Distribution & Warehouse - Zackenberg

Bramidan special drum press helps preserve arctic environment

At Zackenberg Research Station in Northeast Greenland winter temperatures fall to as low as -40°C. To protect the environment, waste material must be removed before these long, dark months begin. Introducing a special drum press has helped to transform this process.

Challenges

  • stop Harsh weather conditions
  • stop Very limited means of transport
  • stop Vulnerable environment

Machines chosen

Drum Press model DP16

Filling opening: 820 x 990 mm

Drums: up to 200 liters

Benefits

  • done Takes up little space
  • done Compressed drums can be sold for a profit
  • done Eco-friendly and cost-effective

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Bramidan special drum press helps preserve arctic environment

Used for scientific research and closed during the harsh winter months, this area is largely undeveloped, particularly in terms of infrastructure. There are no supermarkets, no highways, nor even roads. Provisions are packed into a small aeroplane and flown in. Waste materials are flown out.

“We need to get all the non-burnable waste materials off site before the start of winter,” says Henrik Spanggård at Danmarks Miljoundersogelser. “We usually fly it out and then ship it back to Denmark. The price is measured according to volume and weight. It can get very expensive.”

An eco-friendly and cost-effective solution

To help solve this challenge, Bramidan agreed to custom-make a special drum press for the Zackenberg facility. Having designed something similar for a Norwegian research station in Antarctica ten years previously, they were well-equipped to do so. The project was completed and the drum press assembled at the site in the summer of 2010.

The drum press serves two functions. The first is to compress all non-combustible waste inside the oil drums, which are then flown to a supply ship and shipped back to Denmark. The second function is to compress any remaining unused oil drums themselves in order to remove them from the station. “Uncompressed oil barrels with their noxious gases pose a threat to the research facility and to the environment, whereas compressed oil barrels become metal waste and can even be sold for money,” explains Mr Spanggård. “In fact, the cost of the drum press can actually be financed in due course with the money received from compressed oil barrels,” he adds.

Bramidan drum press outside Zackenberg research station in Northeast Greenland

Customized solution from Bramidan

The space and weight limitations dictated by the small aeroplane used to transport goods to the Zackenberg facility meant that the drum press needed to be delivered in three pieces. “Material flown in is not permitted to weigh more than 400kg,” says Mr Spanggård.

The drum press was supplied disassembled from the factory and packed onto pallets, put on a supply ship and then flown in on the Twin Otter Series 300 plane used by the station. The reassembly of the machine during summer meant that waste was removed before winter and the environment preserved.

In fact, the cost of the drum press can actually be financed in due course with the money received from compressed oil barrels.

— Henrik Spanggaard, Danish Environmental Research

Facts about:

Zackenberg

Zackenberg Research Station is an ecosystem research and monitoring facility in Northeast Greenland, 25 kilometres west of Daneborg. It is part of Danmarks Miljøundersøgelse (the Danish Environmental Research programme), owned by the Government of Greenland, with another branch facility in Daneborg in a former meteorological station.

Zackenberg logo

Zackenberg logo

Facts about:

Zackenberg

Zackenberg Research Station is an ecosystem research and monitoring facility in Northeast Greenland, 25 kilometres west of Daneborg. It is part of Danmarks Miljøundersøgelse (the Danish Environmental Research programme), owned by the Government of Greenland, with another branch facility in Daneborg in a former meteorological station.

If you have any questions, please contact us

phone +353 1 890 0660
mail sales@bramidan.ie


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