Gasification Plasma Arc and Pyrolysis Renewable Energy Recycling

Gasification, Plasma Arc and Pyrolysis: Renewable Energy & Recycling – or Incinerators in Disguise? August 2014

“New” Technologies for Waste “Treatment” & “Energy” • Plasma Arc • Gasification • Pyrolysis

Typical Industry Claims About These Technologies • “Pollution-free” • “Zero Emissions” • “Proven To Be Safe” • “A New Way to Recycle” • “Waste is Renewable Energy” • “Closed Loop” • “No Stacks” • “Not Incineration” • “Alternative to Landfills

Traditional Incinerators compalred to Gasification, Plamsa Arc & Pyrolysis Differences: Traditional mass burn incinerators directly burn the waste material and have ash residual Most gasification technologies heat the waste first, then in a second stage of the process syngas is combusted/incinerated. Vitrified slag residue instead of ash.

Traditional Incinerators versus Gasification Technologies Similarities: Combustion process Toxic emissions – air and water quality concerns Dioxin emitted from combustion of syngas No continuous emissions monitoring of air toxics Disincentive to Zero Waste, Recycling and Real Renewable Energy

Plasma Arc – Two Staged Incineration Two Step Process: 1) Materials are heated with a plasma arc (6, 000º to 10, 000º Celsius) to separate gases from feedstock 2) Gases are typically combusted in secondary process Fugitive Gases Syn Gas Vitrified Slag Combustion

Inentec Integrated Environmental Technologies & In. En. Tec Plasma Arc technology for medical, hazardous and radioactive contaminated wastes Is it safe? Are the claims true?

IET & In. En. Tec Claimed: • “Pollution Free” - not true • “Commercially Proven With No Emissions” – not true • “Closed Loop System” – not true • Five Facilities are “already successfully operating at customer sites” – not true

In. En. Tec Diagram

Richland, Washington From In. En. Tec website

The Truth about ATG Facility • ATG plasma arc facility had chronic operational problems • Repeated problems including with emissions equipment • ATG filed for bankruptcy • ATG closed plasma arc facility in 2001 • Left stockpiles of hazardous/radioactive wastes

Honolulu, Hawaii from In. En. Tec website

Truth about Hawaii Medical Vitrification Facility • Shut down August 2004 to April 2005 due to damage to refractory of plasma arc equipment • State of Hawaii Department of Health took serious enforcement action due to illegally stockpiling medical waste when plasma arc equipment broke • IET sued HMV yet claimed it was successfully operating • Permanently Shut down in 2007

Truth about Biopure Systems, Malaysia • Had not been built at the time that IET/Inentec claimed that the facility was already successfully operating • Still has not been built

Plasco - Ottawa, Canada • Opened plasma arc pilot plant in 2008 • Was plagued with operational, pollution and energy generation problems • Designed for 85 tons per day garbage • Averaged about 4 tons per day 1 st year • Extended shut down due to excessive emissions • Was unable to operate when City of Los Angeles staff visited plant • Unable to begin commercial operation despite receiving permits

Plasco Energy Salinas Valley Project • Proposed in Gonzales, California, heavily Spanishspeaking, low-income, Latino farming community • Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority’s claimed Plasco would have no stacks and claimed Plasco generates 2 x as much energy as competitor that was considered – these totally false statements used to win approval • In face of strong community opposition, Plasco secretly put EIR on hold and project stalled as they try to win government support to consider this renewable energy

Westinghouse Plasma Corporation and Alter NRG • The largest commercial operating model WPC/Alter NRG plant has capacity to process only 165 -190 tons per day of a mixture of auto shredder residue and municipal solid waste, claims to generate just 3. 9 megawatts of electricity. (Hitachi Metals, Utashinai, Japan) • City of Sacramento, CA staff visited Utashinai plant and reported that NO POWER AT ALL put into the grid

Westinghouse Plasma Where is the stack?

Hitachi Metals Plasma Arc plant in Utashinai, Japan • Promotional photo submitted to City of Sacramento by USST • No Stack?

Here is Hitachi Metals’ stack Hitachi Metals “Reports” No E-321 :

Sacramento, CA City Council rejects Plasma Arc December 2008 • Sacramento City Council rejected plasma arc project that would have used Alter. NRG/Westinghouse Plasma technology • City’s research found claims of energy generation at Utashinai, Japan plant not to be true • Confirmed that Hitachi plant had stack for emissions despite company pictures that failed to show stack

Sun Energy Group LLC • Wants to build a 2500 tons per day plasma arc facility at 3900 Jourdan Road, New Orleans • Would use Westinghouse Plasma/Alter NRG’s technology • Claims this is “renewable energy” facility that can generate 114 megawatts of electricity to provide power to tens of thousands of homes • Falsely claimed all operations would be in an enclosed facility

Sun Energy Group – New Orleans

Sun Energy’s Claims • Claims “The system is closed so there are no emissions while the waste is being destroyed. ” • Claims “The garbage is transformed …. so no harmful materials are allowed to leach into the environment. The synthetic fuel, or syngas, is cleaned and burned like natural gas to create electricity. ” • “Not Incineration” -- waste is “destroyed in an oxygen starved environment so there is no burning. ” But Sun Energy’s proposal says: “The product gases can be combusted in conventional boiler systems…. or can be combusted in a gas turbine. ”

Thermoselect MSW Gasification Incinerator Operated 1998 -2004, Karlsruhe, Germany

Thermoselect Karlsruhe, Germany • Was promoted as a model facility worldwide • Closed in November 2004 due to operational problems • Facility has been demolished

Wollongong, Australia Brightstar MSW Gasification Incinerator (2001 -2004, Wollongong, Australia)

Brightstar’s Wollongong Facility • Closed in April 2004 because of financial and technical problems • Facility no longer exists

Ebara

Ebara Gasification Plant, Nagareyama, Chiba Prefecture, Japan

Ebara Brochure excerpt

Truth about Ebara’s Gasification Facility in Chiba Prefecture, Japan Manager of Ebara’s Plant in Nagareyama, Chiba Prefecture, Japan admitted: • claim of Zero Emissions not true • claim that no supplementary fuel needed not true • use of large amounts of kerosene is not environmentally friendly • claim in public relations DVD that 3000 kw of energy generated is false • claim of no secondary pollution not true • it is best NOT TO INCINERATE! APRIL 23, 2007 TOUR OF FACILITY BY GREENACTION & JAPANESE CITIZENS

Waste to Ethanol Ineos Bio: Indian River Bio. Energy Center Vero Beach, Florida “Advanced Waste to Ethanol Technology”

Where’s the stack?

Biomass? INEOS Bio “Process Description” “…produces carbon-neutral bioethanol and renewable power from a wide range of biomass feedstocks , including household waste. ” Claims its gasification process is environmentally safe and within standards, but… WHERE IS THE ACTUAL EMISSIONS DATA?

Status of Florida facility? • Although facility is operating, “very little fermentation or production of ethanol…has occurred…. ” • Problem is causd by high levels of Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN), a Hazardous Air Pollutant, in the syngas • “Solution” will be to emit more HCN into the air, adding to the other Hazardous Air Pollutant emissions

Our communities & planet need safe, healthy and just solutions • Pollution Prevention and Zero Waste, not incineration • Expanded recycling & zero waste programs that provide green jobs • Green, truly renewable energy • Safe technologies such as anaerobic digestion, not incinerators in disguise • Truth in advertising!

For more information: Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice www. greenaction. org greenaction@greenaction. org 415 -447 -3904