LOWELL — A silo at Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies was dismantled down to its base Saturday after an explosion blew its top off Thursday.
With the silo uncovered, about 20 feet of polyethylene plastic was visible, the top half of which had been scorched black.
Al Drinkwater, the company’s senior vice president, said the next task is to pull out the remaining material and evaluate it to determine the exact cause of the fire.
A fire began smoldering inside the silo a couple of weeks ago. Company officials had been planning to take the silo apart before Thursday’s explosion, but the explosion accelerated those plans.
Firefighters left the scene Thursday around 12:30 p.m. but returned a few hours later when the fire reignited inside the silo.
Nobody was hurt in the explosion.
The company shut down production after Thursday’s blast, even though it was capable of continuing its work, Drinkwater said. Joe Brooks, company chief executive, said full production likely will resume today.
The company, which opened its Lowell plant in 2003, makes recycled wood and plastic products.