A BRADFORD business plans to use “muck” from the wool it cleans to power its factory.

And the changes could prevent 45 tonnes of “sludge” from being removed from the site each day.

Haworth Scouring, based on Birksland Street, on the outskirts of the city centre, is one of the largest wool scouring factories in the world and is a major employer in Bradford.

Wool from across the world is cleaned at the site, leading to a large amount of wastewater and dirt.

The company has now revealed plans to install new tanks that would use this waste for “anaerobic digestion” – a process that creates energy from biological waste.

The application claims this change would help the business move closer to net zero, as well as reduce journeys to and from the factory.

Plans submitted to Bradford Council seek permission to install nine tanks and a gas holder at the factory.

The application says: “At Haworth Scouring wool collected from farms across the world is cleaned; the muck and residues that are removed from the wool end up in the wash water.

“The wash water is currently processed to concentrate the organic and solid elements into a cake and the residual water is discharged to the sewers.

“The discharge water has a biological content with a recordable level of COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand).

“Haworth Scouring discharges this into the mains sewers under a permitted discharge consent (monitored by the Environment Agency). Haworth Scouring is charged for this discharge.

“The proposed project is to install an anaerobic digestion processing unit to break down most of the organic elements within the wash water, prior to the concentration process to give a significant reduction in the organics (COD).

“The anaerobic digestion process converts the organic elements into biogas, this will then be used to displace electricity and gas currently used to power the site and provide hot water for the washing process.

“This process is green electric generated without the need for fossil fuels.

“The introduction of this process will reduce transport to and from the site by as much as 40 per cent. Currently 45 tonne of sludge is removed from site each day.

“This new process will ensure water is much cleaner and is the next step towards recycling and becoming net zero.”

The Environment Agency has supported the proposals.

A decision on the application is expected next month.