1 Plasma and Renewable Energy Center (PREC) José L. Colón School of Engineering Universidad del Turabo

2 OUR PROBLEM Municipal Solid Waste

3 Municipal Solid Waste P.R. generates over 11,000 tons/day Most of the disposal places already closed The ones in operation are quickly becoming full, and most of them in violation of environmental regulations No land available for new fills Costs increasing Our mayor problem: Contamination of our water wells

4 Ideal Waste Disposal System That can process mixed solid and liquid waste Non polluting and environmentally safe Not requiring previous treatment or preparation That can recuperate all useful material or energy contents Final residue that could also be useful Able to process toxic and hazardous materials, medical wastes, plastics, tires, etc No land fill required Recycle, Re-use, Recovery (RRR)

5 Plasma Technology Plasma: A gas in a conductive state Very high temperatures can be produced and controlled with the electric power applied Lightning is a natural example and Electric arc welding is a produced case Does not need air to operate Can operate with any gas Available with Power levels from 100kw to 10 mw Temperatures from 4,000°C to 7,000°C

6 Process (Data for one ton of MSW)

7 Plasma Technology: Ideal for Municipal Waste Disposal Organic components: gasified into H 2 /CO fuel gas Vitrified sediment is re-usable for a variety of applications Hazardous and toxic components broken into basic elements Heavy metals, etc. are immobilized in a glass rock

8 Municipal Waste: Ideal for Plasma Torch Technology Organic components: Will provide enough fuel to generate the needed electricity for the process plus a significant extra amount that can be used for other useful purposes

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10 Tests Done at Georgia Tech Heavy metals Low radioactive waste Industrial waste Solid municipal waste Oven dust Organic solid and liquid waste PCB’s Asbestos ashes Chemical wastes Bio-medical wastes Plastics Used tires

11 Tiles Fabricated With Vitreous Residue Proved to Be Superior to the Ones With Recycled Glass

12 Systems in Operation France: process asbestos ashes Madison, PA: toxic waste destruction Japan: process junk autos Jonquiere, Canada: aluminum recovery Jackson, GA: will process used tires

13 Universidad del Turabo Activities Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO): (proposal) Prototype unit to process municipal solid wastes NASA: (proposal) Hydrogen production Compact Plasma Demonstration Unit

14 Plasma and Renewable Energy Center (PREC) “Development of a plasma prototype unit for educational and demonstration purposes” Design and build a compact plasma unit Demonstrate the efficacy of the process Test the characteristics of gasifying various types of feeds Training professional and technical personnel Conduct research and development Test an Uninterruptible Power Supply system fed by the installed Solar Photovoltaic (PV) panels to supply the Center

15 Thanks