1) What is the cost of a plant and how quickly will it pay for itself?
There are a number of factors that all combine so that there is no such thing as 1 answer fits all. Regional costs (fuel, feedstock, labor, materials, transportation, permits, site location) coupled with the type of system needed make answering that question dependent on yet more variables (tipping fees, electric rates, fuel cost, local regulations/incentives, etc.). Until our Questionnaire is filled out and evaluated there is no practical or meaningful answer to these key questions.
2) Where do you sell your plants?
Worldwide.
3) What size is the material that you feed into the plant?
Our plants can be designed to handle a wide variety of feed-stocks and capacities. The feedstock size is a function of the system type. There is a range from material from what comes off the truck to small and shredded. The smaller material size and material sorting obviously comes with processing costs. The BTU value, moisture content and applicable regulations will all affect the material sizing to a certain degree.
4) What type of material should not go in the plant?
Unless they are specifically designed for, certain hazardous and highly corrosive materials should be avoided. Large amounts of inorganic non-carbon based materials such as metal, glass and cement should be avoided to optimize plant efficiency. If required, a plant can be built to handle multiple/varied feed streams, but in most cases to optimize the equipment cost a plant is designed for specific material(s) and volumes.
5) Are emissions a problem or hazard?
NO! The technologies meet or exceed current EPA and EU standards. See the emission results posted with the details of each technology. Notice that they are cleaner than required by a large margin of safety even when disposing of one of the most difficult materials to recycle environmentally and safely – Municipal Solid Waste.
6) How long does it take to get a plant up and running once we place an order?
Approximately 12 – 18 months once a permitted site with needed utilities is in hand and the construction has begun based on delivery of all systems being timely.
7) How reliable are the plants?
The plants are designed with a 24/7 operation in mind. There is a life expectancy of 15 -20 years based on quality and design. Plants are monitored via the internet with self correction feedback, safety and shut down features. Redundant controls are incorporated to maximize safety and prevent problems. Service and maintenance would be 1 or 2 times per year for a week or 2.
8) What are the beneficial by-products that are produced?
This depends on what the customer wants to produce.. The primary output is a high BTU clean gas from which there is a multitude of potential uses. There could be any or a combination of the following: electricity, steam, large space heating, drying, saleable carbon char, syn-gas distillates/ bio-oils/fuels, distilled water, green tag energy credits, and carbon credits once the trading programs are implemented.
9) How safe is the unit to have near a residential area?
Emission and test data show that the plants exceed the toughest air quality standards such as those of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD). They are much cleaner and greener than many factories, generating stations and other common industrial facilities. Our facilities are designed with multiple built-in safety redundancies.
10) How is the plant constructed?
The basic waste to energy plant package and other key major components are designed and sized for the feedstock and quantity (TPD) of your choice based on the desired plant output. Engineering, supervision, training and support are available as needed/requested to construct and operate the plant. Some companies require certain oversight and supervision roles to provide warranty and performance guarantees.
11) What are the major site requirements?
The plants need access to the major utilities - electric transmission lines (interconnection facilities), gas (or landfill gas) and water. The site must be serviced by road and/or rail to allow both delivery of feedstocks and shipping of saleable by-products. The site must have sufficient space for feedstock storage and processing, the plant and the saleable by-products.
12) How does Waste to Energy technology differ from other clean energy sources like Wind and Solar?
While all these technologies produce clean power, these waste to energy technologies have the added benefits of recycling already discarded resources, reducing pollution and being able to generate power or fuels near urban centers from otherwise unusable sites like landfills.
