Themis Power Corporation Ltd
Strathroy,, Canada

The process has the capability to capture up to 98% of all recyclable materials that remain in the waste stream post consumer. These recyclables are then sold to market. The balance of the waste stream is then positively selected, combined with other high BTU admixture products, such as poly film, and converted into high-density, high-BTU fuel pellets. This environmentally sound process significantly reduces the number of large over-the-road diesel trucks that have to haul the MSW to landfills, thus reducing truck emissions, as well as the amount of methane gas that is released to atmosphere through the landfill process.

Technology: Positive selection admixture pelletization

Advantage: Measurable fuel in a fuel classification that has previously been unmeasurable

Purpose: Environmental /energy technology that converts negative value municipal solid waste into a uniform fuel product with measurable heat rate,moisture content, and pre combustion emission profile

Sector Application: Municipal (Residential solid waste); End Use by Power Industry; Cement Industry; Gasification Industry and Greenhouses in Ontario

Overview Process

The pelletization process of residential/ commercial MSW is an environmentally compatible alternative way of dealing with the problematic waste disposal issues, presently facing municipalities throughout North America. The primary objectives of this process are to reduce the transportation of significant volumes of MSW to landfill, reduce the volume of methane gas released into the atmosphere – a major contributor of greenhouse gases and to redirect significant volumes and weight of non- hazardous MSW streams that are presently disposed of in a landfill into an _environmentally_acceptable_fuel_product_ ,trademarked as Pellet, that can be used for the beneficial use of energy consumers currently dependent on coal, oil or even natural gas.

In contrast to the current typical approach of disposing of all non hazardous MSW by trucking it to a local “transfer station”, separating it and then trucking it again to the designated MSW landfill, often hundreds of miles away, for disposal, this technology employs a patented recipe and process that significantly reduces the volume of MSW that must ultimately be landfilled. Under the Themis process, up to 98+% of all recyclable materials can be recycled. This allows the significant balance of the waste stream to be positively selected, combined with other high BTU admixture products, such as poly film, and converted into high-density, high BTU pellets. This environmentally compatible process significantly reduces the number of large over-the-road diesel trucks used to haul the MSW to landfills, thus reducing truck emissions, into the atmosphere by landfills, a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. 

The plant design incorporates a fully interlocked control system monitored from a central control room within the plant. This system also incorporates all necessary monitoring devices within the plant operating system to ensure that any dust is removed from the plant atmosphere. The system is fully interlocked with Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) to control all of the safety devices such as photo-cells, limit switches and flow switches. The PLCs are set up to control the start up and shut down sequences. The component parts of the system are tied into a Distributed Control System (DCS) and controlled by the main computer.

Pellet Production

According to recent statistics, about 30% of the current MSW waste stream is recycled (1). The equipment utilized in the Pellet product system, enables the efficient processing of residential MSW which results in the recovery of
at least an additional 8-10 percent of the MSW in the form of recyclables by removing materials such as Type 1 and 2 plastics, aluminium, tin, and glass.

The process starts with the delivery of MSW to the plant by the garbage pick-up trucks used by the Regions in their residential neighbourhoods. The MSW is dropped on to a tip floor, with the mobile grapple operator moving any obvious hazardous or large materials to the side for either later use or disposal. The remaining material is then dropped into a Shredder and onto a incline conveyor with a magnetic head pulley to separate metals then onto a onto a three tear vibrating finger screen where smaller items are drop through on to a conveyor, and sent back to the Upping floor into a large roll off bin, 95% of this fraction is dirt, gravel, ect. The remaining waste passes onto a belt conveyor were magnets remove ferrous and none ferrous items; the waste continues in to an air separation system where the heavy fraction falls out onto a conveyor ferrous and none ferrous magnets remove any metals left behind from the reaming waste continues through the system.

The product then continues through the air separation system were the next separation takes place and the light heavy fraction falls out onto a conveyor ferrous and none ferrous magnets remove any metals which are dropped into small roll off bins the remaining waste then goes to the Optical separator PVC is removed from the system and sent to the bailer, the remaining waste continues through the system. This meets with the rest of the MSW out of the air separation system and continues to the shredders, the waste is shredded to a 2″ particle, the waste is them sent by conveyor to a fiberizer the waste is broken down into a fluff which is like (blown insulation) the product is then conveyed to a large live bottom hopper. This stored material is then mixed with high BTU materials such as plastic or other acceptable materials and then pelletized and stored for sale and transportation to their final destination for use as an alternate fuel.