Ontario’s garbage is mounting. Most garbage that is not recycled is dumped in landfill sites though we do have separated garbage cans for garbage, recycling and organic. Hence, we need to find an alternative way of getting rid of waste.
Gasification is being used to convert toxic industrial and hospital waste to other substances. It involves heating waste to temperatures that high enough to cause their molecules to decompose into simpler substances.
Plasma gasification involves heating waste in a sealed chamber in which there is almost no oxygen.
Gasification technologies succeed in treating their emissions and waste in some way, though, it also contains some risks. They could be financial, regulatory and environmental risks. For example, many gasification projects failed because of financial non-viability. The Thermoselect gasification facility in Germany lost over $500 million in 5 years of operations.
The gas resulting from gasification contains tars, particulates, halogens, heavy metals and alkaline compounds depending on the fuel composition and the particular gasification process. This can lead to clogging of fluidised beds and increased tar formation.
References:
https://www.crd.bc.ca/docs/default-source/irm-reports/consolidationreportnov17/appendixh.pdf?sfvrsn=509409ca_2 , retrieved on October 16th. 2019
https://www.no-burn.org/wp-content/uploads/Waste-Gasification-and-Pyrolysis-high-risk-low-yield-processes-march-2017.pdf, retrived on October 17, 2019
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