Plasma and Renewable Energy Center (PREC) José L. Colón Nilangely Arzon Pierre Schmidt School of Engineering Universidad del Turabo

OUR PROBLEM Municipal Solid Waste

Contamination of our water wells Municipal Solid Waste P.R. generates over 11,000 tons/day Most of the disposal places already closed The ones in operation are quickly becoming full, and most of them in violation of environmental regulations No land available for new fills Costs increasing Our mayor problem: Contamination of our water wells

Ideal Waste Disposal System That can process mixed solid and liquid waste Non polluting and environmentally safe Not requiring previous treatment or preparation That can recuperate all useful material or energy contents Final residue that could also be useful Able to process toxic and hazardous materials, medical wastes, plastics, tires, etc No land fill required Recycle, Re-use, Recovery (RRR)

Plasma Technology Plasma: A gas in a conductive state Very high temperatures can be produced and controlled with the electric power applied Lightning is a natural example and Electric arc welding is a produced case Does not need air to operate Can operate with any gas Available with Power levels from 100kw to 10 mw Temperatures from 4,000°C to 7,000°C

Process (Data for one ton of MSW)

Plasma Technology: Ideal for Municipal Waste Disposal Organic components: gasified into H2/CO fuel gas Vitrified sediment is re-usable for a variety of applications Hazardous and toxic components broken into basic elements Heavy metals, etc. are immobilized in a glass rock P

Municipal Waste: Ideal for Plasma Torch Technology Organic components: Will provide enough fuel to generate the needed electricity for the process plus a significant extra amount that can be used for other useful purposes P

Tests Done at Georgia Tech PCB’s Asbestos ashes Chemical wastes Bio-medical wastes Plastics Used tires Heavy metals Low radioactive waste Industrial waste Solid municipal waste Oven dust Organic solid and liquid waste

Tiles Fabricated With Vitreous Residue Proved to Be Superior to the Ones With Recycled Glass

Systems in Operation France: process asbestos ashes Madison, PA: toxic waste destruction Japan: process junk autos Jonquiere, Canada: aluminum recovery Jackson, GA: will process used tires

Universidad del Turabo Activities Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO): (proposal) Prototype unit to process municipal solid wastes Agreement with SOLENA group Integrated Plasma Gasification Combined Cycle (IPGCC)

Plasma and Renewable Energy Center (PREC) Plasma Gasification and Vitrification Reactor Design and build a compact SOLENA gasified system Demonstrate the efficacy of the IPGCC process Test the characteristics of gasifying various types of feeds Training professional and technical personnel Conduct research and development Doctoral Dissertations in Environmental Sciences (SST) Test an Uninterruptible Power Supply system fed by the installed Solar Photovoltaic (PV) panels Planned installation of a Fuel Cell demonstration unit

QUESTIONS ?