Process Introduced for Pyrolyzing MSW

Toups Technology Licensing, Inc. (Largo, FL) has introduced a high-volume "garbage-to-gas" technology developed by its Environmental Solutions Division.

The patent-pending process and underlying technology, called PCE (pyrolitic carbon extraction process) reportedly can turn household garbage and industrial waste--and virtually any other hydrocarbon-based liquid or solid waste--into a clean-burning gas and valuable carbon black.

"This … TTL technology addresses both the overflowing problem of solid waste disposal and the increasing need for clean-burning alternative fuels," said Leon Toups, president of TTL.

TTL's PCE process treats all hydrocarbon-based waste in a closed system without releasing harmful emissions, fluids, or solids to the environment. The non-burning system transforms about 40% of the waste into carbon black, which can be used for a variety of purposes. The rest becomes a clean-burning gas that contains mostly hydrogen and methane.

The gas (lab name, Phoenix 777) is said to emit less than half of the carbon dioxide of natural gas and virtually no carbon monoxide or hydrocarbons when combusted. Also it contains seven to nine percent oxygen and water vapor. Additionally, it has an odor and is lighter than air--both important safety features.

The modular PCE technology, according to the company, can be scaled to process from 100 pounds to thousands of tons per hour and can generate an estimated 15,000 cubic feet of gas from each ton of garbage on a continuous basis.

Phoenix 777 can be used to generate electricity on a commercial scale, providing an estimated one MW per 16 tons of waste--a rate, the company says, about 23 times more efficient than some of the best existing waste-to-energy (incineration) technologies.

The company claims that the process is economical, and its positive environmental attributes benefit from PCE's use of about 20% of the clean-burning gas created by the waste-treatment process to fuel itself. A number of other factors contribute to a profitable operation, including tipping fees and the elimination of environmental control equipment.