| Source: | UFTO |
|---|---|
| Date: | 3/15/97 Record No.: 10429 |
| Contact: | Robert H. Enslow San Francisco, CA 415-775-7020, fax 415-775-7028, enslow_rh@msn.com Bruce S. Owen San Francisco, CA 415-567-8600, fax 415-346-2444 |
Waste Tire Gasification
Waste Gasification Technology, Inc (WGTI) is a startup company with a technology to convert waste tires into oil and gas fuels, while producing no smoke, pollution or odor, and leaving only a small amount of solid residue. The fuels can be used to generate steam and/or electricity, or to provide heat for industrial users (e.g. fruit drying or plywood manufacture).
The process is called "air gasification" and differs significantly from other means used to dispose of tires, such as direct combustion (cofiring with coal, fluid bed, etc.) or pyrolysis. In effect, it reverses the process by which rubber is obtained from petroleum through a series of chemical reactions including controlled combustion.
A typical 3-ton per hour plant (approx. 2.2 million tires/year) would produce 0.5 million million BTU per year of gas similar to propane, and 0.3 MMBTU of medium grade oil suitable for heating or electric power generation. 15% of these fuels would be used for the process itself, and the balance could then be sold to nearby industrial users, or supply supplemental fuel to an electric power or steam plant (sufficient for 10 MW or 100,000 lb/hour steam).
The process was extensively tested under field conditions in a 1/3 size prototype plant (100 tires/hour) several years ago in Oregon. Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality supervised air quality and environmental monitoring of the plant, which showed little or no evidence of sulfur emissions. (Due to lower temperatures of the process, the sulfur tends to stay with the char rather than forming SOx.) This program was interrupted by the untimely death of the inventor in 1992. Ownership of the patent and other assets have only recently emerged from probate.
As new owners of the rights to the process, WGTI is now prepared to move forward, first with a re-installation of the prototype plant near a major tire pile in Tulare County in Southern California. Upon success of this program, including certification by the various environmental authorities, full size plants would be established at various sites in California and elsewhere. Investment capital is needed for these efforts. Technical details and business plans are available.
| Topics: | ENVIRONMENT |
|---|---|
| Keywords: |