Urban Waste Conversion Systems. IGT Project 61030 final report, October 1, 1978-March 31, 1979

The purpose of this study was to assess the market potential of the various systems available, or under development, for converting urban wastes into synthetic gas or liquids. The primary data base for this assessment is a survey which IGT has sent out to experts in this field. The experts were asked to evaluate various conversion systems by assigning point totals to an evaluation matrix. They were also asked to summarize their work in urban waste conversion, to list critical paths which represent obstacles to be surmounted by R and D, and to assess the effect of those obstacles on the market potential of that process. Critical areas for R and D work focus on materials handling and separation techniques, and protection of equipment from abrasive, caustic, or corrosive chemicals in the wastes. Also, prohibitive capital and operating costs in some existing systems must be cited, since investor confidence is eroded by evidence of such experiences. Downtime has been excessive with many systems, stemming from feed problems brought on by the heterogeneous nature of the feedstock. Systems using homogeneous feeds have shown considerably less problems. Perhaps a critical area from a social impact point of view is, can garbage separationmore » be instituted for the home, factory, etc. If so, the chances for waste converison systems to overcome technical problems on the front end are greatly improved, and so is the potential for market penetration.« less