Biomass & Non Recyclable Plastic to Liquid Fuel Landfill ... · ETIA S.A.S. Biogreen? France...

© Lorenz Bauer 2018

Lorenz [email protected]

Biomass & Non Recyclable Plastic to Liquid FuelLandfill & Carbon Reduction


The Problem With Plastic and Organic Wastes Has Reached a Critical Stage

• In January 2018 China banned consumer recycles requiring 111 million metric tons to find a new home over the next decade.

• Public awareness of the plastics in the ocean has increased.

• Landfills are reaching capacities.

• Incineration based waste to energy plants are under public and economic pressure.

• Over 91% of potentially recyclable plastic in the U.S. ended up in landfills — or worse, in the oceans before the China Band.

• Europe does a little better, with only 70 percent getting tossed.

• These total do not include materials that are contaminated and that cannot be recycled.


• Recycling for reuse is preferred but limited by contamination and sorting issues.

• Depolymerization requires sorting and separation.• Combustion waste to energy plants are disfavored

by both the government and public.• Biomass waste producers have been looking for

alternatives to process lignocellusic materials like wood wastes, nutshells etc.

• Cement Kilns can use plastics as replacement for higher fuel carbonaceous materials. Limited numbers available.

Limitations of Alternatives to Landfilling


Co-Processing of Plastic and BiomassWastes Can Be Part of the Solution

-Pyrolysis (thermal treatment in absence of oxygen produces) a mixture of liquids, solid andchar in amounts and quantities that depend oncontact time, temperature and atmosphere. A variety of configurations are possible includingslow batch pyrolysis, continuous flow pyrolysis, fast pyrolysis. Adding biomass will require aqueous product management

-Gasification- high temperature treatment to produce a gaseous product (syngas). The syngas can be burned as a clean fuel to generate electricity or converted to a high quality drop in liquid fuel using Fischer Tropes or methanol.

-Hydrothermal Liquefaction treats waste with water and/or other solvents at higher pressure and lower temperature than pyrolysis. Feed pretreatments requirements, particularly drying) are reduced. Product water is recycled.

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Pyrolysis to Fuel Plant


Gasification Plant Diagram


Advantages

• These technologies heat the feed in oxygen free reactors in which it is possible to control gas emissions.

• Coprocessing biomass and plastic increases the variety and sources of feed allows for larger plants and economy of scale.

• Thermochemical treatment is much less sensitive to contamination than recycling and less sorting and pretreatment is required.

• Products include liquids that can serve as fuel.

• Liquid fuels do not compete with solar, wind and other renewable electric energy projects.

• Collection and supply chains in place for municipal and biowastes.

• There is likely a synergy in coprocessing biomass and plastic that produces higher liquid carbon yields

– Polymers can donate hydrogen to carbon deficient lignin.


Greenhouse Gas ReductionFor Plastic & Biomass

• Argonne labs reported that using pyrolysis to convert non-recycled plastics into ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel results in energy and environmental benefits.

• These include reductions of up to 14 percent in greenhouse gas emissions, up to 58 percent in water consumption, and up to 96 percent in traditional energy use when compared to ULSD from conventional crude oil

• Woody biomass qualifies for non cellulosic fuel RINS and TAX credits in the US increasing its value as a product.


• Tipping fees in US vary from $37-68 per ton in 2017, an increase of 7% over the prior year.

• Liquid products command a premium price and can potentially produce value added chemicals and transportation fuel.

• Green field projects are estimated to cost $2 to $8 million for a 10 ton/day unit depending on location and technology.

• Return on investments for plastic plants are claimed to be 2-5 years by technology providers.

Economics


Large number of small commercial Pyrolysis Projects

Company #

Plants

Location Plant Type, Throughput

Tons/day

Beston ? Many Modular Pyrolysis 10-50

Agile 1 Oregon, USA Pilot Pyrolysis <10

Recycling Technologies (Plaxx™) 1[ Swindon, UK Pilot Pyrolysis 18

Cynar /Suez * 1 Avenmouth UKK, Demo 20

Cynar * 1 Almeria , Span Demo ?

GB Pyrolyzis 75 Various Small Commercial 10

GGI Many Various Modular 20

Integrated Green Energy Solutions ? Grimsby, UK Planned 20

Global Renewables 1 New York, USA ?

Klean Industries 3 Japan Small Commercial 50

Vadxx 1 Ohio, USA Pilot 20 ?

Pyreco* 1 UK Pilot ?

Anergy 200+ Various Modular/ electric Gen ?

Plastic Energy 2 Spain Demo ?

PARC 2 China Modular 10

Plastic2Oil (JBI) 3 USA Modular 20

Pyrocrat Systems 20 South Africa Various Small Commercial 3-28


Small Pyrolysis Projects (cont.)Company # Plants Location Plant Type, Throughput

Tons/day

Cassandra Oil 2 Swedan, Span Pilot/small commercial 48

PARC 2 China Modular 10

Plastic2Oil (JBI) 3 USA Modular 20

Pyrocrat Systems 20 South Africa Various Small Commercial 3-28

Renewlogy 1 Utah Pilot ?

RES Polyflow 1 USA Pilot 30 planned

Tourian* 1 Tees Valley Pilot ?

Pyrooil 1 Netherlands Pyrolysis ?

OORJA India Pyrolysis ?

Henin Doing Many Multinational Tire Pyrolysis

Natural Plastic Systems UK Plasma Gasification

MK Aromatics Ltd ? India Pyrolysis ?

Nexus Fuels, LLC ? Atlanta. Georga Pyrolysis ?

IGE Solutions Amsterdam BV 1 Amsterdam Pyrolysis 10 planned

Resynergi ? California Microwave pyrolysis 2


Larger Commercial ProjectsMostly Gas to Liquids

Company # Plants Location Plant Type, Throughput

Tons/day

Quantafuel- Norway 1 Norway Pyrolysis GTL ?

Sustane 1 Chester, UK Pyrolysis 190 (planned)

American Recycling Tech 20 Various Pyrolysis/GTL Up 74

Resynergi ? California Microwave pyrolysis 2

ETIA S.A.S. Biogreen ? France Pyrolysis/gasification ?

Velocys 2 USA Gasification FT 380

BTE Maryland HTL

Fulcrum 1 USA Gasification FT 1500

Advanced Plasma Power UK Plasma Gasification ?

Enerkem 1 Canada Gasification Methanol >100

Neste Oil Finland Unknown ?

Licella 1 Australia HTL- Demo

Steeper 2 Denmark/Canada HTL- Demo

Altaca 1 Turkey HTL- Demo

* Companies with known financial problems


Opportunities For Development• Governments and industries are highly motivated to find

alternatives to landfilling.• None of the current commercial offerings are at a scale

appropriate for a major city.• Commercial plants are small and typical operations are batch.

High throughput continuous plants would be an advantage,• Coprocessing plastic and biomass is claimed by some but

there are is a lack of information about the yields and product quality.

• While technologies exist for metal and chlorine management improvements are possible.

• New catalysts could increase liquid yields and product quality.

• Upgrading of biooil to transportation fuel is still not developed.


Politics• Environmental groups would prefer

to significantly reduce single use plastic products or to recycle the plastics.

• Regulators often are confused with how to classify the technology and they often are not aligned with current incentives and mandates.

• Need to clearly distinguish pyrolysis from incineration.

• Need to co-process food and agricultural wastes to meet landfill reduction targets and renewable carbon requirements in fuel.

Typical Municipal Waste Composition


Conclusions• Thermochemical waste treatment provides a near term

solution to problems with filling landfills and reluctance to use traditional waste to energy technologies.

• There is an opportunity to solve both biomass and plastic waste problems.

• Many groups are trying to take advantage of this opportunity.

• Based on past experience many of these efforts will fail (only 8 of 23 plastic pyrolysis companies identified in a 2011 study still are in operation)

• Waste managers need help understanding their options and selecting technologies.


– Technology Evaluation

– Technical Due Diligence

– Intellectual Property Review

– Pretreatment

– Conversion

– Product Separation and Upgrading

– Associated with Lee Enterprises Consulting

Contact: [email protected]

Offices in Houston and Chicago

Phone: 847-778-8685

mailto:[email protected]

Biomass & Non Recyclable Plastic to Liquid Fuel Landfill ... · ETIA S.A.S. Biogreen? France...

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