Page 12 - May/June 2015 Vol. 33 No. 1
P. 12
LEBANON By Nancy Cooper
Waste-To-Energy Facility Approved
The city of Lebanon has signed a con- Funding of the $3.5 million capital gas usage by cleanly converting wood
tract with PHG Energy that will provide cost has been obtained through a federal waste to what is called producer gas or
an environmentally sustainable method program that awards bond subsidies to synthetic gas.
of waste disposal and produce green local projects that conserve energy. Those
power in the process. The waste-to-energy Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds are Craighead said that the city is view-
technology, which will go on-line early allocated through the Tennessee Depart- ing this installation as a first stage in a
next year, is a downdraft gasification plant ment of Environment and Conservation, larger plan to convert the city’s household
that will cleanly convert up to 64 tons per and repay communities about 70 percent and commercial garbage to energy in the
day of blended waste wood, scrap tires of interest expense. future. He added, “We see keeping our
and sewer sludge into a fuel gas that will garbage out of the landfill and using it to
generate up to 300Kw of electricity. The The Lebanon project will mark the make energy as major goals for Lebanon
generation of this power will provide for 14th gasifier installation for PHGE. The in coming years. This is a problem that
the plant’s internal power needs as well company’s first municipal installation is coming straight at all of us, and we are
as contribute electricity to the wastewater was commissioned in Covington in 2013. going to make sure our city is ready with
treatment plant where it will be located. Prior deployments of the thermo chemi- answers. One of our primary criteria is that
cal process were for industrial brick the solutions we want will have to make
“This is not incineration or burning,” manufacturing clients to replace natural good financial sense along the way.”
Lebanon Mayor Philip Craighead pointed
out. “There is no smoke or odor. The feed- Lebanon
stock material is broken down at very high Process Flow
temperatures in a sealed vessel, and about Diagram
95 percent of what goes into the gasifier
comes out as the fuel gas.” Craighead also Lebanon’s plant, when complete, will be similar in appearance to the Covington waste to energy plant.
said the remaining 5 percent to 10 percent
of material exiting the gasifier is a high-
carbon biochar that can be recycled or
sold for agricultural or industrial uses.
PHGE President Tom Stanzione said
the Lebanon project will deploy what his
company believes is the world’s largest
downdraft gasifier and added, “This is
the same basic technology we utilized
in all our previous designs, and we have
upgraded capacity and power density to
accomplish a lot more gasification in what
is not a lot more space.”
The Large Frame gasifier, as the com-
pany refers to it, has been vetted through
a rigorous testing process for more than 2
years at PHGE’s research facility. A stan-
dard PHGE gasifier can convert up to 12
tons of feedstock per day to fuel gas, while
the Lebanon model will process up to 64
tons per day without substantially increas-
ing the footprint of the plant.
The plant is projected to keep more than
8,000 tons of material out of landfills each
year – the equivalent of a line of trucks over
4 miles long. Carbon dioxide emissions will
be reduced as well, keeping over 2,500 tons
out of the atmosphere each year. According
to the Environmental Protection Agency,
that equates to the CO2 produced annually
to provide electricity to 312 homes, or the
annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions from
over 450 passenger vehicles.
12 TPW May/June 2015
Waste-To-Energy Facility Approved
The city of Lebanon has signed a con- Funding of the $3.5 million capital gas usage by cleanly converting wood
tract with PHG Energy that will provide cost has been obtained through a federal waste to what is called producer gas or
an environmentally sustainable method program that awards bond subsidies to synthetic gas.
of waste disposal and produce green local projects that conserve energy. Those
power in the process. The waste-to-energy Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds are Craighead said that the city is view-
technology, which will go on-line early allocated through the Tennessee Depart- ing this installation as a first stage in a
next year, is a downdraft gasification plant ment of Environment and Conservation, larger plan to convert the city’s household
that will cleanly convert up to 64 tons per and repay communities about 70 percent and commercial garbage to energy in the
day of blended waste wood, scrap tires of interest expense. future. He added, “We see keeping our
and sewer sludge into a fuel gas that will garbage out of the landfill and using it to
generate up to 300Kw of electricity. The The Lebanon project will mark the make energy as major goals for Lebanon
generation of this power will provide for 14th gasifier installation for PHGE. The in coming years. This is a problem that
the plant’s internal power needs as well company’s first municipal installation is coming straight at all of us, and we are
as contribute electricity to the wastewater was commissioned in Covington in 2013. going to make sure our city is ready with
treatment plant where it will be located. Prior deployments of the thermo chemi- answers. One of our primary criteria is that
cal process were for industrial brick the solutions we want will have to make
“This is not incineration or burning,” manufacturing clients to replace natural good financial sense along the way.”
Lebanon Mayor Philip Craighead pointed
out. “There is no smoke or odor. The feed- Lebanon
stock material is broken down at very high Process Flow
temperatures in a sealed vessel, and about Diagram
95 percent of what goes into the gasifier
comes out as the fuel gas.” Craighead also Lebanon’s plant, when complete, will be similar in appearance to the Covington waste to energy plant.
said the remaining 5 percent to 10 percent
of material exiting the gasifier is a high-
carbon biochar that can be recycled or
sold for agricultural or industrial uses.
PHGE President Tom Stanzione said
the Lebanon project will deploy what his
company believes is the world’s largest
downdraft gasifier and added, “This is
the same basic technology we utilized
in all our previous designs, and we have
upgraded capacity and power density to
accomplish a lot more gasification in what
is not a lot more space.”
The Large Frame gasifier, as the com-
pany refers to it, has been vetted through
a rigorous testing process for more than 2
years at PHGE’s research facility. A stan-
dard PHGE gasifier can convert up to 12
tons of feedstock per day to fuel gas, while
the Lebanon model will process up to 64
tons per day without substantially increas-
ing the footprint of the plant.
The plant is projected to keep more than
8,000 tons of material out of landfills each
year – the equivalent of a line of trucks over
4 miles long. Carbon dioxide emissions will
be reduced as well, keeping over 2,500 tons
out of the atmosphere each year. According
to the Environmental Protection Agency,
that equates to the CO2 produced annually
to provide electricity to 312 homes, or the
annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions from
over 450 passenger vehicles.
12 TPW May/June 2015
