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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>New developments in industrial scale gasification. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><a href="http://betterbtutechnology.blogspot.com/2012/08/large-scale-efw-company-covanta-gets-on.html?goback=%2Egde_2401449_member_146257078">http://betterbtutechnology.blogspot.com/2012/08/large-scale-efw-company-covanta-gets-on.html?goback=%2Egde_2401449_member_146257078</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal>For anyone out there who is still skeptical of gasification we offer you this: when one of the world’s largest energy from waste (EfW) companies climbs on board the gasification train, you know the technology is here to stay.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0><tr><td style='padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><a href="http://www.rewmag.com/FileUploads/image/Covantaunitlowres.jpg"><span style='text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=400 height=265 id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image001.jpg@01CD7C4B.FBC9F300" alt="Description: http://www.rewmag.com/FileUploads/image/Covantaunitlowres.jpg"></span></a><o:p></o:p></p></td></tr><tr><td style='padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'>Courtesy: Covanta, REW Mag. <o:p></o:p></p></td></tr></table><p class=MsoNormal>Covanta Energy, owner and operator of more than 40 EfW facilities in the U.S. and Europe announced plans to commercialize a gasification unit it has been testing at the Covanta WBH site in Tulsa, Okla. The unit has just completed a 10-month test run, processing 350 tons of post-recycled municipal waste per day. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The adoption of gasification technology marks a significant shift in Covanta’s stance on waste to energy. The company, which uses a mass burn process at the majority of its facilities, has previously felt that separation of materials and new technology such as gasification, was unnecessary. Covanta has always been focused on producing the maximum amount of reusable energy from its feedstock and has been quoted as saying the high cost of sorting and recycling didn’t justify the difference it made:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>“Within the [waste] hierarchy, the most debated and potentially contentious boundary is that separation of waste for recycling and recovery. It is accurate that as a general rule a high level of separation of waste for recycling is desirable before the residues are diverted towards recovery (generally, energy recovery). However, the costs of segregation and of reprocessing tend to increase significantly as ever higher percentages are achieved while quality, contamination issues, and the additional activities required to achieve the higher percentages often reduce the environmental benefit. Thus the marginal cost-benefits of very high levels of recycling may not be favorable.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> - Covanta Energy Comments on: National Waste Policy Discussion Paper<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Similarly, Covanta had previously said that gasification was unnecessary due to the fact that large-scale EfW plants had developed sophisticated back-end cleanup systems to keep hazardous gases from escaping into the air. The changes in Covanta’s views on gasification signify an ongoing revolution towards cleaner waste-to-energy processes. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://media.marketwire.com/attachments/201203/24280_CovantaLogo.jpg"><span style='text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=306 height=150 id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image002.jpg@01CD7C4B.FBC9F300" alt="Description: http://media.marketwire.com/attachments/201203/24280_CovantaLogo.jpg"></span></a>Although Better BTU has not been able to find out specifics on Covanta’s gasification system, it appears to be a partial-oxidation technology that heats the MSW to high temperatures to create a syngas. The syngas is then combusted and processed through an energy recovery system followed by an emissions control system. The company has not released the energy value of the syngas.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Covanta headquarters says the successful demonstration will allow the company to market its CLEERGAS (Covanta Low Emissions Energy Recovery Gasification System) to clients interested in the technology. Interestingly enough, the company has not made announcements that it plans to use the technology in any other existing or new facilities and President and CEO Anthony J. Orlando had this to say on the Q2 2012 Results – Earnings Call:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>“We believe this technology will enable us to be more competitive on small units and that opens new markets. The level of interest we’ve seen thus far is encouraging and we’re now exploring several opportunities. We believe this technology will be an important part of our long-term growth. But I don’t want to get anybody too excited, I’m talking long-term. Development and implementation of energy from waste projects take years.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>So while it is extremely encouraging to see the EfW giant embracing gasification, it sounds like we still have a ways to go before it replaces the traditional mass burn facility. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>For anyone out there who is still skeptical of gasification we offer you this: when one of the world’s largest energy from waste (EfW) companies climbs on board the gasification train, you know the technology is here to stay.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0><tr><td style='padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><a href="http://www.rewmag.com/FileUploads/image/Covantaunitlowres.jpg"><span style='text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=400 height=265 id="Picture_x0020_4" src="cid:image001.jpg@01CD7C4B.FBC9F300" alt="Description: http://www.rewmag.com/FileUploads/image/Covantaunitlowres.jpg"></span></a><o:p></o:p></p></td></tr><tr><td style='padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'>Courtesy: Covanta, REW Mag. <o:p></o:p></p></td></tr></table><p class=MsoNormal>Covanta Energy, owner and operator of more than 40 EfW facilities in the U.S. and Europe announced plans to commercialize a gasification unit it has been testing at the Covanta WBH site in Tulsa, Okla. The unit has just completed a 10-month test run, processing 350 tons of post-recycled municipal waste per day. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The adoption of gasification technology marks a significant shift in Covanta’s stance on waste to energy. The company, which uses a mass burn process at the majority of its facilities, has previously felt that separation of materials and new technology such as gasification, was unnecessary. Covanta has always been focused on producing the maximum amount of reusable energy from its feedstock and has been quoted as saying the high cost of sorting and recycling didn’t justify the difference it made:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>“Within the [waste] hierarchy, the most debated and potentially contentious boundary is that separation of waste for recycling and recovery. It is accurate that as a general rule a high level of separation of waste for recycling is desirable before the residues are diverted towards recovery (generally, energy recovery). However, the costs of segregation and of reprocessing tend to increase significantly as ever higher percentages are achieved while quality, contamination issues, and the additional activities required to achieve the higher percentages often reduce the environmental benefit. Thus the marginal cost-benefits of very high levels of recycling may not be favorable.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> - Covanta Energy Comments on: National Waste Policy Discussion Paper<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Similarly, Covanta had previously said that gasification was unnecessary due to the fact that large-scale EfW plants had developed sophisticated back-end cleanup systems to keep hazardous gases from escaping into the air. The changes in Covanta’s views on gasification signify an ongoing revolution towards cleaner waste-to-energy processes. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Although Better BTU has not been able to find out specifics on Covanta’s gasification system, it appears to be a partial-oxidation technology that heats the MSW to high temperatures to create a syngas. The syngas is then combusted and processed through an energy recovery system followed by an emissions control system. The company has not released the energy value of the syngas.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Covanta headquarters says the successful demonstration will allow the company to market its CLEERGAS (Covanta Low Emissions Energy Recovery Gasification System) to clients interested in the technology. Interestingly enough, the company has not made announcements that it plans to use the technology in any other existing or new facilities and President and CEO Anthony J. Orlando had this to say on the Q2 2012 Results – Earnings Call:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>“We believe this technology will enable us to be more competitive on small units and that opens new markets. The level of interest we’ve seen thus far is encouraging and we’re now exploring several opportunities. We believe this technology will be an important part of our long-term growth. But I don’t want to get anybody too excited, I’m talking long-term. Development and implementation of energy from waste projects take years.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>So while it is extremely encouraging to see the EfW giant embracing gasification, it sounds like we still have a ways to go before it replaces the traditional mass burn facility. <o:p></o:p></p><p><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>