March, 2013:

http://www.waste-management-world.com/articles/2013/03/waste-to-energy-gasification-plant-in-colorado.html

Waste to Energy Gasification Pilot Plant in Colorado

26 March 2013

By Ben Messenger
Managing Editor

Denver, Colorado based waste gasification specialist, Vista International Technologies, (OTCBB: VVIT), has begun construction on its pilot waste to energy project.

The company said that the project will utilise the next generation of its waste gasification technology, the MFG-8 Thermal Gasifier.

According to VVIT the Thermal Gasifier processes fuel converted from feedstock such as waste, biomass, tyres and virtually any solid carbon based material into useful energy without harming the environment.

Gasification and partial oxidation take place in separate gasification and oxidation areas of a single chamber, and final complete combustion takes place in a fire tube before entering the boiler.

The company said that the development of its pilot facility is the beginning of a multiple phase plan by the host company to reduce the amount of waste it landfills.

Upon successful completion of this project, VVIT said that the second phase of the plan will involve the installation of a larger, permanent waste to energy installation at the host company’s site.

VVIT added that the project is being fully funded by the host company.

“The beginning of construction on our initial third generation unit represents a giant step forward for the company,” commented CEO Tim Ruddy.

Read More

31 MW Waste Gasification and Biogas Project Funded in Hull
A project in Hull, UK which will feature a 25 MW waste gasification plant as well as a 3 MW anaerobic digestion biogas to grid injection facility has been awarded a £19.9 million EU grant.

Waste to Energy Pyrolysis System Wins Award for Aston University
An innovative bioenergy technology, which transforms multiple waste products into heat and power has won ‘Best Technological Breakthrough’ at the national Climate Week Awards.

http://www.waste-management-world.com/articles/2013/03/plasma-arc-fcc-catalyst-recycling-to-benefit-from-asian-boom.html

22 March 2013

ByDr. Tim Johnson

It is an extraordinary fact: during my own lifetime the global population has more than doubled from around three billion to more than seven billion.

Equally sobering is that this growth will continue unabated well into the future and by the time I reach retirement (assuming it hasn’t been banned by the time I get there), there will be around three times as many people on the planet as when I was born.

In case you’re wondering, most of this growth has been and will continue to be in the cities of the developing world and this is a huge force for global technological and economic change.

In particular, experienced watchers of such things expect this general population growth to be accompanied by especially strong increases in the size of the middle classes of these expanding economies, which of course will result in a sharp increase in demand for all kinds of materials and chemicals as new generations strive for improvements in living standards and material goods.

The potential environmental, political and economic implications raised by these mind-boggling trends are almost limitless but let us focus for a moment on one area where these forces are already having an impact: the rapid growth of passenger and goods transport in Asia.

This has already led to big increases in the demand (and the cost) of many scarce and strategic metals, such as rare earth elements for use in electronics, as well as platinum, palladium and rhodium for use in catalytic converters in vehicles. And I am sure it will come as no surprise to hear the demand for petrol and diesel is also rising in Asia in tandem with the growth of transport as a direct result of the self-same forces.

Cradle to grave relationship

Now, as I am sure you know, when petrol fulfils its destiny by being burnt to create the power to drive our vehicles forward, the last thing the resulting gases see before they reach the outside world is a catalyst, i.e. the catalytic converter in the car’s exhaust pipe.

Perhaps you are less aware that, not only are catalysts present at the end of petrol’s life but, like some technological priest or physician, they are also there at its birth. This is because catalysts are used to produce a large proportion of the petrol we consume, especially through a very important process known as Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC).

Around one third of all crude oil is processed by a FCC unit. Crude oil is actually a complex mixture of different types of oils but rather inconveniently it does not contain enough of the lighter oils we need for petrol and diesel production.

FCC technology is so widespread because of its very valuable ability to break down heavier oils into lighter oils more suitable for petrol and diesel. At the heart of this process is a catalyst.

Clays, metals and catalysts

Many catalysts rely on the properties of precious or valuable metals to accelerate a particular chemical reaction, whilst the physical structure of the catalyst is provided by a ceramic (or less frequently a metal) substrate onto which the metal particles are attached.

By contrast, the catalysts employed in the FCC process do not use a metal but instead rely on a highly porous clay-based mineral (zeolite) to provide both the chemical and physical properties required.

However, they are not free from the influence of metals because crude oil contains small amounts of various metals, including nickel and vanadium, which gradually build up on the catalyst and eventually prevent the catalyst from functioning properly. At this point the catalyst must be discarded and fresh catalyst added.

The increasing demand for motor fuels is leading to the generation of more spent FCC catalyst. Meanwhile, increasing levels of trace metals in crude oils and improvements in catalyst design are leading to an increase in the levels of nickel (which is both hazardous and valuable) in those spent catalysts.

Plasma

Taken together, these things provide an ideal opportunity for plasma technology. For many years plasma systems have been recycling precious metals and an inert construction material from a wide range of spent catalysts.

The plasma treatment of spent FCC catalysts is now also receiving considerable attention as this same metal recovery process can be used to destroy the hazardous nature of the spent catalyst whilst recovering the nickel for re-use in the metals industry.

It is all too easy in a Western country with a dismal economic forecast to lose sight of the enormous growth in demand for materials and chemicals that will surely come from Asia and other parts of the developing world as their urban populations expand in the decades ahead.

Such demands create great opportunities for recycling technologies which can meet these economic and environmental challenges and we believe plasma arc technology is ideally suited to make its own valuable contribution.

Dr Tim Johnson is Technical Director at direct arc plasma systems specialist, Tetronics International.

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Plasma System to Recycle Precious Metals from Catalysts in Japan
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http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/magnegas-presents-submerged-plasma-arc-technological-advancements-at-georgia-state-capitol-198783521.html

TAMPA, Fla., March 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — MagneGas Corporation (“MagneGas” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: MNGA), a global gasification technology Company that safely converts liquid waste into a hydrogen-based metal working fuel and a clean natural gas alternative, presented its patented liquid waste to energy solutions to the House and Senate Science and Technology Committee at the Georgia State Capitol.

“I’m very excited about new technologies, especially those which benefit people everywhere and bring jobs to our state,” commented Senator Barry Loudermilk , Chairman of the Senate Committee. “The revolutionary ideas presented by MagneGas to cost-effectively convert contaminated liquid waste into natural gas could bring cutting-edge technology to our state and promote the use of clean energy alternatives.”

MagneGas CEO, Ermanno Santilli , presented the latest technological advancements to the Committee and showed the universal benefits to Georgia’s economy and its citizens. Mr. Santilli stated, “I am so pleased at how receptive the legislators were as we presented them with new capabilities to generate more green energy. Our technology will help reduce the environmental and costly impact of outdated and chemically-laden sewage treatment systems, and provide drought resistant assistance.”

MagneGas Chairman and Chief Scientist, Dr. Ruggero Santilli , former Harvard and MIT scientist, developed the Company’s patented Submerged Plasma Arc Flow process which gasifies liquid waste including sewage, FOGS (Fats, Oils, Greases), animal waste and spent vehicle fluids, and creates a clean, burning hydrogen based fuel that is essentially interchangeable with natural gas.

“The benefits of the MagneGas technology are extremely impressive and a game changer in the energy arena. MagneGas can safely eliminate liquid hazardous materials while providing the state with its own natural gas production,” commented Harry Geisinger , Vice Chairman, Georgia House Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications Committee, and Executive Committee member to the Southern States Energy Board.

The presentation by MagneGas on March 11, 2013 to the Georgia House and Senate Science and Technology Committees will be available on the internet at Georgia House of Representatives website at http://www.house.ga.gov/Committees/en-US/CommitteeArchives122.aspx

The MagneGas IR App is now available for free in Apple’s App Store for the iPhone or iPad http://bit.ly/AfLYww and at Google Play http://bit.ly/Km2iyk for Android mobile devices.

To be added to the MagneGas investor email list, please email pcarlson@kcsa.com with MNGA in the subject line.

About MagneGas Corporation

Founded in 2007, Tampa-based MagneGas Corporation (NASDAQ: MNGA) is the producer of MagneGas™, a natural gas alternative and metal working fuel that can be made from certain industrial, municipal, agricultural and military liquid wastes following the receipt of appropriate governmental permits.

For more information on MagneGas, please visit the Company’s website at www.magnegas.com.

Joint House and Senate Science and Technology Committee of the State of Georgia

The Committee is responsible for legislation that promotes the appropriate and safe development and use of science and technological advances in the state. A copy of the agenda and presentation can be found here: http://1.usa.gov/13SWISx

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956053X13000652