Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What materials can your combustion system burn?
A: Tires. Asphalt scrap. Infectious hospital and pharmaceutical wastes. Municipal solid waste. Combustible liquids and solvents. Industrial sludges. Foam plastics and many solid plastics. In short, all combustible solids, sludges, liquids, and gases.

Q: Can one combustion system burn more than one type of waste?
A: Yes, although some countries (for example, Japan) do not allow a single combustion system to burn more than one type of waste in a unit. In Japan, we have some systems that burn only medical wastes, others that burn only industrial waste, still others that burn only municipal solid waste. But all of the BASIC® Technology systems use the same combustion procedures and processes.

Part of the waste-to-energy project in Nanhai, China

Q: What makes your combustion system different from others?
A: Several things. First, we achieve combustion of wet food wastes with a patented first step of drying the wastes within the main burning chamber. Once the moisture level is below 50%, ignition is possible. Second, we use a three-stage combustion process. The main chamber of our system separates the volatile hydrocarbons (as in smoke) from the fixed hydrocarbons (solids such as charcoal), and in stage 1 we burn primarily the fixed hydrocarbons. In stage 2 we burn the volatile hydrocarbons endothermically, and in stage 3 we burn them exothermically. Third, our patented Pulse Hearth® (a refractory mobile furnace floor suspended at four points) moves the ash efficiently and allows burning of hazardous fuels regardless of their physical state.

This multistage burning process allows for nearly complete combustion of the waste fuels, reducing disposable ash and keeping emissions well below the requirements of clean air codes throughout the world.

Q: Can you give examples of how your systems’ emissions compare to USA and international standards for clean air?
A: For a complete table of comparisons, go to End Use, register, and move to Table of International Equivalents. Briefly put, a typical Basic International system has these kinds of emissions compared to USA standards: particulates, 4.6 mg/dscm¹ vs. 15.0; less than 1 ppm² carbon monoxide vs. 50.0; 45 to 79 ppm nitrogen oxides vs. 180; less than 1 ppm hydrogen chloride vs. 25; less than 1 ppm sulfur dioxide vs. 30; and no dioxins and furans vs. 0.20 ng/dscm³. Also, typical lead and mercury residues are one-fifth of the USA standards for those elements.
________
¹milligrams per dry standard cubic meter
²parts per million
³nanograms per dry standard cubic meter

Q: Doesn’t your system release dangerous dioxins and furans into the atmosphere?
A: No. Dioxins and furans are emitted during the burning of coal and gas, and also in certain industrial combustion processes, but not during incineration. Many older combustion systems did emit dioxins and furans because they didn’t separate chlorine from the hydrocarbons. The BASIC® combustion system not only separates chlorine (or other halogens) and the hydrocarbons but also reduces their reformation downstream, after the combustion process.

Q: What is the best way for humans to reduce the quantity of the world’s waste, and how are you contributing to this effort?
A: There are four principal ways to reduce waste: (1) try to generate less waste to be disposed of, (2) recycle recoverable substances, such as paper, cardboard, glass, aluminum, and heavy metals; (3) get energy out of the remaining waste materials through efficient combustion, minimizing both the ash residues and dangerous emissions; and (4) bury the concentrated ash in landfill cells or, better yet, use the bottom ash as a constituent of concrete mixes for certain construction purposes. The BASIC® waste-to-energy systems help meet the requirements of steps (3) and (4).

Q: How big are your combustion systems?

Model 300

A: We have eight models ranging in heat combustion capacity from 6 million BTU/hr to 100 million BTU/hr. Systems can be built “in parallel” as large as a customer may want them. But we recommend that municipalities, for example, use several diversely sited BASIC® models rather than a single huge system, to reduce emissions at any single location, reduce trucking traffic to a given plant, save labor, and cut annual operating costs. Each user’s situation is unique, and we tailor our recommendations to the needs of each specific location.

Q: Where can I see one of your systems in use?
A: We have facilities in operation in numerous locales within the United States, Canada and Mexico, as well as in Europe, the Near East, and the Far East. For a listing of some specific users in these regions, go to End Use, register, and move to Installations.