Creare LLC will present an innovative waste-to-energy system at the US Navy’s Forum for SBIR/STTR Transition at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell in Lowell, MA on April 10-11, 2019.  Creare LLC is developing the system with Cogent Energy Systems under funding with the U.S. Navy. The system is designed to convert up to 4 tons of mixed waste a day into pure syngas which will fuel a converted diesel generator, with the potential to create about 800 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per ton of municipal solid waste. The system was recently highlighted in an article on the Waste 360 website, a forum focused on the waste and recycling business.

Responsible waste disposal is an important challenge as the world population continues to grow, concern about the environment increases, and energy costs rise. Landfills are unsustainable and have potential to contaminate groundwater, while incineration consumes fuel and can produce hazardous airborne emissions. In response, we are developing a plasma gasification system that will enable environmentally responsible and economical waste disposal. Our system  has the potential to produce more electric power than it consumes.

Cogent has developed the gasifier technology. Creare has designed and fabricated the system components that prepare the waste and deliver the syngas to the generator set. The gasification technology breaks down waste into the basic building blocks of carbon monoxide and hydrogen.  These elements can be used to make biofuels, electricity, methanol and other products. The gasifier  converts waste at temperatures up to 10,000 degrees Celsius which yields several advantages compared to systems operating at lower temperatures. First, it decomposes waste more completely to produce a cleaner syngas. Second, the syngas is produced directly in one step, eliminating the intermediate steps required by lower temperature systems.

Waste-to-Energy System Can Process a Range of Materials

Creare and Cogent are on-track to achieve the Navy’s goal of processing one ton of unsorted waste per day from a compact and portable system. A diverse mix of materials has been successfully processed including flour, sugar, construction and demolition waste, pyrolysis oil and hog feed. The system is also tolerant of materials in the waste stream that contain no energy value such as glass, nails and various metals. These inorganic materials simply melt and fall through to be re-purposed as road aggregate or hardscape products. Creare expects to complete initial system testing during Q3 2019.