Projects

ARC Southern Energy provides gasification solutions to convert following types of waste into energy:

• Municipal Solid waste (MSW)
• Medical Waste
• Sewage Sludge
• Refinery Waste

The solution that ARC Southern Energy offers is extremely flexible and – it is portable, modular and scalable.

Arc Southern Products that it offers for the waste to energy are as follows:

• CE - 25
• CE - 250
• CE - 500

Innovative Plasma Arc-Based Waste-to-Energy Conversion

Wood chips, lignite, saw dust, coal fly ash all can be combined with other feeds such as sewage sludge to produce electric power in a proprietary plasma arc gasification process, provided that the mixture is adequately dried before gasification. Working with different partners such as adaptiveArc, Inc. and TensorCrete, ARC Southern Energy LLC has developed wet biomass feed dryers that use gasification process heat.

Using process waste heat to remove moisture from feeds reduces the moisture penalty and allows the process to operate at greater overall thermal efficiency.

When operated onsite at landfills or sewage processing plants, the plasma arc gasification process can also efficiently convert methane-rich landfill gas and digester gas to electricity. When the overall calorific value of the mixed feed is approximately 5000 btu/lb, or greater, the process can generate between 1.2 and 1.6 MW of net power for every 100 TPD of capacity.

Co-processing of coal fly ash with wet biomass feeds can also generate a gasifier ash that has the proper elemental composition to be formulated into supplemental cement materials (SCM). This providing an additional source or revenue for the overall process. Other types of feedstock's yields different types of products such as fertilizers and chemicals

In a number of economic scenarios, running the system on a variety of feed stocks the overall process is profitable based on electricity and product sales. Additional avoided tipping and hauling fees, carbon credits and recycle credits that may be available can substantially increase overall profitability of the process.

This modular portable plasma Arc gasifier system from adaptiveArc, Inc. rated at 250 tons per day, is anticipated as the central component of the ARC Southern waste-to-energy system.

The following is an example of using the process developed by our partners TensorCrete / adaptiveArc which converts, high carbon fly ash to electrical energy and supplemental cement products.

The proprietary process converts waste to energy with essentially zero discharge.

• As shown, fly ash components are either converted to electricity or recycled as supplemental cement materials.
• Pollutants created during the combustion of the syngas are returned to the gasifier and recycled to extinction.

Re-processing of Coal Fly Ash to Supplemental Cement Materials

Low carbon coal fly ash has been successfully used as a supplemental cement material (SCM) at proportions of up to 50% since the early 20th century. High carbon fly ash (>6% carbon) is not suitable for cement and is generally stored in impoundments. Increased use of activated carbon injection to remove SOx and NOx from flue gas renders more and more fly ash unusable for cement. This waste material generally ends up in impoundments where it can constitute an environmental hazard.

Our partners, TensorCrete, and adaptiveArc, Inc. is developing a proprietary system based on an innovative, modular and mobile plasma arc gasifier, that can re-process high carbon fly ash to generate electricity and produce a value added SCM product.

In one version of this process, the fly ash is size separated into high carbon and low carbon fractions. The low carbon fraction is sent to storage for later blending into the SCM formulation. The high carbon fraction is sent to the gasifier where the carbon is converted to syngas and then to electrical energy.

The remaining inorganic ash from the gasifier can be as a much as 80% or so of the incoming ash volume. This clean, low carbon gasifier ash is blended with other materials in a proprietary post-gasification process to make a reactive cementitious material. The exact formulation for the resulting SCM varies by fly ash type, amount of separated low carbon ash available, as well as process and local market conditions.

Optional equipment for drying and processing wet fly ash from slurry ponds, for mixing feed stocks, and for post processing to make reactive cement will be available in modules as required.

Similar approaches are being developed for other products such as chemicals and fertilizers.

ARC Southern is a project developer that is looking for economically viable options where we develop the land fill gas system and convert it to electricity and transmit it to the local grid. The intent of this write up is to give an overview of what LFG electricity generation is all about. Arc Southen is constantly looking for projects, which provide LFG gas rights and finding ways to help local communities develop "green energy" projects, such that it generates revenue for the city, and improves the local economy.

What is land fill gas?

Landfill gas, which consists mainly of methane and carbon dioxide, is produced when organic wastes in landfill sites decay. Landfills over a certain size are required to flare, or burn, the gas in order to reduce the hazard of gas build-up. Although landfill gas is primarily a pollutant that needs control, the methane it contains makes it valuable as fuel to power an electric generator. Landfill gas was first used as a fuel in the U.S. during the late 1970s. Since then, the technology required for its collection and use has developed steadily. This method of producing renewable energy is now regarded as one of the most mature and successful in the field of green power.

Can you provide more details on electricity generation using land fill gas?

The majority (more than 70 percent) of the LFG energy projects that generate electricity do so by combusting the LFG in internal combustion engines. The three most commonly used technologies — internal combustion engines, gas turbines, and microturbines — can accommodate a wide range of project sizes. Gas turbines are more likely to be used for large projects, usually for 5 MW or larger. Internal combustion engines are well-suited for 800 kW to 3 MW projects, but multiple units can be used together for projects larger than 3 MW. Microturbines, as their name suggests, are much smaller than turbines, with a single unit having between 30 and 250 kW in capacity, and thus are generally used for projects smaller than 1 MW. Small internal combustion engines are also available for projects in this size range. An LFG energy project may use multiple units to accommodate a landfill's specific gas flow over time. For example, a project might have three internal combustion engines, two gas turbines, or an array of 10 microturbines, depending on gas flow and energy needs.

Is there a combined heat and power (CHP) application? Is CHP applicable to landfill gas projects?

LFG energy CHP applications, also known as cogeneration projects, provide greater overall energy efficiency and are growing in number. In addition to producing electricity, these projects recover and beneficially use the heat from the unit combusting the LFG. LFG energy CHP projects can use internal combustion engine, gas turbine, or microturbine technologies.

Less common LFG electricity generation technologies include a few boiler/steam turbine applications, in which LFG is combusted in a large boiler to generate steam used by the turbine to create electricity. A few combined cycle applications have also been implemented. These combine a gas turbine that combusts the LFG with a steam turbine that uses steam generated from the gas turbine's exhaust to create electricity. Boiler/steam turbine and combined cycle applications tend to be larger in scale than the majority of LFG electricity projects that use internal combustion engines.

ARC Southern is a project developer that is looking for economically viable options where we develop the land fill gas system and also find end consumer to consume the LF gas. The intent of this write up is to give an overview of what LFG direct use is all about. Arc Southen is constantly looking for projects, which provide LFG gas rights and finding ways to help local communities develop "green energy" projects, such that it generates revenue for the city, and improves the local economy.

What is Land fill gas?

Land fills which is currently the primary method of waste management generates a by-product with significant energy value - landfill gas (LFG). Collection and control of LFG results in significant reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. With the greater focus on climate change, carbon offsets market is emerging and landfills can bring these carbon offsets to market, resulting in additional incentives for collection and beneficial use.

Landfill gas is the natural by-product of the decomposition of organic waste in landfills and is comprised primarily of methane, the main component of natural gas, and carbon dioxide. Instead of allowing LFG to escape into the air, it can be captured, converted and used as an energy source. Using LFG has multiple benefits, such as reducing odors and other hazards associated with LFG emissions and preventing methane from migrating into the atmosphere where it contributes to local smog and global climate change. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, about 20 times more so than carbon dioxide.

How can land fill gas address the energy requirements?

Landfill gas is extracted from landfills using a series of wells and a blower/flare (or vacuum) system. This system directs the collected gas to a central point where it can be processed and treated depending upon ultimate use. From this point, the gas can be flared, or used to generate electricity, replace fossil fuels in industrial and manufacturing operations fuel greenhouse operations, or be upgraded to pipeline quality gas - very similar to characteristics of natural gas.

Direct use of LFG to offset another fossil fuel is occurring in about one-third of the current operational projects. This direct use of LFG can be in a boiler, dryer, kiln, greenhouse or other thermal applications.

What do you mean by direct use?

Direct use of LFG is often a cost-effective option when a facility that could use LFG as a fuel in its combustion or heating equipment is located within approximately 5 miles of a landfill; however distances of 10 miles or more can also be economically feasible in some situations. Some manufacturing plants have chosen to locate near a landfill for the express purpose of using LFG as a renewable fuel that is cost-effective when compared to natural gas.

The number and diversity of direct-use LFG applications is continuing to grow. Project types include:

• Boilers, which are the most common type of direct use and can often be easily converted to use LFG alone or in combination with fossil fuels.
• Direct thermal applications, which include kilns (e.g., cement, pottery, brick), sludge dryers, infrared heaters, paint shop oven burners, tunnel furnaces, process heaters, and blacksmithing forges, to name a few.
• Leachate evaporation, in which a combustion device that uses LFG is used to evaporate leachate (the liquid that percolates through a landfill). Leachate evaporation can reduce the cost of treating and disposing of leachate.

What is the alternative to direct use?

The creation of pipeline-quality, or high Btu, gas from LFG is becoming more prevalent. In this process, LFG is cleaned and purified until it is at the quality that can be directly injected into a natural gas pipeline. Also growing in popularity are projects in which LFG provides heat for processes that create alternative fuels (e.g., biodiesel or ethanol). In some cases, LFG is directly used as feedstock for an alternative fuel (e.g., compressed natural gas [CNG], liquefied natural gas [LNG], or methanol). Only a handful of these projects are currently operational, but several more are in the construction or planning stages. LFG has also found a home in a few greenhouse operations.

Arc Southern has exclusive agreement with Renewable Energy Solutions Technologies, Inc, to develop wind energy projects. The intent of this is to give a brief overview of wind energy projects across the globe. Arc Southern provides innovative solutions in using wind energy, combined with LFG projects, as well as we provide the most technologically advanced solutions to our clients.

Brief overview of wind energy

Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form, such as electricity, using wind turbines. At the end of 2008, worldwide nameplate capacity of wind-powered generators was 121.2 gigawatts (GW). Wind power produces about 1.5% of worldwide electricity use, and is growing rapidly, having doubled in the three years between 2005 and 2008.

Large-scale wind farms are typically connected to the local electric power transmission network; smaller turbines are used to provide electricity to isolated locations. Utility companies increasingly buy back surplus electricity produced by small domestic turbines. Wind energy as a power source is attractive as an alternative to fossil fuels, because it is plentiful, renewable, widely distributed, clean, and produces no greenhouse gas emissions; however, the construction of wind farms (as with other forms of power generation) is not universally welcomed due to their visual impact and other effects on the environment.