SiPlasma - Resources

Landfills

In 1979 there were an estimated 18,500 landfills in the nation. In 1990 there were only about 6,300, and by 1995 it was estimated that only about 3,000 would still be open. In just 16 years the number of landfills dropped by 84%. During that same time there was an 80% increase in the amount of trash generated.
U.S. landfills are closing at the rate of 1 per day.
The supply of new landfills is expected to be very low. Tough new federal regulations don't encourage the opening of many new landfills. It can take many years and cost between $250,000 and $1 million an acre to open a new landfill that complies with landfill requirements.
According to a study distributed by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management at the end of 1994, there were 47 landfills left in the State of Indiana. Seventeen of these had less than five years expected life.
The cost of landfilling is projected to increase by 2.3% by 2002, recycling by 2.7%, composting by 4.4%, and incineration by 2.5%.

Trash

The average American throws away 4.5 pounds of trash a day.
To give you an idea of how much trash we generate here in the United States, imagine a hole the size of a football field, including the end zones. If we bury all of the trash we produce in just one year, that hole would be 100 miles deep!
Every year we fill enough garbage trucks to form a line that would stretch from the earth, halfway to the moon.
Each day the United States throws away enough trash to fill 63,000 garbage trucks.
Almost 1/3 of the waste generated in America is packaging.
In 1986, the United States generated almost 160 million tons of paper, glass, metals, plastics, rubber, food and yard waste. This was an increase of 80% over the figures in 1960.
In 1996 13.3 million tons of waste were generated in Indiana including 1.9 tons from out of state.
In 1995 27% of the United States' food supply spoiled or went unusd (48,000,000 tons).

Household Hazardous Waste

Every day American families produce an estimated 4 millon pounds of household hazardous waste (nail polish, paint thinner, batteries, etc.).
Enough hazardous waste is generated in one year to fill the New Orleans Superdome 1500 times over.

Plasma Gasification FAQ

Plasma Gasification does not use incineration. Nothing is burned—it is gasified. The exit temperature of the reactor is 1200°C (2300°F). In order to break down tars, furans, and dioxins the exit temperature has to be above 1000°C for a period of approximately 20 seconds. There is no incinerator that can meet this standard. Plasma gasification is the only technology that can properly break down the tars, furans and dioxins and ensure a clean exhaust.
There is no slag from the process. 100% of the inorganic material is either recovered as metal or vitrified into glass. The glass will pass any leachability test. There are numerous applications for the glass, all of which have some value.
There is no ash left from the process. It is all converted to glass. The particulates and metals removed from the process gas also have a market value in most situations and can be sold to metal ore processors. There are no residuals left from the process.
The plant can be designed with a ZERO water discharge by using a combination of air cooled condensers and conventional cooling towers with a small water treatment unit on site.
The tipping floor is enclosed (housed). The air for the reactor is pulled through the tipping floor to create a negative pressure in the tipping floor to prevent odors from escaping. The tipping floor can be designed to accommodate the required number of trucks. The tipping floor can be divided into compartments and can include a refrigerated area for slaughterhouse waste. The tipping floor will include 3 day storage for the waste.
The facility will include a control room that will meet the customer specifications. The control system will include all the proper startup, shut down, safety shut down, security, interlock and required redundancies of the systems.
Largest plant built – Utashinai, Japan 180tpd (55,000tpa) (ref.2008)
Smallest plant built – Mihama-Mikita, Japan, 22tpd (7,000tpa) (ref.2008)
The core technologies are well proven in several industrial applications, including General Motors; ALCAN, Canada; IHI, Japan and others.