Overview
Recovery 2.0 provides an opportunity to learn how to manage resources in a sustainable method
by treating WASTE as a resource while assisting with the world's demand for
clean WATER and clean ENERGY using
Thermal Reduction.
The Thermal Reduction method of Waste Recovery is an
energy
intense process that takes a novel approach to eliminate
stack
emissions by capturing the would be flue gases
and turning them into a source for the recovery of ELEMENTS and ENERGY.
Recovery 2.0 Concept
For all the
residual materials
remaining after the first
3Rs,
the Recovery 2.0 concept attempts to orchestrate a symbiotic
sequence
of
reactions
designed to optimize the recovery of resources from various
waste streams.
The Recovery 2.0 approach produces
raw commodity
feedstocks from a variety of waste streams utilizing
thermal reduction
methods.
The internal
process
centers around four (4) main working fluid
pipelines
with a number of ancillary support systems in order to achieve the resource recovery goals.
The theory employs a strategy to identify, concentrate and
selectively
extract individual
elements
from an ongoing pool of residues, byproducts and waste materials.
Success is achieved by selectively navigating step by step through the
reactivity
series and
Temperature
Classifications in order to refine or recover individual materials or
commodities.
The Recovery 2.0 system is an energy intense process that operates at a highly energetic state,
by harvesting energy at
each stage
of the process while descending down the
energy scale
so that an overall cumulative efficiency may be obtained.
Highlights and Benefits
The Recovery 2.0 process emits no traditional smoke stack emissions (flue gas) since the system has no smoke stack.
The system does not use a cooling tower and does not emit steam to the atmosphere.
The Recovery 2.0 process converts traditional emissions into valorized
products
as a sustainable resource to be utilized
throughout the circular economy.
While NOT attempting to address the issues of grid scale energy storage, we find ourselves focusing on the challenges of
intermittent off hour operating when choosing renewables as a primary
energy source.
In an effort to minimize or eliminate undesirable emissions,
the operations are engineered with flexible options to accommodate multiple energy source inputs that include
intermittent storage and a green choice of multi-stage processes that accommodate interchangeable
energy
streams.
By utilizing a combination of novel and passive approaches that are
traditionally deemed as less efficient or not energy dense, we may be able to achieve neutral emission goals
with
Short Cycle Regeneration
methods.
By implementing an innovative approach to Waste Recovery operations, the
compound
effect of shuffling the energy stack
may result in the development of one of the worlds most effective sustainability systems.
The design of the Recovery 2.0 process pathways provide maximum flexibility in the options for choosing or adapting to
changing incoming raw feedstocks, product outputs and process energy sources as market conditions dictate.
The Recovery 2.0 approach is designed to encourage competitive technology vendor innovation.
The modular implementation concept allows for side by side comparative demonstration and swap ability as technology evolves.
The bulk of the volume of materials processed within the Recovery 2.0 system are contained within 4
working fluid pipelines,
additional and fringe materials may be processed in ancillary pathway streams.
Recovery 2.0
- Waste Recovery Process
Pathway Flow & Options
- Recovery 2.0 Overview
- Mass Balance
- Carbon Reality
- Combustion Free Concepts
- Waste Stream Feedstocks
- Brine & Waste Water
- Mixed Solid Wastes
- Mixed Plastic Wastes
- Thermal Reduction
- Gas Phase Processing
- Working Fluid Pipelines
- High Temperature Refining
- Molten Media Extraction
- REDOX Displacement
- Liquid Fraction
- Condensed Hydrocarbons
- Steam Condensing (Water)
- Solid Fraction
- Elemental Carbon
- Salts
- Inert Fraction
- Mineral Recovery
- Metal Recovery
- Critical Materials
Recovery 2.0
- Energy and Recovery
Understanding Energy & Recovery
- Energy as a Commodity
- Recovered Energy Strategy
Energy Sources
- Solar
- Electricity
- Waste Heat
- Energy Sidestreams
Energy Storage
- Battery Banks
- Thermal Energy Storage
- Compressed Air Storage
- Exothermic Element Storage
-
Carbon Energy Storage
Short Cycle Regeneration
- Hydro Energy
- Wind Energy
- Gravity Energy
- Gradient Energy
- Hydrogen Recovery
Clean Recovery
- Recovery Technologies
- Circular Synergy
- Bio-Refining
- Energy Options
- Renewable Energy Alternatives
- Electromagnetic Energy
- Plasma Arc Energy
Recovery 2.0
- Summary
Mass Balance Equilibrium
The Recovery 2.0 process embraces the mass balance accounting approach to
rationalize or justify the equilibrium integrity of the system.
A ton of waste feedstock or input will account fully for a ton of output products produced
in order to achieve a balance or equilibrium.
In traditional linear thinking it was an acceptable practice to extract the materials of interest and dispose
or abandon the residues in a process such as combustion where emissions are allowed to be expelled into the open atmosphere.
The Recovery 2.0 process
captures
and harvests the values from what once was considered as waste emissions or
residues.
Joule Equivalent Standard (JES)
In the thermal reduction of waste materials in the Recovery 2.0 process,
Elements and Energy are intertwined and inseparable in such that
the reaction that breaks waste materials down into
elemental components
requires the input of energy.
In a reverse reaction, energy may be extracted by recombining elements.
Both reactions maintain
Mass Balance
equilibrium and in order to account for the total input or output,
a universal unit of measure to represent the change in both Elements and Energy needs to be established.
A
Joule Equivalent
Standard (JES) may provide a mechanism to accurately assess and compare commodities
with different fundamental natures such as Elements and Energy.
A standard unit of measure creates the foundation to determine a valuation and the ability to establish a
formal market exchange system.
Carbon Reality
Mixed or common solid wastes consist largely of
carbon
or
hydrocarbon
based materials.
This includes all types of food waste, green organic wastes and sludges, all wood and paper products,
plastics, rubber and textiles.
The Recovery 2.0 approach regenerates complex waste materials back into the simple elemental building blocks
in order to use waste as a resource to capture value and strategic materials.
The recovered elemental
building blocks
are used to reconstruct the circular resources that are required to build the future.
Since the nature of the original source of the waste feedstocks are carbon or hydrocarbon based, the reality is that many of
the end products produced from a resource recovery process are therefore carbon or hydrocarbon based.
The
Recovery
of carbon provides the opportunity to produce any number of Integrated Carbon
Products
that include Electrolytic Carbon, Filtration Media, Carbon Powders,
and a wide range of fabricated Carbon, Graphite and Graphene products.
One of the most exciting untapped potentials is the production of clean carbon fuels that may be a direct green substitute for coal.
The adoption of closed loop mass balance technologies, that eliminate combustion emissions to the atmosphere, may
provide a virtually unlimited use case for any volume of carbon on a regenerating cycle.
Many projects are currently focused on the de-fossilization of the carbon cycle.
The Recovery 2.0 efforts are largely centered around, and result in, the sequestration of CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) through the conversion
into carbon & carbon products.
This approach is classified in three main areas
1.) The regeneration and productive use of carbon and carbon products
2.) The conversion of CO2 into carbon based chemicals and fuels
3.) The beneficial use of CO2 as an industrial working medium in the form of fluids (gas//liquid) or as a solid.
Combustion free concepts related to the resource recovery industry are largely focused around the avoidance of undesired
emissions.
It is also commonly referred to as Emission Free Combustion.
Performing a life cycle assessment on any thermal reduction process requires the review of at least three main criteria.
The emissions related to the
direct thermal reduction
process, the emissions surrounding the primary
energy sources
and the emissions derived from the use of the
end products
that are produced.
The primary issue of
Combustion
is mainly the concern surrounding the emission of undesirable flue gases and
the reduction or elimination of C02 carbon footprint.
Common emissions include such items as Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Dioxins and Furans and
sulphur and nitrogen derivatives (SOX & NOX) and a variety of other hazardous, toxic or undesirable elements.
Direct Thermal Reduction
In the
Thermal Reduction
process an isolated retort chamber may be used to separate the feedstocks from the primary heat source
in a controlled environment to insure no combustion of the processed feedstocks occur.
The vaporization of waste materials in the absence of combustion avoids the production of undesirable combustion byproducts.
A closed pipeline that controls the flow of the thermal vapors that operates on a
Mass Balance
Equilibrium recovery basis may be considered as a Combustion Free Concept.
Any thermal reduction or combustion process that releases flue gas emissions into the atmospheric environment is not considered as a Combustion Free Concept.
This incudes any incineration, gasification or pyrolysis process that does not operate as a closed system that avoids emissions.
These emissions may be considered Scope 1 Emissions, which are direct emissions that are owned or controlled by a company.
Energy Sources
In the case where the thermal reduction reaction chamber is separate from the primary energy source,
an assessment of the heat source must be performed.
Identifying the source of heat that drives the thermal reduction process and clearly establishing if combustion is a component
in that process.
In the event that combustion is utilized in the energy generation stage a clear certification of the
combustion emission management process may be required.
These emissions may be considered Scope 2 Emissions, emissions that are caused when generating energy.
End Product Uses
When reviewing the end product outputs produced from the thermal waste reduction process,
a clear designation of the intended uses of those products must be established.
If the output products are declared as combustion based fuels, the derivative emissions from those products must be considered.
When these products are consumed or combusted, any emissions that are released into the atmosphere
must be taken into account. These emissions may be considered Scope 3 Emissions.
Some claims of carbon neutrality from the use of green fuels may be made, but the underlying fact is CO2 is emitted.
Oxy Combustion
A closed Combustion process know as Oxy Combustion with the utilization of controlled fuel inputs predetermines
the emission outputs.
An example of this process is the combustion of a blended fuel input of solid carbon and oxygen which produces
an output emission of clean CO2 without other common combustion byproducts.
In those cases where Oxy Combustion is a chosen procedure, controlled emissions may be contained within a
working fluid pipeline
where value may be extracted from the converted product outputs.
Energy as a Commodity
A transformative shift in how we treat Energy must take place, to view energy as a commodity the same as
any other traditional commodity such as metal, plastic or paper.
The establishment of a
Joule Equivalent Standard (JES)
to each element or type of energy
facilitates a universal method to value or exchange these items as commodities.
The
approach
to energy is an integral component in the overall Recovery 2.0 process.
Obtaining a basic understanding of the relationship between
Electricity,
Waste Heat,
Light and Pressure along with other forms of electromagnetic and kinetic energy is fundamental to the
recognition of methods to harvest and transition these commodities.
Traditional 4R's Recovery was typically limited to Energy from
Waste
through combustion, for the single use extraction
of heat to generate electricity.
In the Recovery 2.0 process energy is a driver in the conversion of elemental materials through a multi-stage regeneration
on a mass balance equilibrium basis.
Recovered Energy Strategy
The effectiveness of the Recovery 2.0 system replies upon an Energy Management
Strategy
that utilizes a number of novel approaches such as the use of specific combinations of
fluids
that act as an energy transfer media which may enable new unprecedented levels of efficiency.
From the perspective of the Recovery 2.0 process we tend to think of three classes of primary energy sources
which include 1.) Externally Sourced Traditional Fossil Fuels, 2.) Contemporary Alternative Energies &
most importantly, 3.) Internally Sourced Recovered Energy.
By treating Energy as a
Commodity,
Harvesting
recovered energy
may fuel internal operations or independent external processes.
Excess energy may be stored internally or routed for external energy sales.
The Recovery 2.0 process embraces the mass balance accounting approach to
rationalize or justify the equilibrium integrity of the system.
A ton of waste feedstock or input will account fully for a ton of output products produced
in order to achieve a balance or equilibrium.
Recovered Energy Storage
The
management
of recovered energy requires a robust versatile
Energy Storage
system.
The methods used as a buffer to provide a delay between the accumulation of stored energy
that may be consumed at a later time on demand is a fundamental issue.
The use of a
Short Cycle Regeneration
strategy may reduce the needs or mitigate the total requirements for large size storage systems.
Energy Storage
online collaboration
group.
The concept of Short Cycle Regeneration is a modular approach that is geared towards small scale
energy storage and generation.
By designing modest size storage reserves and tapping into those reserves as required, you may generate power on demand.
Devising a rapid recharging system to top up the storage reserves will allow you to repeat the cycle on a continuous basis.
The idea configuration of a system disassociates the charging cycle, the storage stage and the discharging cycles.
Maximum flexibility would allow for
simultaneous
or independent charging or discharging and/or bypassing the storage stage
by connecting the charge input directly to the discharge output.
Creating stacks of Short Cycle Regeneration modules, that are compatible with the energy
harvesting
opportunities that are available
throughout the Recovery 2.0 operation, you may achieve an efficient energy flow
management
system.
Certain types of energy that share a symbiotic relationship are well suited or adaptable for Short Cycle Regeneration.
These include, but are not limited to,
Hydro,
Wind,
Gravity
and
Gradient Energy.
It is imperative to recognize the fundamental energy inputs and associated economic costs
required to complete the
Regeneration
cycle.
A justification or rationalization of the basic
Charging & Discharging
cycles must be understood in both the
Electron and Non-Electron fields.
A differential exists between the cost of energy inputs and the value of energy outputs in both economic and environmental terms.
Establishing the initial costs of
generating
energy and assessing the regeneration
Charging Cycle
costs are a key fundamental factor along with the round trip efficiency or losses incurred in a regeneration
cycle.
Summary
The
Recovery 2.0
system was established to foster innovation and collaboration with the following objectives :
To maximize the recovery of resources through the reduction of waste materials into
basic elements.
To support the development of
Resource Recovery Industry
technology, products, markets, standards and practices.
To explore, develop and demonstrate the use of clean energy through an
Energy Management Strategy
that utilizes a combination of established and unique novel methods.
Strive to identify and verify primary energy inputs with no "metered fuel cost" by sourcing Renewable or
Recovered Energy.
While developing the Recovery 2.0 concepts we have found a recurring trend that the bulk of all efforts focus around
the recovery of hydrocarbon related materials such as Carbon, Water & Energy.
The
recovery
of all other materials combined appear to be somewhat marginal in total volume compared to these hydrocarbon groups.
