plastics
It’s Easy Being Green Superheated Steam Dryer — Introducing a new Biomass drying technology that’s as environmentally conscious as you are. The Superheated Steam Dryer incorporates a unique technology that uses super heated steam as a medium to dry a wide range of products in a closed-loop system. This dryer can handle moist material — from wood chips to paper pulp.
High energy recovery through optimal heat exchange Safe for the environment Controls product moisture and quality Ideal for bark, wood chips, sawdust, cellulose derivatives and paper pulp
The environmental benefits are impressive: no particulate emissions are released into the atmosphere and energy recovery is between 80 and 90 percent. Moreover, a steam atmosphere eliminates the risk of fires or explosions, as no oxygen is present. Operating costs of the Superheated Steam Dryer are a fraction of a standard dryer in terms of energy consumption. Depending upon product and particle size, the normal residence time of the product in the system is between 5 and 60 seconds — a rapid and efficient process. Its small footprint, design flexibility and ease of operation make it a good choice for any size of business. An investment in our drying technology has numerous advantages for the Biomass industry.
GEA Barr-Rosin Inc. 92 Prevost Boisbriand, Quebec Canada J7G 2S2 Tel (450) 437-5252 Fax (450) 437-6740 255 38th Avenue, Suite G St. Charles, Illinois 60174 USA Tel (630) 659-3980 Fax (630) 584-4406 E-mail bri@barr-rosin.ca Worldwide Representation For local contact details and more information about Barr-Rosin, access www.barr-rosin.com
66 BIOMASS MAGAZINE 10|2008
fuel update but his PSU colleague, professor William Lamont, says Garthe is working on the fourth edition of the Plastofuel maker and when he returns from leave will complete that work and then testing will begin. “We hope to then take nonrecyclable waste plastics from the university and convert them into Plastofuel in quantities that can be burned in a small power-generating facility,” Lamont says. “We really need to convert all the plastic waste except for PVC which, at this point, cannot be recycled into fuel.” PVC, or poly vinyl chloride, is considered by many experts to be the most toxic plastic of all because of its high chloride content. While Garthe strives to streamline the Plastofuel production process, a related PSU project nearing the commissioning phase is underway.
Gasifying Granulated Waste Plastics In 1999, GR Technologies Co. Ltd. in Seoul, South Korea, invented a hightemperature burner designed to be fueled by plastics. A relationship with the Korean company and PSU developed. After years of working together in varying capacities, a subsidiary of GR Technologies Co. was formed earlier this year in Pennsylvania, Eco-Clean Burners LLC, with the purpose of deploying the plastic-burner technology in the United States. It’s not combustionoriented like the Plastofuel nuggets, but rather this project involves gasification of granulated waste plastics. Industrial makers of plastic parts generate a lot of plastic wastes, which sometimes is granulated before being dumped into a landfill so companies are not paying to dump airspace. The burner project is headed up by John Joseph Shea, a PSU economic and community development extension associate. “The Plastofuel project and this project are closely related but don’t really touch each other,” Shea says. While the burner was developed in South Korea, Shea has been working to turn the technology “into a user-friendly machine for the United States,” he says. According to a PSU document, stack tests conforming to U.S. EPA standards were conducted on the burner unit by an