Civil engineering requirements for modular ALS2 plant installation
Modular precious-metals recovery systems built around acidless separation are reshaping how e-waste streams are processed in compact industrial settings. Because the technology avoids aggressive leaching reagents, the supporting civil works differ in scope from traditional smelter or acid-refinery builds, yet remain rigorous. Engineers planning a deployment need to balance containerised modularity with permanent infrastructure such as foundations, drainage, power and access roads, while still meeting local planning controls.
In Australia, where recycling infrastructure is being scaled to handle growing volumes of discarded electronics and to lift recovery rates, modular plants offer a pathway that fits both inner-urban industrial estates and remote resource precincts. Operators from Perth to Brisbane are weighing the trade-offs between greenfield builds and brownfield retrofits inside existing waste-management facilities. The sections that follow walk through the civil scope that typically has to be designed, documented and signed off before a modular ALS2 line is lifted into place.
| Foundation type | Best suited to | Installation speed | Relocatability | Typical cost driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reinforced concrete raft | Uniform bearing strata, permanent sites | Medium (curing time) | Low | Concrete volume, reinforcement |
| Pad footings with ring beam | Firm soils with shallow rock | Medium | Low | Excavation depth, forming |
| Steel grillage on helical piles | Variable fill, contaminated ground | Fast | High | Pile count, torque requirements |
| Driven precast concrete piers | Soft coastal or alluvial soils | Fast | Medium | Crane time, pile length |
Site assessment and ground preparation
Before any concrete is poured, a comprehensive site investigation sets the baseline for a successful install. Engineers typically commission a geotechnical study that classifies the soil profile, identifies the bearing capacity and flags any contamination from previous industrial use. On older smelter or landfill sites, soil vapour surveys and groundwater monitoring wells may also be required to satisfy environmental consultants and council planners.
Site levelling follows, with cut-and-fill operations designed to create a stable formation level for the modular units. In Australian conditions, designers must also consider reactive clay soils common across parts of Melbourne's western suburbs and Adelaide's northern plains, where seasonal swelling and shrinkage can distress poorly designed slabs. A capping layer of compacted granular material, often specified at 150 to 300 millimetres, helps distribute point loads and protects the formation during wet weather.
Foundation design for modular units
Modular ALS2 skids arrive as factory-built assemblies that need only a level, load-bearing surface to operate, but the underlying foundation still demands careful specification. Typical designs use a reinforced concrete raft or a series of isolated pad footings tied together with a perimeter ring beam. Loads are modest compared with traditional refineries, yet dynamic forces from conveyors, crushers and vibratory feeders must be accounted for in the slab thickness and reinforcement schedule.
Where ground conditions are poor or the plant is intended to be relocated in the medium term, engineers sometimes opt for a structural steel grillage set on helical piles or driven precast concrete piers. This approach reduces bulk earthworks, which matters on tight brownfield sites in places like Sydney's inner west where excavation windows are short and adjoining tenancies remain operational. Holding-down bolts are cast into the slab or pier caps to match the modular frame's baseplate pattern, ensuring the unit can be grouted, levelled and commissioned without field drilling.
Utility integration and service connections
Power, water, compressed air and process ventilation are the four utility streams a modular precious-metals recovery line typically draws on, and each one shapes the civil scope. A high-voltage feeder run from the local network operator's point of supply, sized for the plant's installed load plus headroom for future modules, is trenched in duct banks with marker tape and warning slabs. Switch-room kiosks are usually prefabricated and delivered alongside the process modules to keep on-site electrical work to a minimum.
Water supply for the closed-loop process is modest, but the fire-fighting supply often dominates the pipe sizing under the National Construction Code and AS 2419. Hydrant ring mains and a dedicated sprinkler feed have to be laid before the modules are craned into their final positions, since retro-running large-diameter pipework underneath an installed skid is awkward and costly. A separate trench accommodates low-voltage control cabling, instrument air lines and the ethernet backbone that links the supervisory control system to the site's wider operations platform.
Access, cranage and logistics planning
Getting modular skids from the wharf or staging yard to their final position is often the single most weather-dependent activity in the whole installation programme. Civil designers therefore need to plan heavy-vehicle access routes, turning radii and hardstand areas early, and to coordinate with local authorities over oversized load escorts where required. In regional centres such as Newcastle or Gladstone, road-train combinations are common and turning templates have to reflect those dimensions.
Cranage selection depends on the heaviest single lift, the available swing radius and the proximity of overhead powerlines or adjacent structures. On tight urban sites a 100-tonne mobile crane may need a 200-square-metre outrigger pad, typically built up with bog mats or engineered steel plates to spread load over weaker pavements. Engineers coordinate the lift sequence with the foundation contractor so that access is preserved, temporary fencing is in place and exclusion zones meet the relevant AS 1418 requirements for crane operations.
Drainage, containment and environmental safeguards
Even an acidless process generates wash-down water, occasional spills and stormwater that must be captured and treated before discharge. Civil works therefore include a graded hardstand that falls toward oil-water separators and bundled collection pits, plus perimeter kerbing that prevents uncontrolled runoff from leaving the lease. Bund walls around chemical storage areas are typically designed to hold 110 per cent of the largest container's volume, consistent with the Australian Dangerous Goods Code.
Where the site falls within a catchment managed by a water authority such as Sydney Water or Melbourne Water, trade-waste agreements may be needed before commissioning. Designers also plan for a small process-water treatment module that can be slotted into the modular layout, allowing the plant to recycle a high proportion of its water and to keep potable draw to a minimum. Stormwater quality improvement devices, including GPTs or bioretention swales, are often specified at the discharge boundary to satisfy both council and state EPA requirements.
Permitting, standards and Australian regulatory alignment
A modular install still triggers the same planning pathway as a permanent refinery, although the documentation can sometimes be lighter. Development applications typically cover land use, building height, setbacks, noise, dust and traffic generation, and they are lodged with the local council or, in some jurisdictions, with a state planning authority. Construction certificates are issued once design documentation, including the engineer's structural computations, are accepted.
Australia's building rules are administered through the National Construction Code, supported by a suite of Australian Standards that engineers routinely apply. AS 1170 covers structural design actions, AS 3600 governs concrete, AS 4100 covers steelwork and AS 2159 sets out the rules for piling. The National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme and the broader product stewardship framework shape how e-waste is collected, transported and processed, while state environment protection authorities regulate discharges and noise. A useful starting point is the ALS2 project overview, which sets out the technology's development pathway and partners.
Climate adaptation and operational resilience
Australian climate zones stretch from temperate coastal strips to cyclone-prone tropics, and civil works must reflect the local conditions rather than relying on a generic specification. In the Top End and across northern Queensland, designers increase roof cladding fixing patterns, tighten cyclone tie-down schedules and specify higher wind classifications for outdoor conveyors and ductwork. In the southern states, attention shifts to frost-depth for shallow services and to bushfire attack considerations where the plant sits within a bushfire-prone area.
Heat-load management is another civil-driven design choice. Roof insulation, north-facing shading and the orientation of the control room influence both operator comfort and the cooling duty of the electrical enclosures. Where rainfall intensities are high, as along the east coast during summer storms, stormwater systems are sized for the relevant intensity-frequency-duration events and finished floor levels are set well above the 1-in-100-year flood level to keep the modular skids dry. Together these decisions give the plant the resilience expected of permanent infrastructure even though the process modules themselves can be relocated when the business case demands.
Talk to our team
If you are evaluating a site for a modular precious-metals recovery installation, our engineering team can help scope the civil works package from geotech through to commissioning. Reach out to discuss your specific site constraints, production targets and timeline so we can prepare a tailored civil scope and indicative delivery schedule.