I do not have the material on the originator but they obviously have
a deliverable. We also get no idea of the process energetics or
catalyst efficiencies. However the simple achievement on its own is
extremely promising. This result can be also produced by high
pressure reforming, or close enough.
If it can be done well enough and cheap enough then this is certainly
important. Partial reforming could isolate the non organics,
hopefully eliminate organic acids in the tar and convert a serious
portion into fuel that as stated can then be polished to commercial
standards.
I then interviewed Don Allan and confirmed the following:
1 The process does not use pressure.
2 It is operated below the charring temperature.
3 The catalyst is readily available and cheap making its cost
insignifica
4 Yield from an organic feedstock is 75% diesel, 20% tar and 5%
water. This is excellent.
This is obviously perfect for all municipal waste streams in which
black sewage sludge can be blended with shredded garbage and then
processed. Non-organics can be easily separated a at 300 degrees as
the tar will be like water.
I can not imagine the economics not working out for this technology
simply because the municipal feedstock is already in deliverable form
in most cities and municipalities. It is a sunk cost and besides,
the cities are natural plant buyers or financial partners at least
for a piece of the revenue.
“Revolutionary”
plant promises to turn local garbage into diesel fuel.
Red Deer Advocate,
January 31, 2013
Blue Horizon
Industries Inc. president and CEO Don Allan, left, talks with plant
operator Peter Shushmaruk and executive vice-president Darcy Grahn,
right, during an open house at the Blindman Industrial Area business
on Wednesday.
Photo by Jeff
Stokoe/Red Deer Advocate.
A Red Deer company
wants to turn local garbage into fuel – and it insists it’s got
the technology to do so. Blue Horizon Bio-Diesel Inc. Conducted a
demonstration in a Blindman Industrial Park shop on Wednesday,
feeding a mix of municipal solid waste, sawdust, used motor oil and a
special “catalyst” into a scaled-down plant, which churned out a
small quantity of diesel fuel a short time later.
About 60 people
watched the display, including Red Deer Mayor Morris Flewwelling and
officials from at least three other municipalities. Also in
attendance were representatives of the provincial and federal
governments, investors and official from recycling companies, said
Don Allan, president and CEO of Blue Horizon.
What you’re looking
at is revolutionary,” he told his audience.
“We believe garbage
is the wave of the future for us. We believe it’s a multi-trillion
dollar business.”
Allan said later that
Blue Horizon hopes to begin work on a commercial scale plant
immediately. It would produce about 700 litres of diesel fuel an
hour; as compared with the approximately 50 litres per hour that the
demonstration plant generates.
“If everything goes
well, we’ll be in operation by late August,” he said, adding that
there’s some uncertainty about the timelines required to obtain
regulatory approvals.
Allan said Blue
Horizon would like to locate the plant at Red Deer’s waste
management facility, and ultimately connect it to five other
similar-sized facilities.
“Our goal is to have
35-million litres a year being produced right her in Red Deer.”
He acknowledged that
his company has had only preliminary discussions with the city, but
he’s optimistic talks will pick up now that the technology is on
display.
The demonstration
plant was developed by a German company about six years ago, said
Allan. It was at the Alcoa Inc. research site in Nevada when Blue
Horizon purchased the equipment. Blue Horizon has also obtained the
exclusive right of first refusal for other countries, he said.
Allan listed Mexico,
the United Kingdom, Cuba, Brazil and Argentina as among the countries
Blue Horizon is talking to.
“Everybody has trash
problems,” he said, “They’re looking for a solution, and we
have a solution.”
The demonstration
plant produces bunker diesel, said Allan, which is suitable
off-highway applications like powering mining equipment and as an
additive to bitumen to allow it to flow in a pipeline. Modifications
to Blue Horizon’s commercial plants – including the addition of a
desulphurization unit and a hydrotreater – will improve the fuel
considerably, he said.
“We want to make the
highest quality diesel in North America.”
Allan added that Blue
Horizon’s diesel could be marketed to fuel blenders to satisfy
Alberta’s renewable fuel standard, which requires that diesel fuel
sold in the province contains at least two per cent renewable fuel.
“Right now they
can’t get it, so they have to bring it in from the States.”
Suitable input for the
production process includes plastics, paper, cardboard, sawdust and
woodchips, tires and waste oil from vehicles or even well sites.
“In a perfect world,
we want to use 75 per cent renewables and 25 per cent used oil,”
said Allan, pointing out that the ratio on Wednesday was 50-50. The
mixture was mixed with catalyst and heated to 300 and 330C.
“The intent is to
take the molecules and break them down into a long strand,” said
Allan. “Then we’re able to pull the hydrocarbons out of that
molecule strand.”
Byproducts of the
process are carbon dioxide, water and a tarry material that could be
used in the production of asphalt, said Allan.
A catalytic converter
incinerates most of the harmful emissions, he added.
“it’s the greenest
refinery ever built in the world.”
Central Alberta has
flirted with the waste-to-energy technology in the past.
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