[greenyes] Waste to hydrogen

[Amy Perlmutter <amyperl@no.address>]

FYI. I don¹t know anything about this other than what¹s here, so don¹t ask
me any questions!



SOURCE Chemical Engineering Progress, Vol. 100, No. 1, January, 2004,
p. 15
ABSTRACT Startech Environmental Corp. (Wilton, CT; www.startech.com
<http://www.startech.com> )
has signed a contract valued at approximately $500,000 with the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE; Washington, DC; www.doe.gov <http://www.doe.gov>
) to build 
and demonstrate a commercial-scale system that produces hydrogen
through the destruction of hazardous and non-hazardous liquid and solid
waste, in which waste volumes are reduced by a factor of 300:1. The
integrated Startech Plasma Converter and StarCell membrane system
will be tested at Startech's Technology Park facility in Bristol, CT, with
the StarCell membrane manufacturer, Media and Process Technology,
Inc. (Pittsburgh, PA; www.mediaandprocess.com
<http://www.mediaandprocess.com> ). Project completion
is expected in six months. During volume reduction, waste is fed to the
electrically powered Startech Plasma Converter, where it is irreversibly
destroyed by molecular dissociation and converted into plasma converter
gas (PC), a synthesis gas mixture that is rich in hydrogen. The PCG is then
fed to the StarCell membrane, an ultra-thin nanoporous inorganic film
supported on a low-cost porous ceramic filter, which extracts hydrogen
for use in energy and power applications. The balance of the PCG,
comprised mostly of carbon-based molecules, can also be used for
energy. "When the PCG is used in StarCell to produce hydrogen, the
cost of hydrogen production is much lower than it would be if fossil-fuel
feedstocks were to be purchased," says Karl Hale, Startech vice president
of engineering. Startech's Plasma Converter is commercially available now.
With DOE's support, full-scale production and deployment of the StarCell
is expected in the near future. (full text)