Waste Vitrification for Thermal Energy Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current municipal waste treatment methods are inefficient, generating hazardous by-products and requiring costly remediation, while lacking comprehensive solutions for diverse waste types such as medical, halogenated, electronic, and radioactive wastes, which pose significant environmental concerns.
Innovation Solution
A process for preparing a recycled non-sorted municipal waste composition comprising SiO2, CaO, MgO, Fe2O3, ZnO, Al2O3, Na2O, TiO2, and K2O, involving shredding, anaerobic heating, plasma treatment, and vitrification to create a thermally stable, inert, and non-toxic material suitable for thermal energy storage applications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If current municipal waste treatment methods are used, then waste can be disposed of, but hazardous by-products are generated and environmental harm occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts hazardous waste materials into beneficial products through gasification and vitrification processes. The organic waste is converted to syngas (useful energy source), and the inorganic waste is transformed into stable vitrified products suitable for construction materials, thereby eliminating environmental harm while creating valuable resources.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies significant parameter changes by subjecting waste to extreme conditions (high temperature gasification, plasma treatment, vitrification) to fundamentally transform the chemical and physical properties of waste materials, converting them from hazardous forms to stable, useful forms with different characteristics.
2Use of energy by moving object
If waste sorting and pretreatment are performed before gasification, then energy production is increased, but process complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal treatment system that handles diverse waste types (organic, inorganic, hazardous, non-hazardous) through a single integrated process combining gasification, plasma treatment, and vitrification, eliminating the need for separate sorting and pretreatment lines for different waste categories.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and separates valuable components (syngas from organic waste, metals from electronic waste) during the treatment process itself, allowing the remaining material to be vitrified, thereby achieving energy recovery and material recovery without requiring extensive pre-sorting infrastructure.
3Reliability
If incineration is used for hazardous waste, then waste is destroyed, but significant harm to health and environment occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the destruction process from harmful incineration to beneficial gasification, where hazardous waste is converted to syngas and stable vitrified products rather than toxic emissions, thereby achieving reliable waste destruction without health or environmental harm.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses controlled atmospheres (limited oxygen for gasification, vacuum plasma environment) instead of open combustion, creating inert or controlled conditions that prevent the formation of harmful combustion by-products while effectively destroying hazardous waste.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If costly remediation processes are applied to contaminated soil, then soil contamination is treated, but further use of the soil is not allowed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes through vitrification, transforming contaminated soil into a stable glass-like material with fundamentally different properties, which can then be reused in construction applications, thereby treating contamination while enabling new uses.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates composite vitrified materials combining contaminated soil with other waste-derived inorganic materials, producing a new composite material with stable properties suitable for construction use, thereby enabling soil reuse after treatment.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The process enables the creation of a recyclable, low-cost, and sustainable material from diverse waste streams, effectively addressing environmental concerns by transforming waste into a valuable thermal energy storage solution, reducing waste accumulation and treatment costs.
Implementation Method 1
heating further the resulting product with plasma arc burners in a low oxygen environment, providing syngas from the organic waste, and a plasma-treated inorganic waste
Implementation Method 2
heating the shredded product in an anaerobic environment; heating further the resulting product with plasma arc burners in a low oxygen environment, providing syngas from the organic waste
Implementation Method 3
heating further the resulting product with plasma arc burners in a low oxygen environment
Data Source
AI summary
This invention is directed to recycled waste composition, uses, applications and processes of preparation thereof.