Advanced Recycling Equipment Supplies Grinders, Biomass Combustion Systems

Advanced Recycling Equipment, based in St. Mary’s, Penn., is a manufacturer of Challenger ® Waste Reduction Grinders and Biomass Combustion Systems.

                      Challenger grinders are designed to reduce a wide range of products such as wood, paper, cardboard, plastics, MDF, particle board and many other types of waste material. Challenger grinders are a low speed, high torque design that results in high throughput of a consistent particle size, low noise, and requires minimal maintenance.

                      Challenger Biomass Combustion Systems range in size from 1MM to 60MM BTU and can provide hot air, hot water, steam and CHP (combined heat and power).

                      Advanced Recycling Equipment recently installed a Challenger ® Biomass Combustion System with hot water boiler at the Jemez Mountain School in Gallina, New Mexico. The 8 MM BTU system burns wood chips and saves the school on energy costs. It is the first wood chip-fired biomass heating system in New Mexico.

                      "We are very excited about this project and grateful to all who made it happen," said Robert Archuleta, Superintendent of Jemez Mountain School District. "Our schoolchildren benefit because our teachers have added this to the curriculum so they are learning about renewable energy. And our citizens benefit because it is less expensive to operate — more money that we can put back into the classrooms."

                      Faced with soaring propane costs for heating, the Jemez Mountain School, a rural K-12 school with approximately 400 students, was awarded a $450,000 U.S. Forest Service Economic Action Program grant to design a biomass heating system for the campus; the grants provided under the National Fire Plan were established to reduce the risk of wildfire and improve forest health. The Jemez Mountain School District contributed the building and $183,000. The New Mexico legislature appropriated an additional $450,000 to the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department Energy Conservation and Management Division toward the project. The Rio Rancho-based Energy Controls Inc. contributed the remaining third of the total $1.6 million project cost through the use of an energy performance contract. Other contributors include La Jicarita Enterprise Community, Hurd Brothers Logging and Cordova Logging.

                      The Challenger Biomass Combustion System was installed and completely retrofitted into the school's existing propane heated system, which may be used as a back-up system.

                      Wood chips are being transported to the school from a private logging company under a Forest Service grant awarded to supplement the project and will continue for an initial 18-24 month period. In the future, the Jemez Mountain School District will look to local wood products producers to supply small diameter material (fuel) from the surrounding Coyote Ranger District of the Santa Fe National Forest. The Jemez Mountain School’s biomass combustion system will utilize about 400 tons of wood chips annually. Having wood chips supplied locally minimizes transportation costs and helps reduce hazardous fuel loads in the region’s national forest lands.

                      "This is a model project for small diameter utilization and also a model for community and interagency partnerships in rural New Mexico," said Gilbert Zepeda, Santa Fe National Forest Supervisor. "If proven sustainable, it will open the door for similar renewable energy projects throughout New Mexico and the Southwest.

                      "This is a giant first step in creating an economic demand for small diameter wood in unhealthy forests," said Joanna Prukop, Cabinet Secretary for the state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, "And it is also an excellent source of new jobs in rural New Mexico communities."

                      For more information, contact Advanced Recycling Equipment at (800) 611-6599 or visit the Web site at www.advancedrecyclingequip.com.