submitted an application to Bradford Council to install nine tanks and a gas holder at the factory.

Its application states that water used for washing the wool is processed and organic and solid elements are turned into a "cake" with the leftover water sent to the sewers, with the company holding a special permit and subject to Environment Agency monitoring.

However, some organic content which could be turned into power remained in the waste water.

The application said an anaerobic digestion unit would break down more of the organic elements in the wash water.

The company explained this would convert organic elements into biogas, which would be used "to displace electricity and gas currently used to power the site and provide hot water for the washing process".

The business said the changes, which have received supported from the Environment Agency, would prevent 45 tonnes of “sludge” being removed from the site each day.

It added: “This new process will ensure water is much cleaner and is the next step towards recycling and becoming net zero.”

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk

LDRS

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • A new carbon removal plant will absorb carbon dioxide 99,000 times faster than Earth's oceans

    Cutting greenhouse gas emissions isn't enough. We have to start sucking CO2 from the atmosphere and companies like Equatic are leading the charge.

  • Damage at Yukon's Eagle mine site could be 'worst-case scenario,' says local mayor

    The mayor of Mayo, Yukon, says a heap leach failure and slide reported Monday at the Eagle gold mine will have a "huge impact" on his community, and the territory as a whole. Mayor Trevor Ellis said he's shocked by the incident which has indefinitely halted operations at the mine."'Catastrophic' would probably be, from what I'm hearing, would probably be a good way to describe it," he said of the incident.Few details about what happened and the extent of the damage at Victoria Gold's mine site h

  • Rescued bald eagle is huge, but why isn’t its head white?

    The young raptor, found with a broken femur near a popular Tennessee lake, underwent surgery Friday.

  • Severe thunderstorms trigger tornado warning in southern Ontario

    Severe thunderstorms sweeping into southern Ontario on Wednesday afternoon prompted a tornado warning.

  • Repairs on Calgary's broken feeder main are now complete, but water service not yet restored

    Repair work on the five additional "hot spots" of the feeder main that ruptured is now complete, but the full restoration of Calgary's water supply is still days away. Mayor Jyoti Gondek shared the news during her Tuesday afternoon update on the developments of the Bearspaw south feeder main, saying the underground repair work on the pipe has now been completed and the city is hopefully on track to have water service restored before the Calgary Stampede. "That date is still a good guideline," sa

  • B.C. bids farewell to dry conditions as pattern flip brings rain, storm risk

    B.C. has already seen more than its monthly average rainfall this month, and now up to 30 mm of more rain is on deck for some to end off June

  • This DIY brick sauna is helping frogs fight disease

    Wedged into the tiny holes of masonry bricks, which heat their bodies up to near 30 C, you might think Australian green and golden bell frogs would be uncomfortable.But new research says the amphibians love it, and that these DIY dry saunas — made with spray-painted bricks housed in plastic greenhouses — could give them an edge in fighting a deadly fungus."This is really exciting," said Anthony Waddle, a biologist at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and lead author of the new study pub

  • Damaging wind threats across the 401 corridor

    Wind gusts up to 108 km/h have been reported in London. Get the details with meteorologist Tyler Hamilton as this wind surge shifts east.

  • The ‘world’s largest mammal migration’ happens here every year. War means no one knows about it

    New research shows that more than 5 million antelope cross South Sudan each year – blowing the world-famous Serengeti migration out of the water.

  • Widespread heavy rainfall and isolated thunderstorms in B.C.

    B.C. has already seen more than its monthly average rainfall this month, with up to 30mm of more rain on deck for some to end off June. Widespread showers under a stalled low Thursday along with the threat for isolated thunderstorms. Meteorologist Laura Power has the details.

  • The world’s future energy wars will be fought under the sea

    Networks of undersea cables to transmit green energy at high speeds are sprawling as a climate solution. They’re also reshaping the geopolitical map.

  • Gassy cows and pigs will face a carbon tax in Denmark, a world first

    COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark will tax livestock farmers for the greenhouse gases emitted by their cows, sheep and pigs from 2030, the first country to do so as it targets a major source of methane emissions, one of the most potent gases contributing to global warming.

  • Woman mauled by wolves while jogging through animal sanctuary near Paris

    A 37-year-old woman was mauled by a pack of wolves while jogging through an enclosed area of an animal sanctuary near Paris this weekend.

  • Closing science centre unnecessary, says firm of architect who designed building

    TORONTO — Closing the Ontario Science Centre building is not necessary, the firm of the architect who designed it said Tuesday, offering its services free of charge to the provincial government for roof repairs in a bid to keep it open. Ontario announced mid-day Friday that the science centre would permanently close in its east Toronto location at the end of the day after the province received an engineering report on the state of the roof. That Rimkus Consulting report said some roof panels are

  • Watch: San Diego Zoo celebrates birth of endangered Baird's tapir

    The San Diego Zoo announced the birth of a female Baird's tapir, an endangered animal native to Mexico and Central America.

  • First Nations, Ottawa, B.C., announce $335M for protection off Great Bear coast

    VANCOUVER — A new financing initiative for 17 First Nations in British Columbia is set to expand protection for marine ecosystems off the coast of the Great Bear Rainforest.

  • Wolf Shows Playful Interest in Grizzly Bear's Meal

    A wolf seemed super keen to get a piece of a bison carcass from a grizzly bear, footage by a nature photographer in Yellowstone National Park shows, but the bear seemed unimpressed by its antics as it bounced around.Trevor LaClair said he filmed the scene in April 2023, when the bear pulled the carcass from a frozen pond.“Two of the wolves approached the grizzly. One of the wolves got too close and the bear lunged at it as a warning. However, the wolf viewed it as an opportunity to potentially lure the bear away and began play bowing and bouncing around,” LaClair wrote on Instagram.“After a while, the grey wolf gave up and laid down nearby, waiting patiently for a piece of meat,” LaClair added. The grizzly eventually left and the wolves were able to get their turn.According to the National Wildlife Federation, a wolf will dance and bow if it is feeling playful. Credit: Trevor LaClair via Storyful

  • Calgary mayor says if tests go well, full water service could be restored by July 1

    CALGARY — Calgary’s mayor says if everything goes to plan, the city’s water-conservation crisis could be over by Canada Day.

  • Canada Day weekend forecast: Changeable but comfortable, with no sign of heat

    A lack of extreme warmth will be a key theme this holiday long weekend, and a couple of provinces have a near-certainty to see stellar weather for Canada Day fireworks.

  • Bird flu spreads to tenth Australian poultry farm

    A highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza has spread to an eighth poultry farm near Melbourne, the government of Australia's Victoria state said on Tuesday, taking the total number of infected facilities in the country to 10. Australia is dealing with three parallel outbreaks of bird flu, two near Melbourne and one near Sydney. Each involves a different strain of the virus, none of which is the H5N1 type that has spread through bird and mammal populations and even to humans around the world.