More deconstruction and recycling will take place at the giant Fort Ord military complex near Monterey, Calif. USA Recovered Resources Ltd. has signed a contract with the University of California-Monterey Bay, to seeks permits for and then operate a deconstruction and material recovery facility to expedite the removal of former military buildings so the land can be redeveloped.
The project’s planners expect to receive a permit from regulators to deconstruct and reuse the wood from as many as 17 buildings on the retired military base in the first phase of their project. The buildings will be moved from a section of the base that will be redeveloped, allowing workers to prepare the wood for resale elsewhere on the complex.
A proprietary band saw technology will be used to remove the outer layers of wood that contain paint so the wood can then be re-used for flooring and other products. “We can create most any size flooring, from 1 by 2 inch to 1 x 12 inch, and provide flat grain, vertical grain, and mixed, depending on demand,” says John Stevens, president of USA Recovered Resources.
A second phase, now in the planning stages, will involve deconstructing 100 buildings and will introduce automation at certain stages of the deconstruction process.
Additionally, avenues are being explored for the recycling of materials that cannot be re-used. “We are hoping to introduce thermo-chemical conversion to the final waste stream,” says Stevens.
The California Integrated Waste Management Board is investigating ‘conversion’ technologies to further reduce the amount of material to be land filled. Pyrolysis, a type of thermo-chemical conversion, is described as “source separation at the molecular level.” In addition to reducing the volume and weight of the residual waste, a final byproduct is an inert rock-like material that can be used as road base.
The goal of the two projects is to create a template for the U.S. Army and Department of Defense that can be applied to any of the thousands of World War II-era buildings being retired at bases across the nation, says Stevens.