ASRF Process, Environmental, and Economic Impacts
The course has been charted to increase production of renewable fuels in the United States and around the world. This study will demonstrate and discuss the benefits of American Standard Renewable Fuels Corp viability, and all the benefits of our combined processes. Our combination of processes is unique, it is desperately needed, and no one truly addresses the waste of synergies that everyone else’s individual processes neglect, not to mention cleaning up the environment. We create so many positive things and make a great profit, while everyone else just makes money without any social conscience or positive environmental impact.
Corn vs. Cellulose, and the winner is? Haigwood (2008) provides the history, relationship, dynamics and necessity of corn and cellulosic ethanol. Critics that attack corn-based ethanol in favor of cellulosic ethanol need to develop a better understanding of how corn-based ethanol and cellulosic ethanol go hand-in-hand into the winner's circle. Corn-based ethanol has paved the way for the accelerated development of cellulosic ethanol. (Burl Haigwood, 2008)
An article recently published in Technology Review published by MIT clearly demonstrated why ASRF concepts are cutting edge and will maximize the use of any landfill existence. The article, Kevin Bullis (2008) “Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Opens”, a 1.4 million gallon demonstration-scale plant will use waste biomass to make Bio-fuels. The opening of the demonstration plant, and the current construction of a number of other demonstration- and commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plants, marks a turning point for the industry, Riva says. The development of improved enzymes and fermentation organisms means that no further scientific breakthroughs are needed to make cellulosic ethanol commercially successful, he says. "There's been a tremendous amount of background work in science and technology development," he says. "We've learned so much about the process that the really important thing now is to start to deploy the technology at a commercial scale."
The cellulosic ethanol process does create a waste stream of dead plant material known as (lignin). A standalone Cellulosic Ethanol Plant still has to get rid of all of their lignin therefore they are not a benefit to the land fill. We use this lignin as fuel in another part of the ASRF Energy Center. We sell the Ethanol to petroleum refineries and gasoline blending facilities. We also produce CO2 which is sold to the beverage industry. So we truly have no waste at all, from our cellulosic ethanol plant.
Can bio-diesel help mitigate “global warming”? (National Bio-Diesel Board 2008)
A 1998 bio-diesel lifecycle study, jointly sponsored by the US Department of Energy and the US Department of Agriculture, concluded bio-diesel reduces net CO² emissions by 78 percent compared to petroleum diesel. This is due to bio-diesel’s closed carbon cycle. The CO² released into the atmosphere when bio-diesel is burned is recycled by growing plants, which are later processed into fuel. Is bio-diesel safer than petroleum diesel? Scientific research confirms that bio-diesel exhaust has a less harmful impact on human health than petroleum diesel fuel. Bio-diesel emissions have decreased levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and nitrated PAH compounds that have been identified as potential cancer causing compounds.
Test results indicate PAH compounds were reduced by 75 to 85 percent, with the exception of benzo(a)anthracene, which was reduced by roughly 50 percent. Targeted PAH compounds were also reduced dramatically with bio-diesel fuel, with 2-nitrofluorene and 1-nitropyrene reduced by 90 percent, and the rest of the PAH compounds reduced to only trace levels.
Does bio-diesel cost more than other alternative fuels? When reviewing the high costs associated with other alternative fuel systems, many fleet managers have determined bio-diesel is their least-cost-strategy to comply with state and federal regulations. Use of bio-diesel does not require major engine modifications. That means operators keep their fleets, their spare parts inventories, their refueling stations and their skilled mechanics. The only thing that changes is air quality. A standalone Bio-Diesel plant has to use the highways and railroad lines in order to receive their raw material from many different sources which causes additional pollution.
ASRF doesn’t create any pollution of our own. Instead of dumping the grease into the land fill, we reprocess that waste grease into bio-diesel. The bio-diesel is used for trucks and other diesel engines such as generators, heavy machinery, etc. The two products we get from a bio-diesel plant are bio-diesel and pharmaceutical grade glycerin. The glycerin is used in many products, from ointments to carpet manufacturing.
Methane to Markets (http://www.methanetomarkets.org/landfills/landfills-bkgrd.htm). Each day millions of tons of municipal solid waste are disposed of in sanitary landfills and dump sites around the world. The implementation of landfill gas energy (LFGE) projects reduces greenhouse gases and air pollutants, leading to improved local air quality and reduced possible health risks. The major factors driving LFG emission levels are the amount of organic material deposited in landfills, the type of landfill practices, the extent of anaerobic decomposition, and the level of landfill methane recovery and combustion (e.g., energy use or flaring). LFG is extracted from landfills using a series of wells and a vacuum system, which directs the collected gas to a point to be processed. From there, the LFG can be used for a variety of purposes. One option is to produce electricity with engines, turbines, micro-turbines, and other technologies.
A second option is to process the LFG and make it available as an alternative fuel to local industrial customers or other organizations that need a constant fuel supply—direct use of LFG is reliable and requires minimal processing and minor modifications to existing combustion equipment. A third option is to create pipeline-quality gas or alternative vehicle fuel with LFG.
Methane is a primary constituent of landfill gas (LFG) and a potent greenhouse gas when released to the atmosphere. Reducing emissions by capturing LFG and using it as an energy source can yield substantial energy, economic, and environmental benefits. The implementation of landfill gas energy (LFGE) projects reduces greenhouse gases and air pollutants, leading to improved local air quality and reduced possible health risks. LFG projects also improve energy independence, produce cost savings, create jobs, and help local economies. Internationally, significant opportunities exist for expanding landfill gas energy. Every landfill has some level of Methane produced by the rotting garbage. ASRF uses this technology at landfills. If the landfill does not already capture this methane, we capture it through a piping process, scrub it and send it either to the electric generators or the boilers.
Renewable Energy Technologies, Cogeneration Technologies, Bio-fuel Industries (2008) explains extensively how a "plasma arc" plasma gasification plant operates on principles similar to an arc-welding machine, where an electrical arc is struck between two electrodes. The high-energy arc creates a high temperature, highly ionized gas. The plasma arc is enclosed in a chamber. Waste material is fed into the chamber and the intense heat of the plasma breaks down organic molecules into their elemental atoms. In a carefully controlled process, these atoms recombine into harmless gases such as carbon dioxide. With plasma arc technology there is no burning or incineration and no formation of ash.
Plasma arc" Plasma Gasification plants have a very high destruction efficiency. They are very robust; they can treat any waste with no pretreatment; and they produce a stable waste form. The consumable carbon electrodes are continuously inserted into the chamber, eliminating the need to shut down for electrode replacement or maintenance. The high temperatures produced by the arc convert the waste into light organics and primary elements.
Combustible gas is cleaned in the off-gas system and oxidized to CO2 and H2O in ceramic bed oxidizers. The potential for air pollution is low due to the use of electrical heating in the absence of free oxygen. The inorganic portion of the waste is retained in a stable, leach-resistant slag.
An ASRF Plasma Arc Gasification Plant has a limitless appetite and uses almost anything as fuel. We use up all of the plant material (lignin) left over from the ethanol plant. We can even take in large quantities of animal waste which is a problem in most farming communities. A final benefit of an ASRF Plasma Arc Gasification Plant is that recently collected trash is normally delivered to our facility 5 days per week from morning to evening. The plant consumes all the waste that is delivered. The plant itself works 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. When we have used up all the newly delivered trash we go back to the landfill and remove a number of tons per week from the trash reservoir to keep the plant running. Over a number of years we even use up all the stored trash and thus restore the landfill to its original condition or turn it into a park or other useful facility.
The PLASMA ARC facility is the heart of the overall process taking in every conceivable form of waste (except nuclear), lignin, waste from the bio-diesel, any hazardous material, solving sewage and farm waste problems which no one else is addressing, and making clean renewable electricity. Our combination of processes is unique, it is desperately necessary, and no one except us truly addresses the waste of everyone else’s individual processes as well as cleaning up the environment.
We help in so many positive ways with an apolitical problem solver that makes a great profit, while most companies focuses on the bottom-line without any social conscience or positive environmental improvements.
References:
Kevin Bullis Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Opens A 1.4 million gallon demonstration-scale plant will use waste biomass to make Biofuels. (Wednesday, May 28, 2008) . By http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/20828/page2/
Corn Vs. Cellulose: And The Winner Is? Burl Haigwood, Director of Program Development, Clean Fuels Development Center, http://www.cleanfuelsdc.org/
National Bio-Diesel Board (2008) http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/faqs/
Methane to Markets (http://www.methanetomarkets.org/landfills/landfills-bkgrd.htm)
Renewable Energy Technologies , Cogeneration Technologies, Biofuel Industries (2008) Solar Energy System, EcoGeneration Solutions LLC. Companies, E-mail: info @ cogeneration . net, Tel. (832) 758 - 0027
RECOMMENDATION/CONCLUSION
The course has been charted to increase production of renewable fuels in the United States and around the world. The benefits of the reduction of greenhouse gases should be embraced and maximized to further reduce the impact on our atmosphere. As a renewable fuels company, ASRF brings a number of benefits to the local environment. They include:
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We consume all forms of waste
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We provide real solutions for the elimination of waste
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We are totally clean and environmentally safe
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We have specialized financing to build complete Energy Centers
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We reduce the need for oil imports
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*** We have no direct competitors ***
