Plasma Arc Benefits
The
use of plasma arc technology in the processing of MSW provides a
number of benefits including:
-
Plasma arc technology can process all MSW with minimal or no
processing on the front end. It has the ability to gasify wastes
that are otherwise challenging for communities including
asbestos, sludge from wastewater treatment plants, tires, carpet
wastes, and automobile shredder residue.
- Plasma gasification is an environmentally friendly waste-
to-energy solution that releases less greenhouse gas than
incineration and landfills.
-
Plasma gasification of MSW destroys all waste generated by
today's population, today, with today's dollars. And there's no
residual monitoring over time required.
- Geoplasma's technology can recover enough energy from 1,000
tons of MSW to power 12,000 homes for a day.
-
As an example, a county that has accumulated over 4 million tons
of MSW in a landfill will be able to harvest the MSW in the
landfill to produce sufficient electric energy to power the
county's 86,400 homes for more than 2 years!
-
Due to very high processing temperatures, plasma gasification
reduces the potential for formation of complex volatile
organics. Any emissions come from the co-located energy
production facility, and those emissions are well below state
and federal requirements.
-
In addition to waste disposal and production of a renewable
source of energy, the plasma gasification process creates other
beneficial byproducts including an inert, obsidian-like material
that can be used as aggregate for construction and pavers.
-
Plasma gasification can process raw MSW as well as harvest
existing landfill and, in so doing, return the land to a higher
and better use. This provides landfill owners with the
opportunity to reuse land and enhance its value.
- When co-located with a landfill, the life of the landfill may be extended.
Plasma Arc Technology Was Developed By NASA In The 1960's