Landfill Cleanup On The Rise

Harris Group Inc. is the design engineer for Green Power Systems LLC, in its Tallahassee Municipal Utilities Plasma Gasification project. Plasma gasification is an existing technology that more efficiently creates energy from garbage. It uses torches operating at temperatures up to 5,000 degrees fahrenheit, turning organic matter into synthetic gas and inorganic material into a lava-like slag that can be used for materials such as concrete aggregate. Because of the changes in pricing dynamics and carbon-emission worries, plasma gasification, a decades-old technology, is now more competitive. Plasma gasification is being considered as a viable alternative for producing energy and disposing of waste. Tallahassee Municipal Utilities is purchasing 35 MW from a plant that will consume 1,000 tons of landfill waste per day. The plant should be operational by October 2010. With the number of plasma gasification projects on the rise, Harris Group is excited at the opportunity to design solutions for the many landfill issues we face today.