Typical municipal solid waste contains about 20-25% of ash-producing material by weight if processed by conventional thermal treatment. Ash produced in BOSTM and MCSTM systems are much less (5-10% by volume) and must either be sold as products or be disposed of in an approved landfill. If ash disposal poses a problem or our customer desires a higher value product from ash, EnerWaste can supply a vitrification system to convert the ash into a valuable obsidian-like glass by-product that can have many potential commercial applications such as sandblast grit, roofing shingle granules, roofing and floor tiles, and road base aggregate. Depending on your tipping rates, the costs of ash disposal alone may be able to justify the installation of a vitrification system.
Vitrification is a simple process that is very similar to the century-old process of making glass. The vitrification system consists of carbon electrodes inserted in a molten bath of glass contained in a refractory lined vessel. Hot ash from the gasifier system is added to the molten bath and is transformed into glass. During the vitrification process, the ash volume is decreased to 1/4 its original volume when it is converted to glass. Energy consumption is minimized by the fact that the ash is already hot from the combustion process. The electrical energy to operate the electrodes and melt the ash can come from an on-site cogeneration plant.
Vitrifier
Vitrification process transforms waste into products.
