Stone Cycling - Waste Based Bricks

A Dutch company has developed a brick composed of industrial, construction and demolition waste materials. StoneCycling was founded in 2013 by Tom van Soest after learning that construction and demolition debris accounts for 65% of his country’s generated waste. Though much of this debris is recycled as base aggregate for roadways and other applications, van Soest wanted to find a way to increase the potential of demolition waste by turning it into a new building material.

After much experimentation with various combinations of concrete aggregate and other ground and crushed demolition waste materials - ceramic tiles, glass, insulation, etc. - van Soest came up with sturdy, stable WasteBasedBricks in a wide variety of textures and colors. StoneCycling is working to make a circular economy a reality through upcycling, the process of transforming waste materials into new materials of better quality, in contrast to the typical downcycling of demolition waste.

Waste Based Bricks are increasingly being used in the private homes and businesses of clients with a keen interest in environmental sustainability. StoneCycling has announced plans to up-cycle a million kg of waste in 2018 for the exterior of buildings. Though the product has not crossed the Atlantic as of yet, there growing interest here in the United States, where hundreds of millions of tons of construction and demolition waste is generated each year.

R. Baker and Son - All Industrial Services
190 Boundary Road
Marlboro, NJ
http://www.rbaker.com
732-222-3553

Substation & Mechanical Selective Demolition: Out With the Old, In With the New

A new pharmaceutical company took over an existing North Jersey facility with plans for major renovation. Design work began immediately, and long-lead equipment was ordered early on. To meet the aggressive schedule, a parallel selective demolition plan was developed by R. Baker & Son in anticipation of the arrival of the new equipment.

Plans called for a new, larger electrical service requiring removal of an existing substation and installation of a new one. Two existing 600 HP boilers were slated for removal to make way for eight smaller high-efficiency boilers. Four 75-ton chillers, only five years old, were to remain, but aged 100% outside air handlers and associated piping were to be replaced by new recirculating units and required demolition. Because the facility was to be operational for the duration of the project, however, it was necessary for utilities and HVAC systems remain in place until new equipment arrived, at which point R. Baker & Son’s portion of the project would need to move forward swiftly. This required a close team effort between the Baker team, electrical and mechanical contractors, and the owner.

The first, and most critical, swap-out was the removal of a 1500 kVA single-ended substation and installation of a 2500 kVA double-ended substation on a newly-enlarged concrete pad. After weeks of planning and preparation, the electrical shutdown began on a Friday night.  Following all lockout-tagout procedures, the equipment removal proceeded through the weekend. The new substation was rigged in place on Monday morning, and reconnection began immediately, with a one-week timeframe to get the power back on.

Over the next several consecutive Fridays, R. Baker & Son removed the two existing boilers so the eight smaller boilers could be rigged, set, installed in place, and readied for piping. Finally, the air handlers were removed in a set sequence to keep the cooling system running while the new units were installed.  The Baker team performed asset recovery of the boilers and substations for resale allowed the owner to recoup their value and reduce the overall cost of the project.

R. Baker & Son - All Industrial Services
19 Boundary Road
Marlboro, NJ 07746
732-222-3553
http://rbaker.com/selective-demolition.php