Plasma Gasification

The Company is developing and will construct and manage plasma gasification facilities in the Malay Archipelago for the purpose of waste management. The technology will be used to process all forms of waste, including municipal solid waste (MSW), industrial waste (IW) and hazardous waste (HW). The process eliminates all toxic residue and need for land filling. In addition the process is a net energy producer, either of natural gas or electricity.

We will finance and construct facilities beginning in the Republic of the Philippines. The first feasibility study will be commissioned in 2007.

Here is a short summary of the technology:

Plasma pyrolysis (or gasification) is a proven, state-of-the art technology for the non-toxic disposal of waste. Scientists sometimes refer to plasma as the “fourth state of nature”. It is an environment-friendly technology that converts both organic and inorganic waste into commercially useful and non-toxic by-products. The intense heat generated by the plasma enables it to dispose of all types of waste including MSW, IW, and (HW) in a safe and reliable manner.

Plasma is an ionized gas that is conditioned to respond to electromagnetic forces and can occur naturally as lightening. A plasma torch is a device that converts electrical energy into thermal energy. A plasma arc is created when a voltage is established between two points. Plasma torches are electrical discharge plasma sources with the plasma being extracted as a jet through an opening in the electrode and out of the confines of the cathode-anode space. The inherent thermal and electromagnetic instabilities of the arc column are stabilized by forced gas flow along the current path or by interaction with a guiding wall or by external magnetic fields. DC, radio frequency or microwave power sources can be used to produce the arc.

The plasma acts as a resistive heating element and maintains a temperature of approximately 12,000º C. in an oxygen-starved environment. [Hence, by definition, plasma pyrolysis is not incineration.] When the waste is exposed to the plasma, it is heated to a very high temperature (>2,000°C), which causes the organic compounds in the fuel or waste to dissociate into very simple molecules such as hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, water vapor and methane (synthetic gas or “syngas”).

The hot gases are quenched from 500º to 70º to avoid recombination reactions of gaseous molecules and to inhibit the formation of dioxins and furans. The constant high operating temperatures ensure the complete destruction of all complex organic compounds, and the process control minimizes the possibility of reformation of complex pollutants and hazardous gases. The escape of volatile metals and acid gases is also minimized to levels that have met the most stringent air emission standards. After combustion, toxic gases are found in negligible quantity.

Organic waste when subjected to pyrolysis forms synthetic gas or “syngas” that is piped to a quench and gas-scrubbing system where the acid gas is neutralized and entrained particulate is removed. The resulting clean fuel gas (hydrogen and carbon monoxide) can be used as a fuel for steam or electric generating equipment or methanized into natural gas. In short, the gases obtained after the pyrolysis are rich in energy content and can be used to recover energy.

Inorganic waste (for example, glass, soil, metals and ash), concurrent with the controlled pyrolysis of organic materials, is melted and typically recovered as a glassy, non-toxic slag. Inorganic waste also includes IW, biomedical and Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) such as paints, oils, cleaners, pesticides and other common household goods, which are currently land filled and currently continue to pose a risk to health and the environment. The glass layer serves as a medium for chemically binding many metals in a non-leachable manner through vitrification. If large amounts of ferrous or non-ferrous metals are present, the molten material will separate as one or more layers, a glassy layer over a metal alloy layer. Waste streams that are predominantly metal can usually be processed to promote metal recovery. The glassy slag can be marketed as “rock wool” and the recovered metals as “pig iron”. There are no toxic by-products with plasma gasification; and no need to transport residue to a landfill.