May 27, 2008
By Harish Joshi
TNN
Peat International Inc. recently commissioned its first plasma thermal destruction and recovery (PTDR) system.
The company believes that its PTDR systems will eventually be treating
dangerous hospital and industrial wastes in several Asian countries and
U.S. states.
Peat commissioned the first 60-kilogram-per-hour PTDR-100 system near the Jayaben Modi Hospital in Ankleshwar, India.
PTDR uses plasma torches to convert waste into a synthetic gas
consisting mainly of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, which can be used
for electricity and hot water generation.
Various Wastes Can Be Treated
The system can treat “sharps,” trace chemotherapy wastes and other
biomedical wastes; universal/industrial wastes such as electronic
scrap, solvents, and sludges; contaminated soils; incinerator fly ash;
and pharmaceutical wastes, Peat spokesper-son Daniel Ripes told HWSA.
Such wastes, if not properly disposed of, can cause cancers, blood and
immune diseases, and other health problems, according to the company.
Development of the PTDR-100 took about one year and cost roughly $1.5
million, Ripes said. The in-stalled capital cost for the system is less
than $0.04 per pound, and operation and maintenance costs can be as low
as $0.26 per pound, he noted.
There are several ongoing sales opportunities involving PTDR
technologies that Peat is pursuing, Ripes said. The company is
targeting China, India, Japan, Korean, Taiwan, Alabama, California, and
Wisconsin for installation of PTDR systems, he noted. Overall, Peat
expects to commission more than 50 PTDR-100 units within the next five
years.
The California Department of Public Health and Michigan's Department of
Environmental Quality have listed Peat's PTDR technology as an approved
alternative medical waste treatment technology.
Contact: Daniel Ripes, Peat International, (847) 559-8567.
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