Technology

Our own technology  High Temperature Conversion of Waste HTCW  is an innovative and already proven reactor,  allowing a zero-emission transfer of waste and other fuels  to clean energy, at a world-record energy efficiency.

Detailed/specific info please find here. Short, high-level:

Our advanced HTCW is a one-stage, fixed-bed, combined co-/counter-current gasifier.

As it is one-stage, it is cheap.
Being a shaft-reactor without moving parts inside, it is not only cheap, but also very reliable and robust.
As most of its volume is the solid fixed-bed and only little is gas, it is safe.

The co-current flow in the upper part of the reactor ensures, that the resulting gas is not cross-contaminated with the fresh waste, producing a gas clean enough for a very simple final gas cleaning.

The gas is already so clean, the gas cleaning thus so easy and low-cost,
that the money is freed for gas usage higher in efficiency and lower in CO2. Pure enough to be suitable for membrane technologies, e.g., hydrogen (W2H2TM) or high-efficient gas turbines.

The Sankey chart to the left is without district heating, no direct use of steam, no extra fuels, just waste and uses a conservative calculation of the efficiency (e.g., the upper heating value for the input energy)

Because of the smart arrangement of reaction zones and the “HT”,
= high temperature of 1600°C minimum,
the gas is not a dirty flu gas, it is a fuel gas already,
free of all organic chemistry, no PCBs, no Seveso-dioxin or -furan.

No complex molecule or compound can survive that heat:
Tyres turn into fine carbon dust then into inorganic gas,
bacterias and viruses are completely sterilized and destroyed.

Dioxins, furans, PCBs, tars, oils, industrial waste, paint, plastics are completely cracked, down to hydrogen and carbon monoxide.

Even asbestos (a former cancer-causing fire-proofing fibre) turns into harmless silicates.

The inorganic impurities (H2S but not SO2, NH3 but not NOx,
little HCl and very little dust) are all removed and either used or destroyed. Also, the heavy metals and the mercury are safely captured.

The ash turns into mineral slag, the slag depending on the feed either to valuable blast furnace sand (what is this?)
or phosphorus fertilizer (another threat to our future. Why? Find it here!)

Thus, an HTCW plant is emission-free. To turn it even CO2-free, see oxyfuel-CCGT here or hydrogen here.

The fuel gas consist mostly of hydrogen and carbon-monoxide (so-called SynGas), with some H2O, N2 and CO2.

The impurities mentioned above (dust, H2S, NH3, HCl) are removed by simple, over 100-years-long proven gas cleaning technologies.

The resulting gas is so pure, it will be used in high-efficient gas-turbines or gas engines for maximum electricity at minimum CO2,
membrane units (e.g. to retrieve pure hydrogen), catalytic reactors e.g. for producing methanol, ethanol, natural gas or even turning the carbon monoxide into more hydrogen.

The first reactor in Arnstadt/Thuringia operated for years.

More specific details sorted by topics please find here.

The Vision is ready to go...

"
The best way to predict your future is to create it.
Abraham Lincoln, 1809 – 1865

Not one solution can fit all our expexctations alone:

  • CO2-free for our survival.
  • Low cost for affordable energy prices and
    a competitive economy.
  • Available 24/7 for households at night and industry on shifts.
  • Decentralized without ugly high voltage lines through your backyard.
  • Accepted and hopefully even liked by you and all your neighbours.

Forgot something here that is important to you? Sorry, please tell us: contact@wes-htcw.com

 

HTCW plus  all the other technologies can do this:

  • HTCW to turn waste and other inputs safely into clean gas.
  • A hydrogen production (W2H2TM) or highly efficient CCGT power plant will convert this gas into clean, usable energy.
  • CCS or better COusage will not let CO2 reach the atmosphere.
  • A large scale energy storage system like CAES paired with a smart micro-grid will keep the energy available round the clock.
  • Add all the solar, wind, geothermal and hydro power that your geographic area allows and your people accept.
  • Maximize the synergies between all these components to minimize the price for energy.

 

And even better: Tailor the plant to YOUR local needs.

  • Maximum green community that does not mind to have less electricity at night as long as it is solar during daytime?
  • Big busy town hard working during the day, deserving some joy at night?
  • Industrial area with difficult waste and high demand of electricity, gas and steam around the clock?

 

We can tailor a solution to just any need. Including yours. Want to find out how?
Ask and test us: contact@wes-htcw.com
Or go straight into the configuration here: Getting started / HTCW configurator