Municipal Solid Waste Pyrolysis – Trash Cooking 101
What to do with mun
icipal solid waste (trash) has long been a topic of often heated discussion. For years the answer in one form or another has been to burn it (incineration) or bury it (landfills), but is there a better way? At Compton Conversion Consortium we believe the answer to that question is a resounding yes, Municipal Solid Waste Pyrolysisor in layman’s terms “trash cooking.“
Pyrolysis in the process by which organic (carbon containing) compounds are heated in the absence of oxygen and broken down into simpler more basic components. In the case of Municipal Solid Waste Pyrolysis, the organic compounds are ordinary garbage and the products they are converted into are oil, gas and carbon. Pyrolysis, is an ancient process, first developed thousands of years ago in eastern areas of the Mediterranean Sea, to produce tar (pitch) used to seal the hulls of ships. (For more on the history and uses of Pyrolysis, see Bill’s Journey from Landfill to Pyrolysis)
While Pyrolysis is not new, it’s use to process Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a recent development. Pyrolysis comes in many forms. There are fast processes and slow processes, high temperature and lower temperature processes. One drawback to most types of Pyrolysis is that they require the “organic compounds” to be “homogeneous” that is they must be uniform and only one substance. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) however, is about as “heterogeneous” (made up of different substances) as it gets.
This is one of the things that makes Bill Compton’s process for Municipal Solid Waste Pyrolysis different. It is designed to work with a heterogeneous feed stock (MSW, trash, garbage, refuse, or whatever else you wish to call it). In addition the process takes place at a relatively low temperature (725 F) and at normal atmospheric pressure. At this lower temperature metals do not vaporize and harmful products such as dioxins and do not form. This makes Bill’s form of Municipal Solid Waste Pyrolysis, safer than higher temperature processes or incineration. The diagram below, though oversimplified, shows how the process works and the resulting products of oil, carbon and gas. The process has been proven in a test plant as well as a small demonstration plant. For more on Bill’s pioneering work see the “History” section in the “About” menu above.
Advantages of Municipal Solid Waste Pyrolysis
- It is safer and more environmentally friendly than incineration and land filling and many other gasification processes.
- It takes trash and converts it into valuable new products, 0il, carbon and gas.
- It allows for the recovery of metals and glass either before or after the process.
- It is suitable for a mixed (heterogeneous) waste stream.
- It complements traditional recycling efforts.
- It preserves land for agricultural or other uses that would be taken up by land fills.
- It creates jobs.
- It has the potential to reduce the carbon footprint by reducing the distances that trash is hauled, by reducing the machinery that is used to handle the trash at the land fill, and by sequestering carbon in products which would otherwise be used for fuel or released as landfill gases.
- It’s sustainable by reusing products that are thrown away, they can be recycled again and again.
Compton Conversion Consortium
Compton Conversion Consortium is being formed to educate people about the process, promote and develop the process into commercial applications of varying scale and to encourage traditional recycling efforts. If you are interested in becoming a part of the Consortium, wish to support our efforts or wish more information about Municipal Solid Waste Pyrolysis, please see our FAQ or contact Paul Rhodes at 316-461-0246 or by using the contact form on our contact page.
Thank You!
