APPLIED THERMAL DESIGNS

Pyrolysis orThermal Distillation is the decomposition of organic materials in the absence of oxygen. This anaerobic decomposition results in the formation of the valuable products, oil, gas, and carbon. By operating in the absence of oxygen, no undesirable byproducts are formed, and both material and energy recovery are achieved.

Because the amount of gas to be cleaned is much smaller and the produced gas burns similar to natural gas, in many case Pyrolysis is a superior technology to incineration. The produced gas and oil can be easily used in existing installations for energy and heat production. Pyrolysis is accepted as being less polluting than combustion, particularly with respect to dioxin and furan formation. This results in much lower emissions to the environment. ATD's Systems meet or exceed the toughest government standards.

Many years of investigations have been carried out in order to develop thermal techniques to dispose of plastic wastes. Almost all of these studies have been focused on implementing these techniques on a large scale. However, none of these technologies, except co-combustion with other waste streams, have been sustainably implemented. The disadvantages of those processes are high capital costs and that a constant supply of large amounts wastes must be guaranteed.

Small-scale pyrolysis systems overcome these problems. The unit is placed directly on the site where the waste is produced. The produced products and energy are immediately recovered and reused onsite. This substantially reduces investment costs and even the low value heat can be used, resulting in a very high overall energy efficiency. Also, the cost of transporting low density waste streams is saved. An additional advantage is that the composition and quality of the input streams is generally narrower, resulting in a simpler process controls and clean-up equipment.

ATD systems with substancial processing capactiy can be portable and require a relatively small amount of plot space. Even the larger stationary systems are modularized and can be transported easily.

ATD has developed the technology not only to recover resoures recovery, but to also process a variety of difficult waste streams. This process is used to convert various wastes, including chlorinated oils, to an inert product by driving off and capturing the volatile constituents. The process is applicable for the separation of organics from refinery wastes, coal tar wastes, wood-treating wastes, creosote-contaminated soils, hydrocarbon-contaminated soils, mixed (radioactive and hazardous) wastes, synthetic rubber processing wastes, and paint waste.

Our ability to precisely control temperature and pressure in the reactor allows us to maximize oil recovery with our system. Co-mingling plastic feedstock, such as is found in post-consumer waste, can be processed by the technology.

Different materials yield result in a wide range of values for the new products. These product constituents which are similar to their were original formulation.

Example: A tire converts to approximately 50% oil, 9% gas, 28% carbon, 10% steel and 3% ash; while plastic converts into approximately 25% gas, 70% oil and 5% carbon.