Trash into gas into energy
Private UK company Advanced Plasma Power (APP) plans to excavate 16.5 million tons of solid waste from a landfill in eastern Belgium in order to harvest hydrogen-rich gas from its thermal decomposition using Gasplasma, a plasma arc gasification technology:
1) all recyclable materials are removed in a front-end fuel preparation and Materials Recycling Facility (“MRF”), separating glass, metals, hard plastics and oversized objects – all things which have a recyclable value and market
2) the pre-treated waste feedstock is gasified in a fluidised bed gasifier, producing solid chars and ash in addition to a synthesis gas (“syngas”), which at this stage still contains tars and soot
3) a plasma converter is used to crack the impurities in the syngas and ‘polish’ it whilst simultaneously vitrifying the ash and inorganic fraction from the gasifier to form Plasmarok®
4) the resulting clean syngas is used to power gas engines generating secure, clean, local heat and power
The synthetic gas produced will be used power a 60 MW generator estimated to supply electricity to 60,000 homes. APP says the Gasplasma process is twice as efficient in harvesting energy from gas as conventional gasification and produces little to no polluting emissions.
(Via CleanTechnica)
