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Trash to Diesel

Green Power Inc has developed a method of inexpensively converting biomass and household waste into high grade diesel fuel, a process they call "NanoDiesel" that could go a long way toward solving the world's energy and waste problems at the same time, without upsetting the CO2 balance.

The raw costs of producing such diesel is about $0.60/gallon. Covering capitalization, maintenance, marketing, decommissioning and other costs will place the actual cost much higher, but still competitive with fossil-based fuel.

The conversion of input waste to fuel output is around 25-30% efficient. One ton of input waste will produce around 120 gallons (~3.8 barrels) of diesel. Materials that can be converted to diesel fuel through this process include plastics (including PVCs), rubber, waste oils, agricultural wastes (food and animal waste) and wood.

The product is not biodiesel, but is a pure hydrocarbon diesel, equivalent to what comes out of the oil fields.

About

Official Website

• http://www.cleanenergyprojects.com
  • Technical (http://www.cleanenergyprojects.com/greenpowertechnical/technical.html)

Overview

Quoting from http://www.cleanenergyprojects.com

CDP (CATALYTIC PRESSURE-LESS DEPOLYMERIZATION (OILING)

New crystalline catalysts combined with a highly innovative process technology now allow the competitive production of synthetic oil products directly from residual and biologically regenerating raw materials!

The future way of economical production of high quality synthetic Diesel fuel:

• After years of intensive catalyst and process research the breakthrough of reproducing the natural way of fossil oil production within a process duration turned down from hundreds of millions of years to now only 3 (three) minutes has finally become reality!
• This causes the synthetic Diesel fuel "NanoDiesel™" produced by this method to be fully competitive.
• With most of the input materials the quality of the synthetic fuel produced by this new ground breaking method is even higher than that of regular Diesel fuel available at gas stations.
• Cost per Gallon of Diesel produced between 0.52 - 0.58 US$ without Government subsidies.
• Elimination of almost all environmental pollution through inorganic transformation of harmful substances into salts and crystals, based on the ion changing characteristics of the GP-Cat, our proprietary Catalyst.
• For the first time this method now allows active environmental protection as well as optimized energy production from industrial residuals, waste and biologically regenerating raw materials in perfect combination and free of any conflicts.

Interview

• On Feb. 18, 2008 at noon Pacific; we have tentatively scheduled to have Sterling D. Allan conduct an interview with Michael P Spitzauer, CEO-Green Power Inc, as part of the Free Energy Now (http://freeenergynow.net) radio series.

Latest Developments

May 26, 2008

New Energy Congress members Sterling D. Allan and Robert L Pritchett were invited to a 2-day walkthrough under NDA to see the working Pilot Plant in Pasco, WA hosted by the owner and plant manager of Green Power. Other attendees were from various countries from around the world interested in finding solutions to their municipal waste issues. "We sampled fresh products from the petroleum cracker and saw how the proprietary catalyst was used to help process waste materials into petroleum. We were delighted with the results."

Jan, 2007

Trade show in Atlanta.[1] (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP3wj96mvW4)

Fall, 2006

The demonstrations came to a temporary halt after the miniature plant burned in a fire. Spitzauer said he caused the fire when he accidentally bumped into a valve on the machine.

July 26, 2006

Around this period of time, the company took the portable demo around the country. On July 26, 2006, then again in October, 2006, the company did a demo of the CDP process near Seattle, Washington. It included a mass-energy balance. 15% of produced fuel was required to run the process. See photo gallery below.

Videos

Posted by greenpowerinc (http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=greenpowerinc)

(4:49 minutes)

• Green Power Inc at the Waste Expo 2007 - "Green Power Inc went to the Waste Expo in Atlanta to make the world aware that a future is here. Waste to Fuel A reality and not a Dream anymore!" (YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP3wj96mvW4); August 20, 2008)

• GPI Explains Waste-to-Diesel Process (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP3wj96mvW4) (video) - Last year at a Waste Expo in Atlanta, CEO, Michael Spitzauer and CTO, James Osterloh, gave a brief description of their revolutionary process that turns feedstock municipal waste into high grade diesel fuel, eliminating the need for landfills. They're much further along now. (YouTube; August 20, 2008)
  

- - - -

(2:01 minutes)

• Waste to Fuel A Future to our World - Finally a way of converting trash to high quality Fuel without any negative impact on the environment. (YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtJ4U5wEeCo); February 19, 2007)

- - - -

(7:49 minutes)

• Waste to Fuel becomes Reality 2007 - This video shows in High quality the process Green Power Inc developed to have a complete system converting Waste into high quality Fuel without negative impact on the Environment. (YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW7uqEUuqz8); February 19, 2007)

- - - -

(3.01 Minutes) Waste to Energy - An Overview
The saying, "One man's trash is another man's treasure" is coming true in the waste-to-energy field. (YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iioOVevReOs) Jan. 16, 2008)

How it Works

See demo video below titled "Waste to Fuel becomes Reality 2007"

Quoting from the company website (http://www.cleanenergyprojects.com/greenpowertechnical/technical.html).

The CDP Plant is a self-sustaining energy production platform. It only uses up to 10% of its own energy production to run the plant through a 230kW block-type total energy plant (BHKW).

In the plant's closed-process cycle, the input waste materials are mixed with the catalyst, which initiates a catalytic reaction characterized by the following results:

• Molecular depolymerization at low temperatures (290 - 350°C) and virtually pressure-free (about 0.1 bar below ambient pressure).
• Hydrocarbon conversion rates not previously achievable of more than 80% without the same magnitude of dangerous residual by-products.
• Decontamination of dangerous residual by-products (halogens, etc.) in a liquefied process that yields salt.
• High-quality Diesel Fuel or Jet-Fuel suitable for use in today's engines, and soon also Gasoline for today’s and tomorrow’s fleet of cars on the road.

The catalytic process produces certain catalyst crystals (processed metal impurities that originally appear in the input waste materials) that must be removed once the high-quality Diesel fuel has been delivered to the production storage vessel. The technology of the plant guarantees that the metals and metal connections in the residue of the catalytic process (used up catalyst) are merged together and delivered to the plant's exit waste vessel. The final product, "NanoDiesel™" fuel (which develops exclusively over the vapor phase), is absolutely free from these materials.

Since the approved input waste materials are mixed completely into the reaction oil at a temperature of over 300°C and no further separation possibility exists once in the process, no protein molecules (thus no Prions) are present without exiting and reduction to decomposition or into the product, in this case Diesel fuel.

Photo Gallery

Images Source: http://catalyticdepolymerization.org/gallery.php
Photos taken by Jim Trounson, who attended the CDP demo on 7/26/2006.

Advantages

Quoting from the company website (http://www.cleanenergyprojects.com/greenpowertechnical/technical.html).

• Quality of Product - This plant's final product is a high-quality motor vehicle fuel (Cetan > 56) or fuel oil to be used in less critical uses, and thus has excellent resale value.
• Efficiency - The plant's high efficiency (~80%) gives the entire catalytic process a positive energy balance that is to a large extent emission-free and self-supporting from an energy standpoint.
• Carbon Monoxide and Carbon Dioxide Disposal - The CO/CO2 otherwise produced in the burn and gasification stages of the process develops in free form but is not bound. With use as fuel or fuel oil, CO/CO2 are only set free as sources of energy in the Diesel fuel and therefore do not damage the environment.
• Residue Qualities - Even new technologies, such as the hydrogen gas cell concept that produces CO/CO2 as a byproduct during hydrogen production, cannot exhibit such positive energy balances as our process, and do so with nearly complete removal of residual substances.

Profiles

Company: Green Power Inc.

A Washington State Corporation

CEO and inventor: Michael P. Spitzauer

See video interview with CEO, Michael P. Spitzauer at http://www.catalyticdepolymerization.org/video.php (3:10 minutes)

Coverage

• EPA cites garbage-to-diesel guru (http://www.thenewstribune.com/261/story/40876.html) - The Environmental Protection Agency said that Green Power – the company with plans to build a multimillion dollar garbage-to-diesel plant in Fife – violated federal environmental regulations. The Issaquah-based company has been cited for seven violations, mostly regarding the company’s failure to report a fire to the EPA that burned up its mobile demonstration unit and the lack of documentation in how it handles used oil. (TheNewsTribune.com, Tacoma; Apr. 17, 2007)
• Green Power opens trash-to-diesel plant (http://www.themanufacturer.com/us/energybusiness/article.html?article_id=138) - ...Green Power opens trash-to-diesel plant Green Power Inc. has announced plans to build an $82 million plant in Fife, Wash. that will convert garbage to ... (The Manufacturer; Oct. 20, 2007)
• Garbage-to-diesel plant headed for Fife, company announces (http://dwb.thenewstribune.com/business/story/6139826p-5375428c.html) - Green Power Inc., an Issaquah-based alternative energy company, plans to build an $82 million garbage-to-diesel plant in Fife. (TheNewsTribune.com, Tacoma; Oct. 4, 2006)
• Entrepreneurs claim technology turns trash into diesel fuel (http://www.npnweb.com/uploads/featurearticles/2006/npnMarketPulse/083006_mp1.asp) (NPNWeb; not dated, 2006)

• Successful Demonstration of Waste-to-Fuel Technology Creating NanoDiesel  (http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2006/08/02/016912.html) - Thrilled spectators at their demonstration on Wednesday, July 26, 2006. (The Auto Channel; August 2,2006)

• [link dead] (Chicago Tribune; 8-8-2006)
• Could Trash-to-Diesel Process Be a Way Out of Foreign-Fuel Dependency (http://www.npnweb.com/uploads/featurearticles/2006/npnMarketPulse/083006_mp1.asp) - corporation says it has perfected a process (catalytic pressure-less depolymerization, developed by German chemical specialist Christian Koch) that turns trash into high-quality diesel fuel. (Popular Mechanics; Aug. 3, 2006)

• Is 'Trash-Diesel' Snake Oil? (http://blog.wired.com/cars/index.blog?entry_id=1529346) - A German company is pitching municipalities across the U.S. with technology that can turn organic landfill into diesel fuel. However the CEO's checkered past and questions about the feasibility of the technology have turned off potential partners. A scientist who reviewed technical documentation found inconsistencies and errors. The demonstration included waste oil as part of the feedstock, but the company claims the final process will only require landfill. (Wired Blogs; July28, 2006)

• Trash-to-diesel (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003154976_greenpower27.html) - ...Green Power CEO Michael Spitzauer puts the fuel into his car before taking ... truck chugged and rumbled — purportedly converting landfill trash into diesel ... (The Seattle Times: Business & Technology; July 27, 2006)
• Industry News: GREEN POWER CELEBRATES SUCCESSFUL TEST OF ITS WASTE-TO-DIESEL TECHNOLOGY (http://www.wastebusinessjournal.com/news/wbj20060612.htm#item8) - On June 2nd 2006, Green Power, Inc. (www.cleanenergyprojects.com) successfully demonstrated its technology to convert regular solid waste into diesel fuel. (Waste Business Journal; Jun. 12-18, 2006)

Other Coverage

• http://www.catalyticdepolymerization.org - Jim Trounson's (http://catalyticdepolymerization.org/about_jim_trounson.php) independent coverage of the thermal depolymerization process.
  • Photo Gallery (http://catalyticdepolymerization.org/gallery.php)
  • Why this website? (http://www.catalyticdepolymerization.org/why.php) - History of Trounson's forray into the subject, including a visit to the Green Power Inc. demonstration, with which he was duly impressed.
  • Discussion Forum (http://www.catalyticdepolymerization.org/forum) - Launched 11/1/2007
  • Links (http://catalyticdepolymerization.org/links.php)

Comments

• See Discussion Page

Forum

• http://www.catalyticdepolymerization.org/forum - forum posted by topic enthusaist, Jim Trounson.

Related Technologies

• US Military Investigating Fuel from Waste (http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/19974/?nlid=767) - Two companies are working together on a portable system that converts coal, natural gas, and biomass into diesel and jet fuel. The military could use the system to convert waste created at military bases--food scraps, paper, wood--into a fuel for military jets and vehicles.
  

• US Patent Application 20050115871 (http://www.catalyticdepolymerization.org/united_states_patent_application.php); Koch, Christian; June 2, 2005

Abstract

Production of diesel oil from hydrocarbon-containing residues in an oil circuit with solids separation and product distillation for the diesel product with energy input by means of pumps and counterrotating agitators and by the use of fully crystallized catalysts of potassium, sodium, calcium, and magnesium-aluminum silicates, where all surfaces are cleaned continuously by the agitator mechanisms.

• • Alphakat (http://alphakat.de/)

"After 30 years of intensive scientific research and development Green Power Inc’s Scientists finally succeeded with a ground breaking new technology of energy production from waste and biologically regenerating raw materials!

The all new method of “Catalytic Pressure less Depolymerization”(CDP) is introducing efficiency levels in energy recycling with optimized environmental protection and will undoubtedly change our future regarding energy policy and waste handling.

Green Power Inc’s system is not AlphaKat and not one of the many others claiming success which they were never able to prove. Green Power Inc’s Team of Scientists and Technician developed a complete System to allow conversion of all forms of Waste with the limitation of no Metal, Glass or porcelain as well as no conversion of radioactive Material.

Green Power Inc would ask everybody to differentiate its developed system from any other system, very specific the AlphaKat system for the same reason we did. Green Power Inc developed its own patented GP-Cat and system using its CCF "Catalytic Cracking Fluid" together with its patented process to assure that any system we implement will work from the day we start." From the Green Power, Inc website.

Thermal Depolymerization

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_depolymerization
• http://www.changingworldtech.com - Changing World Technologies process relies on high tipping fees; probably not feasible for landfills.

Contact

Green Power Inc.

Mailing Address:
700 NW Gilman Blvd #434
Issaquah, Washington 98027
United States of America

Phone: 1-888-244-3310; Fax: 1-866-422-1911

E-Mail: corporate@cleanenergyprojects.com (mailto:corporate@cleanenergyprojects.com?subject=GreenPowerInc_featured_at_PESWiki.com)

See also

• Directory:Waste to Energy
• Directory:Diesel

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