DPS Global's new system turns waste into energy.
Credit: DPS Global
Green technology specialists DPS Global have developed a new technology that turns waste from the industrial sector into energy.
The company says the technology enables manufacturing and engineering companies to turn their hazardous and troublesome waste streams – from contaminated plastics to aircraft and automotive interiors - into heat, and offers a commercially viable and environmentally sustainable alternative to incineration and landfill.
The technology involves staged and separated pyrolysis and gasification of industrial and hazardous wastes to produce small amounts of ash and heat. This enables industrial plants to utilise their waste as a substitute for fossil fuels thereby reducing CO2 emissions and heating bills by as much as £100,000 per annum, dependent on feed volumes, the company claims.
The technology also significantly reduces the cost of waste disposal by diverting it from landfill or incineration and through its capability to be positioned close to the source of waste.
DPS Global managing director Neil Young says: “Most wastes have a high carbon and hydrogen content, which is exactly what fossil fuels contain. It is the reaction of the carbon and hydrogen with oxygen which releases the energy which can be used in industrial operations.
“However, waste can contain other pollutants which can be released into the atmosphere when processed in a traditional incinerator. However our new pioneering technology is the first economically-viable small-scale unit to separate the carbon and hydrogen from the rest of the waste, extracting the fuel we need while leaving the pollutants in the ash from the process. The resulting ash is typically just 5-10 per cent of the original waste.
“Deployment of the technology will help the industrial sector enhance its environmental credentials by providing a real alternative to incineration or landfill for the treatment of their hazardous and troublesome wastes.
“In short the ST series has been designed to offer a viable, low-emissions alternative, treating waste at source and recovering the energy for use onsite. This turns waste into a fuel source. It provides significant payback in terms of savings on energy and waste disposal costs at a time when both are rising and hitting the bottom line in the industrial sector.”
DPS Global’s compact model is capable of processing up to 250kg per hour and generating heat output of up to 700kWth, which can be reclaimed for use in manufacturing processes or heating buildings. It accepts around 85 per cent of the European waste catalogue of materials with no pre-treatment required and can also be easily integrated into existing industrial infrastructure to provide energy for heating and hot water in these premises.
