changing the way communities deal with waste
FAQ
About the Plasco Conversion System
For a detailed description of how the Plasco Conversion System works, please visit the ‘The Plasco Process’ section of our website.
The Products of the Plasma Conversion System
For every tonne of waste processed with the Plasco Conversion System you get:
- · 1.0 MWh of electricity (net value)
- · 300 liters of water for reuse
- · 7 – 15 kilograms of metal
- · 150 kilograms of construction aggregate
Based on municipal solid waste with a calorific value of 14,200 MJ/Tonne
Environmental Performance
For data on the overall emissions from a Plasco facility, please visit the ‘Our Performance’ section of our website.
Time Required to Build a Plant
A Plasco facility can be commissioned within 18 -24 months after all necessary permits have been obtained.
Continuous Monitoring Vs. Source Testing
Testing emissions continuously using continuous emissions monitoring (CEM) equipment is the safest and most transparent monitoring, and is Plasco’s method of choice. However, CEM technology is not commercially available to measure all substances. For those substances for which there are no CEM systems, sample testing is still required.
Plasco Energy Group Inc. currently implements the very best continuous emissions monitoring equipment for SOX, NOX, HCl and organic matter. Our research and development team is constantly researching new methods of monitoring emissions. Plasco will be implementing emerging technologies for continuous emissions monitoring of other contaminants such as mercury and dioxins as they become available. We will also be testing other systems that can detect minute amounts of other stack-tested criteria on a continuous basis
Could Plasco dig up existing dumps/landfills and process that garbage?
Digging up existing dumps is not as efficient environmentally or economically as dealing with the massive quantity of new waste we landfill every day. However, Plasco is open to situations where using landfilled waste makes sense to supplement new waste streams.
Budgetary Certainty with Plasco
We offer predictable tipping fees over a 20-year period. As part of the contract with a city, the tipping fees escalate only according to a mutually agreed upon fraction of the inflation rate. In this way, the City knows how much it will be paying over the 20-year period and the City can minimize the risk of price volatility.
Ultimate Recovery: Recycling What’s Left Over
Plasco plants are meant to be part of an integrated waste management system. Our solution is for waste that recycling programs can’t deal with economically. We want municipalities to be effective at removing glass, metal and any other part of the municipal waste that can have a use or create value. There are many plastics that can and should be recycled. But there are many that simply can’t be recycled in a way that is both economical and beneficial to the environment. Even with tremendous improvement in our ability to recycle and reuse there will be a massive waste problem. Plasco provides a solution that recovers all the value of residual waste material.
Testing of Construction Aggregate
Independent testing has been done on the aggregate product. The testing conducted on the “slag” produced from our technology that is sold as construction aggregate was performed in accordance with Ontario Ministry of Environment standards. These tests show that our slag is completely inert. In fact the tests found that it actually outperforms soda pop bottles you buy at the grocery store. Each plant will be required to have its slag independently tested.
The Market for Construction Aggregate
The construction aggregate that our slag can be used for currently sells for between $9 and $19 a tonne depending on where you are in North America. It is in high demand and currently is surfaced mined, which also produces greenhouse gases and defaces the land it is mined from. Using our recycled material for construction aggregate eliminates these greenhouse gases and ugly scars on the land.
A Plasco Facility Can Be a Net Producer of Potable Quality Water
Municipal Solid Waste typically contains between 20% and 35% moisture. This moisture is removed from the syngas and treated to a community’s desired standards for beneficial use.
Dealing With Hazardous Waste in the Waste Stream
Any large waste that has greater value being recycled or that should be sent elsewhere is manually removed. In cases where such waste cannot be removed, a Plasco plant has excess capacity to absorb any unexpected spikes caused by certain types of garbage – even material that is illegal to throw out but sometimes still finds its way into the waste stream. In the case of batteries, the metals would be cleaned from the gas (the quantity will not impact the effectiveness of the cleaning). Essentially, they will be removed through our cleaning process and sent for controlled disposal, where they should have been sent to begin with. Had they been sent to landfill, they would be left to pollute our land and water resources.
Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Processing waste through the Plasco Conversion System reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in two ways. First, it eliminates the methane that would form if the waste were landfilled – this is significant since methane has a global warming potential 23 times that of carbon dioxide (CO2). Second, power generated from our process displaces power from other sources such as coal, natural gas, or oil. The result is that a Plasco Facility reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
A Plasco facility can improve local air quality and reduce a community’s carbon footprint.