US 9,702,552 B2Granted

Method and system for producing energy from waste

AssigneeGreen Energy and Technology Sdn Bhd

InventorsMazlan Ali, Siti Fatimah Mohd Shariff, Christopher John Webb

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Abstract

A method and system for the conversion of waste into energy in a sealed system where combustion does not take place and the operating pressure prior to the inlet of the steam or power generating equipment is maintained below atmospheric pressure. Destruction of the RDF (refuse derived fuel) is accomplished by subjecting the RDF to a high temperature environment under controlled conditions in a purpose designed and built reactor. The high temperature environment, <5000° C., is achieved through the use of one or more non-transferred plasma torches for generation of plasma gas. The plasma gas exiting the torch and provides the thermal energy for the continual gasification of metallurgic coke configured as a carbon bed in the lower part of the reactor, which acts as a thermal catalyst and this provides the thermal energy for the gasification process.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A method for producing energy from waste comprising:

transforming raw waste to refuse derived fuel (RDF);
delivering organic and/or inorganic RDF into a an RDF blending feed hopper;
continually purging organic and/or inorganic RDF in the RDF blending feed hopper with nitrogen;
feeding the RDF from the RDF blending feed hopper to a thermal reactor via a screw feeder including a conical housing, the feeding including compressing the organic and/or inorganic RDF against the conical housing as the RDF is fed to the thermal reactor to squeeze nitrogen from the organic and/or inorganic RDF;
gasifying any organic fraction of the RDF into a syngas containing heat in a non-combustion process within the thermal reactor, wherein the gasification being a sub-stoichiometric environment;
melting any inorganic fraction of the RDF in the non-combustion process within the thermal reactor;
generating steam using the heat contained within the syngas;
cleaning and conditioning the syngas;
and
using the steam and/or the syngas as an energy source to drive equipment for generating electricity.

7 more elements

A system for producing energy from waste, the system comprising:

a sealed nitrogen purged conveyor;
a continuously nitrogen purged waste blending feed hopper configured to receive organic and/or inorganic waste from the sealed nitrogen purged conveyor;
a thermal reactor configured to produce a syngas;
a screw feeder positioned between the waste blending feed hopper and the thermal reactor and including a conical housing that is configured to compress the waste to squeeze nitrogen from the waste as the screw feeder delivers the waste the thermal reactor;
a waste heat steam generator configured to generate steam from a portion of the heat contained within the syngas;
a filter configured to clean and condition the syngas;
and
an electric generator configured to use the syngas as a fuel,
wherein the thermal reactor is adapted to receive the waste from the screw feeder, to gasify any organic fraction of the waste in a sub-stoichiometric environment into the syngas containing heat, and to melt any inorganic fraction of the waste in a non-combustion process.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.