Transcript The Plastofuel Option for the Dirtiest Plastics James W. Garthe, P.E. Agricultural Engineer.

The Plastofuel Option
for the Dirtiest Plastics
James W. Garthe, P.E.
Agricultural Engineer
Amazing
plasticulture
Amazing
plasticulture
The hidden side of
plasticulture
Backyard storage of
pots, trays, & flats
Discarded mulch film
Stockpiled greenhouse film
On-farm burial
The hidden side of
plasticulture
Hauled to landfill
Residual in fields
Burn piles
Occasionally recycled….
But if these plastics
cannot be recycled…
…why not recover energy by
burning these wastes in a clean,
safe fashion?
Heat value of various materials
Material
Fuel Oil
Polyethylene plastic
Polypropylene plastic
Polystyrene plastic
PA Kittanning coal
Wyoming coal
Newspaper
Textiles
Wood
Avg. Mun. Waste
Yard waste
Food Waste
Btu/lb
20,900
19,900
19,850
17,800
13,900
9,600
8,000
6 , 9 0 0
6,700
6,500
3,000
2,600
Pennsylvania agricultural plastic wastes
equal…
8,000,000 gallons heating fuel oil*
or
1000 tank truck loads of diesel fuel*
* Based on 58,000 farms & 1000 lbs.
plastic discarded per farm annually
Plastofuel
Plastofuel extrusion
tolerates dirt & debris
Works with
rigid & film
thermoplastics
Combustion
testing in 2002
involved coal
co-fired with
Plastofuel
Tests included:
Baseline coal
5% plastic blend
10% plastic blend
Mulch & drip tape came from:
California
Pennsylvania
Florida
T
35. 25
2"
Stoker
Simulator
3 Kw He ating Cone
Ignition Ele m ents
Coal Char ge
4.36"
10. 91"
7.86"
3.19"
3.49"
T
3.93"
T
T
3.49"
2.62"
T 1.75"
3.27"
20 Gage s .s.
Gr ating w ith
1/16" Hole s
²P
High
temperature
combustion
results with coal
were promising.
We announced
findings in 2002.
Korean entrepreneur William Bang
came to us in December, 2002.
GR Technologies Co., Ltd.
•
Hot water boiler for ag applications
•
Preheats w/ 0.8-1.5 gal. fuel oil for 10-15 min.
•
Burns 20-33 lbs./hr. plastic pellets made from
waste mulch film
•
Produces 396,850 Btu/hr.
•
Costs about $12,000
The boiler,
shown in its
home at the
Horticulture
Research Farm
Plastic pellets
from Korea
Look Ma,
no black
smoke!
We have done air emissions tests
using:
•
Pellets from Korea
(baseline for EPA air
emissions testing)
•
Granulated plastic drums
& pails from Pennsylvania
Continuous air emissions
monitoring
Emissions results were spectacular!
•
Low particulates
•
Low acid gases (SO2, NOx, CO)
•
Low dioxin / furans
TCDD = tetrachlorodibenzodioxin
TCDF = tetrachlorodibenzofuran
Let’s Look at the Emissions from
the LDPE Korean
Pellets & HDPE Granules …
LDPE Pellets
HDPE Granules
Cement Kilnd
Particulate Matter
gr/dscfa
lb/hb
0.0026
0.0064
0.0017
0.0043
-1.64-2.15
Sulfur Dioxide(SO2)
Ppm
lb/h
2.29
0.006
0.56
0.0017
-77.0-166.0
Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)
Ppm
lb/h
48.53
0.101
14.44
0.031
-162.0
Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Ppm
lb/h
13.11
0.017
44.15
0.058
-330.0
Total Hydrocarbons
Ppm
lb/h
2.12
0.004
2.82
0.006
---
TCDD
2,3,7,8 (lb/h)
Total (lb/h)
<1.37 E-12
2.33 E-11
<4.75 E-13
N.D.c
4.94 E-12
--
TCDF
2,3,7,8 (lb/h)
Total (lb/h)
1.46 E-11
2.33 E-10
<1.26 E-12
2.98 E-11
---
Pollutant
a
grains per dry std. cubic ft b lbs per hour c not detected d emission limits for 2.14 tonnes plastic/hr
Plastic pellets
from Korea
Plastofuel
Our goal is to marry the clean
burning Korean technology with
the energy efficient Plastofuel
process
PDA funding has been used to scale-up
Plastofuel production to…
•
Evaluate energy balance of the process
•
Enhance energy density of the fuel
•
Determine economics of the process
•
Conduct public demonstrations
•
Sense farmer interest
The Plastofuel 500 trailer
Thank you. Any questions?