I would like to explain the cutting edge technology of Down Draft Gassification. Gassifiers have been around for over one hundred years. During world War 2, many German citizens had gassifiers in their homes because the fuel was going to the military. What makes this design unique is the gas produced goes through the biochar on the bottom of the gassifier, eliminating over 99 percent of the tars and resins, producing a gas cleaner than natural gas. I have consulted Farmers, Hotels and Home owners on growing without chemicals for almost fifty years. I have been a consultant to the county, 30 years ago, on composting which is now EKO. I have also been a consultant for Lanai, Kihei and am presently consulting Gomes on their new organic compost site. I also had my own compost site for 27 years. My background before coming to Maui 44 years ago was a Grain Elevator , Fertlizer plant, Feed Mill with extruder, 500,000 bushel grain storage, Grain drying and seed cleaning. This back ground gives me an indepth understanding of the process to bring waste to energy. The process is starting with somthing akin to a MRF Material Recovery Facility. The Gassifier must have an appropriate amount of wood carbon, 80 percent. In the MRF process the obvoius metal is extracted , it is then shredded. the remaining metals then can be removed by magnets. Things like carpet, furniture, beds would be shredded separately so that an appropriate mixture with wood can be acheived. The wood if not pallet or home demolition ( green waste) woud need to be dried to 12 %. These different materials would then be pelletized to approximately 1.5 inches. This finished product would go to a storage bin and then metered to the Gassifier at the same rate 24 hours a day. The gassifier will have a by- product of 20 % Biochar, which would be 50% ash and 50 % carbon. As a powder it is a carcinogen, so dealing with it is of importance. This product can be separated with water. The ash could be used in cement, improving the quality. The carbon although cleared for land application, would be limited according to EPA loading rates. Biochar is not good for all soils, such as central Maui but clay soils could benefit. The application would eliminate an organic designation. One ton would fill up a tandem truck of dry material. This 10% probably would need to be landfilled in a pellet form. 20 tons of waste could produce 1 megawatt of electricty, enough for as much as 900 homes. Our company WEST (Waste 2 Energy Inovation Technology ) has made several changes over the last four years, improving each time. We would like Maui to be the leader in this new technology. Thank You for your time.
Aloha Chair Sugimura and members of the infrastructure and transportation committee,
As a life long Maui resident, I wish to act in what I understand and know to be the best for what we can do for Maui. I oppose developing waste to energy infrastructure on Maui.
As waste to power infrastructure requires a minimum amount of trash to be committed, it results in a need to fill this commitment even when there is not enough, as happens on Oahu, when recycled material is moved to trash in order to fill the required weight amount. This type of infrastructure increases the demand of our communities’ consumption of single use materials (such as plastics), and of large scale consumerism in general. This is not a sustainable, healthy way of living, for our island home, for our planet.
Our solution is elsewhere, perhaps banning all single use plastics, buying in bulk, reusable containers and container programs (such as the reusable take out container pilot program in Haleiwa, Oahu, done by Zero Waste O’ahu), and minimizing our overall consumption in general.
Mahalo nui loa for your time and attention,
Sincerely
Jenta Russell
Aloha Council Members
I would like to explain the cutting edge technology of Down Draft Gassification. Gassifiers have been around for over one hundred years. During world War 2, many German citizens had gassifiers in their homes because the fuel was going to the military. What makes this design unique is the gas produced goes through the biochar on the bottom of the gassifier, eliminating over 99 percent of the tars and resins, producing a gas cleaner than natural gas. I have consulted Farmers, Hotels and Home owners on growing without chemicals for almost fifty years. I have been a consultant to the county, 30 years ago, on composting which is now EKO. I have also been a consultant for Lanai, Kihei and am presently consulting Gomes on their new organic compost site. I also had my own compost site for 27 years. My background before coming to Maui 44 years ago was a Grain Elevator , Fertlizer plant, Feed Mill with extruder, 500,000 bushel grain storage, Grain drying and seed cleaning. This back ground gives me an indepth understanding of the process to bring waste to energy. The process is starting with somthing akin to a MRF Material Recovery Facility. The Gassifier must have an appropriate amount of wood carbon, 80 percent. In the MRF process the obvoius metal is extracted , it is then shredded. the remaining metals then can be removed by magnets. Things like carpet, furniture, beds would be shredded separately so that an appropriate mixture with wood can be acheived. The wood if not pallet or home demolition ( green waste) woud need to be dried to 12 %. These different materials would then be pelletized to approximately 1.5 inches. This finished product would go to a storage bin and then metered to the Gassifier at the same rate 24 hours a day. The gassifier will have a by- product of 20 % Biochar, which would be 50% ash and 50 % carbon. As a powder it is a carcinogen, so dealing with it is of importance. This product can be separated with water. The ash could be used in cement, improving the quality. The carbon although cleared for land application, would be limited according to EPA loading rates. Biochar is not good for all soils, such as central Maui but clay soils could benefit. The application would eliminate an organic designation. One ton would fill up a tandem truck of dry material. This 10% probably would need to be landfilled in a pellet form. 20 tons of waste could produce 1 megawatt of electricty, enough for as much as 900 homes. Our company WEST (Waste 2 Energy Inovation Technology ) has made several changes over the last four years, improving each time. We would like Maui to be the leader in this new technology. Thank You for your time.
Aloha Timothy Gunter
Aloha Chair Sugimura and members of the infrastructure and transportation committee,
As a life long Maui resident, I wish to act in what I understand and know to be the best for what we can do for Maui. I oppose developing waste to energy infrastructure on Maui.
As waste to power infrastructure requires a minimum amount of trash to be committed, it results in a need to fill this commitment even when there is not enough, as happens on Oahu, when recycled material is moved to trash in order to fill the required weight amount. This type of infrastructure increases the demand of our communities’ consumption of single use materials (such as plastics), and of large scale consumerism in general. This is not a sustainable, healthy way of living, for our island home, for our planet.
Our solution is elsewhere, perhaps banning all single use plastics, buying in bulk, reusable containers and container programs (such as the reusable take out container pilot program in Haleiwa, Oahu, done by Zero Waste O’ahu), and minimizing our overall consumption in general.
Mahalo nui loa for your time and attention,
Sincerely
Jenta Russell