Construction Waste Generation and Minimization for Major Gas Processing Facilities

Abstract

Facility construction constitutes the peak waste generating event in a gas facility's life, potentially creating over 100,000 tons of solid waste. Three onshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) construction projects and 1 onshore gas-to-liquids (GTL) facility were analyzed to derive solid waste generation rates, identify successful minimization practices, and document critical waste infrastructure. The four globally-distributed projects cover the full spectrum of construction methods: fully stick-built to maximum-modular. The stick-built projects generated more waste on plot per production train than the modular ones. Displaying a characteristic bell curve shape, waste quantities typically peaked about halfway through construction, corresponding to the period of maximum onsite activity. Seven categories comprised 90% of the solid waste generated for all four projects: food; wood; plastic; paper/ cardboard; concrete/ cement; metal; and mixed (un-segregated) garbage. These seven waste categories comprised the focus of waste minimization efforts and infrastructure provisions (waste handling equipment). The onsite construction waste handling facility was universally found to be the cornerstone of the construction waste management system. Investing in design and outfitting it with essential equipment returned dividends by minimizing the quantities sent offsite and ensured construction was not interrupted by waste accumulation. A subset of waste handling equipment is recommended for gas facilities constructed in areas supported by an established commercial waste management network. The dataset from these projects was used to forecast waste types and quantities for a remote Greenfield LNG project and to inform the design of the Construction Waste Handling Facility. Incorporating the learnings and best practices from these projects forecast an industry-leading landfill diversion rate of 92% for the new project.