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Renewable Energy
Growing Interest in Waste Gasification Reported in U.S.
Growing Interest in Waste Gasification Reported in U.S.
27 September 2013
By Ben Messenger
Managing Editor
There are currently 21 demonstration scale waste to energy gasification facilities operating in the U.S. and further 17 commercial scale facilities under development, according to a report compiled on behalf of the American Chemistry Council (ACC).
The report also found that energy-rich non-recycled plastics are an attractive feedstock for a range of technologies collectively called ‘gasification processes’.
The ACC said that the aim of the research, carried out by consultants, Gershman, Brickner & Bratton, was to evaluate how an emerging set of technologies that could potentially convert large-scale municipal solid waste into energy could fit into waste management planning in North America.
According to the consultants, although full-scale commercial gasification facilities are not yet in place in the U.S., these technologies are receiving growing interest from policymakers and entrepreneurs because of the versatility of their energy outputs, which include steam, electricity, ethanol, and diesel along with chemical intermediates.
“Despite rapid increases in recycling in recent years, a significant amount of energy-rich waste still goes to landfill in this country,” said Harvey Gershman, president of Gershman, Brickner & Bratton
“Gasification is one of a growing number of exciting new technologies under development that may one day harness the potential of waste as an abundant source of domestic energy.”
According to the report, which was written with municipalities, investors and waste managers in mind, there are currently 21 demonstration facilities being operated in the U.S. and another 17 commercial-scale facilities under development.
“Plastics are a valuable resource, and we need to recycle them whenever it makes sense to do so,” urged Steve Russell, vice president of plastics for the American Chemistry Council.
“But not all plastics can be recycled in a way that’s economically and environmentally efficient. Emerging technologies that can convert waste into electricity, higher value fuels and chemicals can help us capture plastics’ high-energy value and put it to work to help power communities across America,” he added.
The report, ‘Gasification of Non-Recycled Plastics from Municipal Solid Waste in the United States’ offers an overview of gasification technologies, feedstock flexibility, outputs and economics, licensing companies, experience with gasification technologies, opportunities and barriers to commercialization, and the potential role of gasification in integrated waste management systems.
Key Findings
• There are 147 companies offering gasification technologies in different stages of development worldwide, most of which market in the U.S. through licensees
• Mass burn starved-air, two-stage combustion systems have a first stage gasification process. This (starved-air two-stage combustion) is a proven technology with several operating facilities in the U.S.
• The high BTU value of non-recycled plastics makes them attractive feedstock components for gasification processes
• Gasification is a mature technology and is proven for applications such as in the petrochemical industry
• Gasification is attractive because of the versatility of its final marketable products such as steam, electricity, ethanol and other chemicals
• Gasification facilities processing mixed solid wastes have limited experience in scaling up from the pilot or demonstration scale to the commercial scale in North America
• No specific regulatory standard exists for gasification in all states or Canadian provinces now (as opposed to European standards that differentiate gasification from incineration, and have permitting requirements that are stringent but acceptant of scientifically advanced technology); the use of solid waste as a feedstock and close association with mass burn technologies has led to gasification plants being regulated as waste to energy facilities.
• Gasification as a disposal option may not be cost-competitive to current landfill gate fees in certain regions of the U.S.
• Facility development is challenged by public acceptance, perceived risk, and the challenge of having predictable economics comparable to current costs
Read More
POLL: Is waste Gasification Coming of Age
With an increasing number of projects globally, are waste gasification technologies coming of age?
Direct Current Plasma Technology Recycling Ruthenium in Japan
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£30m to Boost Recycling, Waste to Energy & Gasification at London Eco Industries Park
5 September 2013
By Ben Messenger
Managing Editor
Sponsored by
The London Sustainable Industries Park, which includes the capital’s first organic waste recycling facility, is to receive £30 million of investment under a plan outlined by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.
According to Johnson the investment will support his aim of creating over 1200 jobs at the site in Dagenham, which is located on land owned by the Mayor’s office.
The new investment includes a £21 million anaerobic digestion organic waste recycling facility to be built and run by the TEG Group.
It is one of the first sign-ups to what is London’s first business park for the growing number of low carbon industries.
The Mayor added that he has also committed £10.3 million for a works programme which is transforming a disused brownfield site into a thriving new business quarter to attract up to 750 jobs and 500 construction jobs.
The London Sustainable Industries Park has been designed to create a cluster of environmentally focused enterprises such as low-carbon energy from waste plants, innovative waste facilities and other CleanTech infrastructure such as recycling, renewable energy, wind power, solar power, biomass.
It is hoped that the site, which is already occupied by Closed Loop Recycling and will be joined by the TEG Group and other potential occupiers, will become the largest of its kind in the UK.
Finance & jobs
The TEG Group waste plant has been part-funded by Foresight Environmental Fund, part of the Mayor’s London Green Fund, which aims to provide financing for low carbon infrastructure across London. It is also supported by the London Waste and Recycling Board.
Once complete is expected that the facility will divert over 49,000 tonnes of food waste from landfill each year creating renewable heating and power for use on the site.
Mick Fishwick, CEO of The TEG Group commented: “This is our first major plant in the South East and the first anaerobic digestion development facility to be created within the M25.”
The Mayor Boris Johnson added: “This exciting new project is set to bring hundreds of much needed new jobs into Dagenham, an area that has suffered from a decline in traditional industries.”
I am investing more than £10 million into this site owned by City Hall to create a vibrant new destination for innovative businesses. Low carbon industries represent a growth market, which will support a new generation of jobs for Londoners but also bring cleaner, energy efficient businesses that contribute to a better quality of life,” he added.
The first phase of infrastructure works at the London Sustainable Industries Park will provide the amenities to support businesses locating to the site.
A £4.5m contract has been awarded to VolkerFitzpatrick to install roads, footpaths and cycle ways, utilities, drainage and landscaping. This is expected to complete in February 2013.
Waste gasification
The Mayor also revealed that the GLA is in talks with another major potential occupier to build one of the largest industrial gasification plants in the UK on the park.
The proposed facility would process municipal and industrial waste to produce energy from waste which the Mayor claimed would have an overall carbon-negative footprint.
The plans for the plant would potentially see an 18,400 square metre building on an 8.3 acre site, with construction planned to begin in January 2013.
The London Sustainable Industries Park has been developed in collaboration with Barking and Dagenham council.
Read More
Recycling & Waste to Energy Gasification Plans Approved in Walsall, UK
A 300,000 tonne per year waste to energy facility that will use gasification technology to process residual waste in the UK’s West Midlands has been awarded planning permission by Walsall Council.
Subsidy for 1500 TPD Waste to Energy Plant Extension in China – Waste Management World
CLEAR THE AIR comments: Everbright personnel accompanied Edward Yau on his Europe junket last year.
We wonder how they can manage a ‘Zero waste to Landfill’objective ? since incineration thermally converts the feedstock approx 70% to airborne gases with suspended pollutants and toxins
and 30% bottom/ fly ash that needs landfilling per day where will they dump and treat the ash ?
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Subsidy for 1500 TPD Waste to Energy Plant Extension in China – Waste Management World
Tue, 20 Aug 2013
Hong Kong based China Everbright International (SEHK: 257), which develops environmental service infrastructure, has secured RMB30 million ($4.9 million) subsidy for Phase III of its Suzhou Waste to Energy Project.
Phase III of the project is a 1500 tonne per day waste to energy plant that was completed in January this year, bringing total capacity at the Suzhou facility to over 3500 tonnes per day.
In total the three phase project is estimated to represent an investment of around RMB750 million ($122 million).
According to China Everbright it has secured the subsidy for Phase III of the project as part of the government’s 2013 Central Budgetary Investment Plan, which is jointly organised by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Ministry of Finance and other national ministries.
“In order to accelerate the construction of facilities for waste water treatment projects and waste processing projects in urban and rural areas and to effectively protect and improve the environment, the NDRC allocated special funds for waste water treatment projects and construction of recycling facilities and the non-hazardous waste treatment facilities in urban and rural areas under the scheme of the “2013 Central Budgetary Investment Plan,” explained Chen Xiaoping, chief executive officer of Everbright International.
According to Xiaoping this is the fourth subsidy obtained by the Group from the NDRC, following the subsidies granted to our Jiangsu Zhenjiang waste to energy Project, Suqian waste to energy Project and Changzhou Equipment Manufacturing Project in 2012.
The company added that Suzhou is the largest waste to energy project to date in China and will help Suzhou towards its zero waste to landfill objective.
Recycling & Waste to Energy Gasification Plans Approved in Walsall, UK
Recycling & Waste to Energy Gasification Plans Approved in Walsall, UK
3 September 2013
By Ben Messenger
Managing Editor
Sponsored by
A 300,000 tonne per year waste to energy facility that will use gasification technology to process residual waste in the UK’s West Midlands has been awarded planning permission by Walsall Council.
The site had previously been awarded planning permission for a waste recovery and combined heat and power plant. However, the developer, BH EnergyGap, explained that to enable the development of the site to be workable and viable, a new planning application was submitted in May 2013 to Walsall Council.
According to the company, once complete the facility will achieve a landfill diversion rate of around 90%, will recover materials for recycling and will produce 19 MW of electricity by processing residual waste.
BH EnergyGap added that the Resource Recovery and Renewable Energy Production Facility located on at Fryers Road, Birchills Leamore, Walsall is to be named ‘WandE’ and will treat mixed municipal, commercial and industrial wastes.
Materials arriving at the site will be sorted and segregated to maximise their value. The developer said that once separated using the latest sorting technology such as magnets, eddy currents, near infrared cameras and air jets, materials such as metals, plastics and rubble will be sent onward for recycling.
The company said that residual material will be used to produce energy using advanced thermal treatment to produce electricity or potentially heat for export from the site.
According to a report by the Express and Star, members of the Council’s Planning Committee agreed there should be several conditions in place to ease some public concerns, such as quarterly readings from the chimney.
The report said that there had been 11 letters of objection from residents and businesses, and that concerns had also been raised by councillors Tim Oliver and Shaun Fitzpatrick.
There will also be a traffic plan of which routes should be used when making deliveries and it is expected that there will be over 80 truck arriving and departing from the site each day.
“It is not every day someone comes in to invest £100 million and it is bringing in new jobs. We have always said Walsall is open to business,” Councillor Mohammed Arif, cabinet member for environment, is reported to have said.
Waste Gasification to Biofuel Project to Mine Landfill in Maryland
Waste Gasification to Biofuel Project to Mine Landfill in Maryland
20 August 2013
By Ben Messenger
Managing Editor
Washington County, Maryland is pursuing a project that will develop a refused derived fuel (RDF) facility to process municipal solid waste, followed by a waste gasification facility that will produce biofuels. Mining previously landfilled waste for additional feedstock is also being considered.
To realise the project the County has partnered with waste gasification specialist, America First Inc (AFI), in a revenue sharing public/private partnership.
According to the County, the project will provide an economic development tool to attract companies looking for a sustainable community with zero waste opportunities.
Phases
The initiative will be implemented in two phases. Phase I, which will commence six to eight months after ground breaking, will consist of the construction of a facility to convert MSW (including yard, agriculture and sewer sludge waste) into RDF.
MSW is delivered to the facility and then sorted and separated to remove all non – treatable items. The residual waste will be converted into RDF pellets which will be sold to various customers as fuel.
Phase II Phase II consists of the construction of a full – scale gasification plant.
The County said that approximately 10% of the RDF pellets produced during Phase I will feed a Fischer – Tropsch synthetic fuel production plant to convert the high – energy syngas from the gasification plant into transportation fuels (gasoline or diesel fuel).
Additionally, the existing landfill will be mined to recover buried MSW.
According to the County mining of existing MSW will extend the current landfill capacity far beyond the estimated 100 years it can currently provide.
The waste to energy process is expected to divert up to 95% of the area’s MSW from landfill, and according to the County will also reduce the odour, birds, and noises normally associated with landfill operations.
Economics
Under the partnership Washington County will provide the land and the municipal waste feedstock, but will bear no upfront financial risk.
The County explained that since AFI will secure funding required to complete the project based on a long-term feedstock agreement, and will be the sole signatory on the loan, and that it bears no fiscal responsibility for either construction of the project or operational expenses.
Payments are deferred for two years, which the County said will allow a substantial reserve to be created up front.
Under Phase I, full production of RDF is anticipated to take place between six to eight months after ground breaking.
Using today’s market value for RDF pellets, Washington County said that its estimated share of net profits from the sale of RDF would be in excess of $50,000 per month.
Under Phase II, which will commence between 12 and 18 months after ground breaking, fuel production is expected to begin within 90 days of commissioning.
The County said that its estimated share of net profits would be in excess of $200,000 from the sale of renewable diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, home heating fuel, Naphtha (used to make high – octane fuels) and nitrogen fertilisers.
The completion of both project phases is also expected to create approximately 40 – 70 new jobs
Waste Gasification to Biofuel Project to Mine Landfill in Maryland
Waste Gasification to Biofuel Project to Mine Landfill in Maryland
20 August 2013
By Ben Messenger
Managing Editor
Washington County, Maryland is pursuing a project that will develop a refused derived fuel (RDF) facility to process municipal solid waste, followed by a waste gasification facility that will produce biofuels. Mining previously landfilled waste for additional feedstock is also being considered.
To realise the project the County has partnered with waste gasification specialist, America First Inc (AFI), in a revenue sharing public/private partnership.
According to the County, the project will provide an economic development tool to attract companies looking for a sustainable community with zero waste opportunities.
Phases
The initiative will be implemented in two phases. Phase I, which will commence six to eight months after ground breaking, will consist of the construction of a facility to convert MSW (including yard, agriculture and sewer sludge waste) into RDF. MSW is delivered to the facility and then sorted and separated to remove all non – treatable items. The residual waste will be converted into RDF pellets which will be sold to various customers as fuel.
Phase II Phase II consists of the construction of a full – scale gasification plant.
The County said that approximately 10% of the RDF pellets produced during Phase I will feed a Fischer – Tropsch synthetic fuel production plant to convert the high – energy syngas from the gasification plant into transportation fuels (gasoline or diesel fuel).
Additionally, the existing landfill will be mined to recover buried MSW.
According to the County mining of existing MSW will extend the current landfill capacity far beyond the estimated 100 years it can currently provide.
The waste to energy process is expected to divert up to 95% of the area’s MSW from landfill, and according to the County will also reduce the odour, birds, and noises normally associated with landfill operations.
Economics
Under the partnership Washington County will provide the land and the municipal waste feedstock, but will bear no upfront financial risk.
The County explained that since AFI will secure funding required to complete the project based on a long-term feedstock agreement, and will be the sole signatory on the loan, and that it bears no fiscal responsibility for either construction of the project or operational expenses.
Payments are deferred for two years, which the County said will allow a substantial reserve to be created up front.
Under Phase I, full production of RDF is anticipated to take place between six to eight months after ground breaking.
Using today’s market value for RDF pellets, Washington County said that its estimated share of net profits from the sale of RDF would be in excess of $50,000 per month.
Under Phase II, which will commence between 12 and 18 months after ground breaking, fuel production is expected to begin within 90 days of commissioning.
The County said that its estimated share of net profits would be in excess of $200,000 from the sale of renewable diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, home heating fuel, Naphtha (used to make high – octane fuels) and nitrogen fertilisers.
The completion of both project phases is also expected to create approximately 40 – 70 new jobs