Established in 1886, Royal Dahlman designs and manufactures complete industrial filter systems. These systems can filter both gases and liquids. They are particularly useful in the petrochemical industry. Based in the western Dutch city of Maassluis, the large organisation has been working with Wiser Environment since 2014.
Royal Dahlman’s goal is to provide safe, sustainable and high-end filtration technologies to a worldwide audience. This motivation to prosper through compliance aligns with Wiser Environment’s ambition. Such alignment of ideals created the foundation for our long-term relationship.
The Dutch manufacturer came to Wiser Environment requesting our support in a development of theirs. Here, the Energy Technology Institute nominated Royal Dahlman to design and build a gasification plant that can thermally treat waste. Working alongside their partners, Royal Dahlman was keen to innovate.
The goal was to construct an energy-efficient and state of the art gasification plant at the Grimsby Renewable Power Facility. If Royal Dahlman were to successfully achieve this goal, then this would significantly advance gasification technologies and enable a clean energy solution for the local area.
Grimsby Renewable Power Facility
Initially, Royal Dahlman required our support in supply chain strategy waste feedstock solutions for their plant. As the scope and scale of the development was significant, the Dutch innovator needed planning and environmental permitting expertise to ensure compliance. Compounding the problem, the proposed facility is adjacent to the Humber Estuary: the second-largest coastal plain estuary in the UK. The Humber Estuary is also a designated special protection area, a special area of conservation, a Ramsar site and a site of special scientific interest.
In other words, the Royal Dahlman development is near land that has natural and cultural importance. Such a challenge appeals to the Wiser Environment team and we enthusiastically got involved with the project.
Environmental Impact Assessment
To help Royal Dahlman establish its prestigious and innovative Grimsby Renewable Power Facility, the Wiser team prepared and submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
Broadly, an EIA involves the evaluation of the environmental consequences. Our EIA comprehensively examined the potential effects of the Royal Dahlman development. With an added focus on how the advanced thermal treatment plant could impact local communities, habitats, ecology and the wider environment.
We conducted formal impact assessments on the following:
- Air quality – assessing the impact of emissions on human health and habitats.
- Ecology – evaluating the impact of air emissions, noise and disturbance on birds and other wildlife and habitats.
- Transport and Traffic – analysing the impact on the local road network and noise-related issues.
- Noise – assessing the noise emitting from the facility on the nearest residential and commercial properties.
- Water and Land Quality – risk assessing and outlining the pollution control measures.
- Flood risk – identifying the likelihood of flooding on site and how the site could influence the local flood conditions.
Additionally, we analysed other amenity issues:
- Discussions with stakeholders and gaining their views on the proposal.
- Visual assessments and site walkovers.
- Review of existing scientific data relating to the local and surrounding environment.
- Collection of site-specific data and information.
- Prediction of impacts to local communities and environment using scientifically accepted techniques.
- Development of mitigation and control measures.
- Addressing the potential cumulative effects of the proposed development in conjunction with other developments in the area.
Our EIA concluded that constructing and operating the advanced facility would not result in an excess risk to the environment. Any risks posed can be adequately controlled and mitigated through our recommended measures.
The Chief Financial Officer at Royal Dahlman, Wil Poort, reflects positively upon the successful EIA report: “The Wiser team did an incredible job in a very short period of time. We were greatly impressed by their experience and professionalism and have enjoyed working with them throughout this project.”
Submitting our EIA kickstarted the planning and permitting processes for Royal Dahlman. With the help of Wiser Environment, our client was able to obtain the planning consent and environmental permit needed to progress the project.
The long-term relationship
As with most of Wiser Environment’s clients, the relationship with Royal Dahlman is longstanding. Since 1999, Wiser’s approach has been focused on building strong relationships with our clients; empowering them to grow and prosper from compliant and responsible operations.
Our relationship with Royal Dahlman has grown from supply chain strategy support to us collaborating on the successful EIA project. Since then, we have provided Royal Dahlman with many projects including permit compliance, planning support and ongoing environmental advice.