Macau Waste Incineration Plant – Phase 3
Macau, China
Best Project, Power/Industrial
Presented by China Harbor Engineering Co. Ltd
Owner: Environmental Protection Office, Macao Government Special Administrative Region
Main design company: AECOM Hong Kong
Contractor: China Port Engineering – Sanfeng Covanta Environmental Industry – Tongfang Environment – Four Major Facilities Management Joint Venture
The new phase of the Macau waste incineration plant increases the daily capacity to more than 3,000 tons at the only urban solid waste treatment facility in this special administrative region of China, first opened in 1992. The project includes waste reception, loading and incineration systems; waste heat recovery; steam turbine power; water and steam cooling; cleaning of combustion gases; and fly ash and slag handling, as well as a new electrical substation.
The project, completed ahead of schedule and on budget, includes a 25-ton-per-day hazardous waste treatment plant and allows for annual energy generation of 200 million kWh at full capacity.
The plant’s compact site, with highly integrated equipment and piping, presented challenges that required facilities “to be designed and built in a stacked manner,” the filing says.
The expansion of the Macau incineration plant increases capacity to more than 3,000 tons per day and adds design features to reduce bulk in a tight location.
Photo by RuDong Zhao, China Harbor Engineering Co. Ltd.
“The design divides the exterior of the plant into four layers, reducing bulk and creating the stacked effect, which adds interest,” adds the team. Photovoltaic glass curtain walls between each “layer” provide natural light and ventilation to interior corridors, while glass, wood-like metal grating and steel give “a lighter, more modern look,” he notes. The design also reduces solar radiation and energy consumption. For sustainability, all wastewater from the plant is treated and reused and the administrative building has a rainwater collection system on the roof.
Photovoltaic glass provides natural light and a more modern look, the team says, with the design also reducing solar radiation and energy consumption. Photo by RuDong Zhao, China Harbor Engineering Co. Ltd.
Crews used incremental casting and other construction methods in Macau for the first time to erect long-span steel roof trusses, as well as an intelligent anti-collision system to service five tower cranes in the tight space. The project team says it proactively increased the dynamic load test ratio of the stack base from 3% to 100%, ensuring that each stack fully meets its designed capacity. The project also employed multipurpose workforce safety and security programs.
