"Splainex" - industrial
environmental friendly waste treatment technologies: turn-key waste-to-energy pyrolysis projects; bio fuel and
electricity generation; treatment of biomass, ewaste, sludge,
tyres and plastics, medical waste, soil remediation, technology
adaptation, equipment fabrication and commissioning
Pyrolysis as Recovering Value from Waste
Incineration fully converts the input waste into energy and ash. Under controlled conditions conversion could be deliberately limited so that combustion does not take place directly. Waste is converted into valuable intermediates that can be further processed for materials recycling or energy recovery.
Pyrolysis is the decomposition of organic materials during heating in oxygen-free atmosphere to produce gas, liquid and solids. Decomposition products of the pyrolysis depend upon the heat, pressure and time the material is held within the vessel.
The pyrolysis technology increases recycling rates to reach higher profitability, to address environmental concerns, and to achieve governmental targets.
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Increased possibility for recycling: a) Incineration: the only practical product is energy; b) Pyrolysis: gases, oil and carbonized materials. Gas, solid and liquid phases can further be used as a combustion fuel;
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Emissions from pyrolysis are lower: most of the materials are recovered. Very little escapes into the environment. By displacing fossil-fuels, waste pyrolysis can help meet renewable energy targets, address concerns about global warming and contribute to achieving Kyoto Protocol commitments;
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Pyrolysis systems could be developed for a wide range of capacities and a very wide range of wastes, recovering materials and energy from residues left from materials recycling, e.g. electrical and electronic scrap, tyres, mixed plastic waste and packaging residues;
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Pyrolysis is the process that is relatively insensitive to its input material: It can accept e.g. unsorted MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) and soil contaminated with dioxins.
Pyrolysis technology is simultaneously old and new one. Main drivers for the pyrolysis technology always were to avoid incineration and landfilling. High oil and energy prices should further trigger pyrolysis technology implementation on a broad industrial scale.
Long-term commercially proven efficient pyrolysis process
Pyrolysis waste processing is a non combustion heat treatment that chemically decomposes waste by applying heat to the waste in an oxygen free environment.
The efficient pyrolysis system can be flexibly utilized for processing mixed municipal plastics waste, municipal solid waste (MSW), medical waste, biomass, sludge, etc. Single pyrolysis unit combines optimal construction with the safety of equipment.
In Modular Pyrolysis Steam Cycle (MPSC) system, waste is thermally degraded using an indirect, external source of heat at temperatures of 400-600 C in the absence of free external oxygen/air supply. The volatile portion of the feedstock is thermally decomposed, producing syngas which is sent into a boiler, producing steam for power generation by turbine. The flue gas is treated in an emission control sub-system and then sent to stack.
More than 25 years of practical experience in pyrolysis have led to the modern version of the MPSC process. The MPSC plant consists of several functional units (modules) implementing pyrolysis process with coupled conventional steam-cycle with no supplementary fuel or oxygen supply under normal operating conditions. In case of the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) treatment, the pyrolysis process converts this waste (poor and inconsistent fuel) into better quality fuels namely pyrolysis gas and char. In certain case, e.g plastics, pyrolysis gas can be cooled down, and the condensate is collected as oil, which can be used as fuel for burners and diesel generators, heating oil.
Single continuous pyrolysis units (up to 250 tpd ) can be combined to increase the total capacity of a processing facility. Continuous pyrolysis system combines power and flexibility. Enhanced system functionality enables users to select the usage either for oil producing or carbonization or direct electricity generation.
Some areas of the practical implementation of the pyrolysis technology.
| Application | Feed stock to pyrolysis system | Products of pyrolysis |
| Waste-to-Energy |
Waste plastics |
Electricity |
| Carbonization | Wooden chips Organic sludge |
Carbonized materials Solid fuel |
| Soil remediation | Contaminated soil (dioxin, PCB, mercury, oil) | Clean soil |
Efficient patented pyrolysis system; safe and economical in operation; more than 100 facilities built; recommended minumum capacity of the pyrolysis facility: 20 tpd.
NOTE: Quality of the product is determined by two main factors:
- long-term and large-scale commercialization of the technology,
- quality of the process equipment
Beware cheap imitations available on a market. In contrary to the financial crisis of 2008 your government will not consider the measures to save your business.
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The plant performance is related to the
composition of feedstock input (calorific value
and moisture content). Average MSW content
varies from country to country since there is
the difference in climate eating patterns, and
initial sorting of waste.
Due to the built-in design features, the
MPSC system successfully accommodates sudden
fluctuations in the waste quality from its
average value, which occur within the facility.
This pyrolysis system for treatment of MSW and
other wastes demonstrates excellent practical
performance in controlling the emission of
harmful substances such as dioxins with levels
dramatically lower than regulation values. No
special chemicals, which may have impact on the
overall environmental performance, are required
for the process.
The
MPSC plant does not produce waste water effluent
from the gas cleaning system. Along with this
obvious environmental advantage it also makes
the system less expensive. Another environmental
aspect is the reduction of the residuals to be
sent for landfill disposal. Solid remains after
the treatment at the facility can be used in the
building industry.
Typically 100 tpd
plant treating MSW with a calorific value of 8,4
MJ/kg and moisture 40% (thermal energy from
wastes ~ 9,72 MWh) the MPSC process generates 2
MW of electricity. Consequently the MPSC process
will annually generate ~14.4 GW gross electrical
output and ~10,5 GW of net electrical energy is
supplied to the grid (300 days operation per
annum).
Direct recycling of waste plastics not always possible, e.g. waste plastics can be contaminated; moreover, they often mixed with different sorts of materials such as paper, glass, metal, biowaste, etc. Food and beverage packaging is a typical example when plastic attached to other materials (aluminium/polymer laminate). It is impossible to separate this laminate from paper at the recycling facility.
At
the waste plastics pyrolysis facility the
plastics bales are continuously shredded, dried,
and pelletized. Since municipal waste
plastics mixture contains PVC and PET, initial
waste is pre-treated.
Then polymer is fed into the pyrolysis rotary
kiln reactor
to treat at ~ 400
C. The gas discharged from the reactor is
liquefied and stored in the oil drum. The
pyrolysis oil stored in the oil drum is fed into
the distillation column and separated into three
fractions; light oil from the top, medium oil
from the middle and heavy oil from the bottom of
the column. These three types of oils are stored
in separate oil tanks and sent to the furnaces
and cogeneration system in the plant as fuel
through piping, or loaded onto a tank lorry for
shipment to customers. The energy of hot
off-gases is used to generate steam.
Typical average composition of the initial mixed
plastic waste: Polyethylene, polypropylene,
polystyrene ~ 71 %; PVC's ~ 4.5%: PET ~ 12.5 %,
Other plastics ~ 9.5%; Other materials (foil,
etc) - 2.5%
Process Characteristics:
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No catalyst
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Easy operation and maintenance due to atmospheric pressure process
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Energy recovery use of product oil, gas and residue
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Chlorine recovery from PVC as hydrochloric acid
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Product oil usage for furnaces in plant as well as co-generation as fuel
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Full automatic operation, computer control system
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Less environmental emissions
Long-term large scale commercial experience demonstrates that all of the products and by-products from pyrolysis are utilized for feedstock recycling or energy recovery, except for hydrochloric acid obtained from PVC
Medical waste is a multi component hazardous waste. Main constituents of medical waste are plastics, textile and polyvinylchloride (PVC).Medical waste also includes needles, pathological wastes from surgery and autopsy, and pharmaceutical waste. Traditionally, hospitals burn medical waste in incinerators and then deposit it into waste landfill sites. When burned, PVC produces inter alia carbon monoxide, dioxins, and chlorinated furans. The California Environmental Protection Agency has banned the permitting of any new medical waste incinerators since 2001.
Pyrolysis is the efficient method of hazardous waste disposal and recovery of valuable materials. Output from medical waste pyrolysis depends on initial waste content: waste composition determines whether to proceed with oil recovery scheme design or with a steam turbine configuration.
Example of the commercial batch pyrolysis of the medical waste shown below. Quality pyrolysis oil directly from the process is used as a fuel for burners, as a fuel for diesel engines (electricity generation), and as a heating oil.
Pyrolysis unit 
Indoor pyrolysis installation
Mixed waste
Medical waste on the conveyor
Carbon black discharge 
Carbon black unload from pyrolysis reactor
Pyrolysis oil sampling
Pyrolysis oil direct from the process
Oil and carbon black
Products of pyrolysis: non-filtered oil and carbon
black
Pyrolysis oil test
Pyrolysis oil: neutral reaction (ph=7)
Pyrolysis oil filtration
Filtering of the pyrolysis oil sample
Carbon black from the pyrolysis
Carbon black from the pyrolysis process
Pyrolysis oil after filtration
Samples of quality pyrolysis oil and carbon black
NOTE: Batch process requires quite extensive manual labour. We do not deliver batch units anymore, only the continuous ones.
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Sludge
Pyrolysis of sludge is an efficient process, which saves the environment, generates electricity and gives yield to a solid biofuel if required. Typical capacities for the delivered facilities: 100-300 tpd. If sludge has to be dried, an indirect heated rotary dryer can be utilised.
Different types of sludge is treated by the pyrolysis: sewage sludge, oil sludge, animal farm sludge, paper pulp sludge, etc. -
Biomass
Wood waste, agricultural waste like straw, and other types of biomass represent renewable source of green energy. Biomass is pyrolised, and then pyrolysis gas is used for direct electricity production. Biochar recovered from non-contaminated biomass can be either further gasified in accordance with general MPSC scheme or to be used as soil improvement agent. -
Tyres
Every year only in the United Kingdom between 25 and 30 million scrap tyres are generated. Approximately 20% of these tyres are reused: the old tread is ground off the tyre and replaced with a new tread. About half of all used tyres were dumped in landfill sites throughout the country(from July 16, 2006 a ban on the landfilling of shredded tyres came into force under the Landfill Directive).Other tyres are incinerated. Burning 1 ton of waste tyres produces about 450 kg toxic gases. The damage to the environment is obvious.
Performing pyrolysis of scrap tyres saves the environment and gives yield to valuable materials. Products of scrap tyres pyrolysis will be recovered oil, carbon black, and steel wire. Since tyres rubber contains sulphur, the recovered oil will also contain sulphur. Direct electricity generation without oil condensation eliminates this problem. Minimum capacity of the pyrolysis facility is about 20 tpd. -
ASR (Automotive Shredded Residuals)
Automotive Shredded Residue (ASR) results from the reclamation process of recyclable ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The primary source of recyclable materials comes from automobiles, trucks, buses and common household appliances such as washers, dryers and refrigerators. According to estimates from the automotive industry only in the United States about 2 billion pounds of ASR are generated annually. ASR generally consists of a mixture of plastics, rubber, glass, wood products, cloth, paper, foam, dirt, and electrical wiring. The industrial ASR pyrolysis systems implement general MPSC scheme, producing pyrolysis followed by generation of electricity. Comparing with general case of MSW pyrolysis the ASR pyrolysis system is characterised by higher efficiency power generation. -
Electronic waste
E-waste is not biodegradable and represents a global problem of modern time. Electronic appliances bodies are made of different plastics and could be used as a raw material for the pyrolysis. Disposal of Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) is a separate issue. Electronic boards represent a mixture of organic resins, fibreglass, and ceramics. Boards also contain valuable noble metals. During pyrolysis the volatile portion of the board materials will be thermally decomposed, solids (including noble metals and fiberglass) will be recycled. Direct electricity generation in accordance with the general MPSC scheme is the efficient way to treat this e-waste. -
Soil remediation
Pyrolysis technology is efficiently used for the thermal cleaning of soil. The multiple built soil remediation plants (average capacity 150-170 tpd) successfully treat soils, which have been heavily contaminated with organic pollutants such as dioxin, PCB, oil and mercury. The cleaned soil is then reutilized.
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