Northbrook, Illinois & Shanghai, China – October 10, 2013 – PEAT International, Inc., (“PEAT”) a leader in plasma-thermal waste destruction systems, announced the successful commissioning of a Plasma Thermal Destruction and Recovery (“PTDR”) system in Shanghai, China. The 60 kg/hr system – designed for medical waste and oil refinery sludge – was installed for Abada Plasma Technology Holdings, Ltd. – an Asian-based renewable energy project developer.

PEAT’s PTDR “single stage” plasma-thermal process transforms hazardous waste through molecular dissociation at 1,500°C (2,732°F) into recoverable, non-toxic end-products, synthetic gas and heat (sources for energy recovery), metals and a vitrified glass matrix. Emissions are below the most stringent environmental standards used anywhere.

“This is end-stage technology and sets the standard for clean hazardous waste remediation. Only with plasma can you achieve temperatures high enough for waste destruction in a single-staged process,” said Joseph Rosin, PEAT International Chairman. “It’s a 21st century solution that addresses three important needs: significant volume reduction, full pollution control and competitive pricing. We are currently preparing for other projects already under contract.”

PTDR systems are in operation in California, Taiwan and China. Go to http://www.peat.com/chinasystem.html for a video of operations and acceptance test run data.

About PEAT International

PEAT International, Inc., headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, with offices in China, Taiwan and India, is a waste-to-energy (“WTE”) company with its two proprietary technologies – the Plasma Thermal Destruction and Recovery™ (“PTDR”) technology for the treatment and recycling of industrial, medical and other hazardous waste streams and the Thermal Volume Reduction & Conversion™ (“TVRC”) technology for municipal solid waste. For more information, contact Daniel Ripes, dripes@peat.com, at 847-559-8567 and visit www.peat.com.

Previously, this forum has demonstrated how plasma arc plasma gasification nearly eliminates dioxin formation, semi-volatile heavy metal compounds and other air emissions when processing various forms of industrial waste or hazardous waste.

Below is a summary of a June 2013 third party emissions testing conducted on the PTDR-100 plasma-arc, plasma gasification system located in Shanghai. The summary also compares the results to current European air emission regulations.

ND =”Not Detectable” with Limit in parentheses

It is worth noting that the above emissions for the PTDR plasma arc, plasma gasification system were measured when the syngas was thermally oxidized. It is worth noting that if the syngas is utilized in a gas engine or other syngas utilization equipment, then the only gas emissions associated with a PTDR plasma arc, plasma gasification system would be the exhaust from the engine or boiler, etc.

As a pure waste-to-energy technology, the TVRC competes with mass burn incinerators, anaerobic digesters as well as traditional gasification systems within the MSW marketplace. While mass burn incinerators are the most popular still to this day, they generate significant amounts of fly ash, which in the near term could become even more expensive to treat as in June 2010, the US EPA started to consider classifying fly ash (CCRs) as a hazardous waste. Should this be the final directive, it will significantly impact how fly ash is ultimately handled.

While MSW applications have started to emerge using gasification, it is important to note that a significant amount of sorting and pre-treatment is required in order to make the feedstock more uniform in nature to maintain the steady flow and composition of the syngas generated. Additionally, the TVRC generates electricity at a much lower cost.

 
Finally, the TVRC generates significantly more electricity per ton of MSW versus some of the emerging technologies. Referencing back to one of the aforementioned proposed plasma gasification and plasma arc projects in Florida, the $120 million 600 TPD system was marketed to generate about 42 MW, of which only 18 MW would be sold to the grid.

A TVRC waste-to-energy & waste to resource system also represents the most efficient land usage when compared to other renewable energy options.

Previously, we discussed and demonstrated how plasma arc plasma gasification nearly eliminates dioxin formation, this entry looks to address semi-volatile heavy metal compounds and other air emissions.

The high temperatures at which the plasma-arc plasma gasification processes operate can result in the generation of volatile inorganic constituents (i.e. metals and metal oxides), sometimes at a higher level than compared to convention thermal treatment processes, particularly if the waste feedstock comes in direct contact with the very hot plasma-arc plasma gasification plume as these compounds may become volatilize and carried downstream with the syngas generated. While many are removed by the gas cleaning and conditioning systems, in plasma-arc plasma gasification processes where the off gases are not cooled (i.e. plasma combustion, which is not utilized by PEAT) these heavy metal compounds could be carried out in the stack gases, increasing the levels of potential contaminants that are emitted.

Downstream of any quench system or syngas cooler, any entrained particulate matter and/or acid gases (H2S, HCl, etc.) are scrubbed with water typically using either a packed-bed tower/Venturi scrubber or through a dry filtration system. Additional equipment in the form of HEPA or baghouse filters may also be utilized.

The results presented in the below reflect emissions from PEAT International plasma-arc plasma gasification waste-to-energy systems where the syngas was not utilized and ultimately processed in a thermal oxidizer or secondary reaction chamber.

As discussed earlier in this blog, a vitrified matrix or slag is the primary solid byproduct of plasma arc waste-to-energy processing. The vitrified matrix from plasma arc processing contains the mineral matter associated with the feed materials in a vitrified form – a hard, glassy-like substance. The amount of matrix produced is a function of how much non-combustible mineral matter is present in the feedstock.

This matrix is the result of operating temperatures within the plasma arc reactor above the melting temperature of the mineral matter. Under these conditions in the plasma arc reactor, non-volatile metals and metal oxides bind together in molten form until it is cooled via natural heat loss or via a pool of water, where it would fracture and granulate.

The compressive strength of a slag sample generated from fly ash from coal-fired power plant as well as some sodium carbonate (fluxing agent) was 480 kg/cm2, while its average mortar strength was tested at 169 kg/cm.

The vitrified matrix or slag generated by plasma arc treatment is primarily made up of silicon dioxide (SiO2), aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and calcium oxide (CaO). Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) tests are designed to determine the mobility of both organic and inorganic analytes present in the slag. The most recent TCLP results conducted in March 2013 on the vitrified matrix from the plasma arc waste-to-energy system located in Shanghai is presented in the below table along with previous results from processing refinery sludge.

Also, here are recent pictures of this system.

http://www.peat.com/ptdr_pictures.html