PyroGenesis: Cool Name, Great Technology For Recycling Solid Waste
The United States is a country with a serious garbage problem. We comprise 6% of the world's population and yet produce 1/2 its waste. You know you have issues when more landfills start becoming ski slopes.
So, the race is on to figure out what to do with our trash. The good news? 30% of our waste is actively being recycled. The bad news? The rest is still taking of space somewhere. I've read of several technologies that attempt to 'harvest' garbage from these sites and convert it into useful byproducts, but I've yet to see one as widely used as plasma arc gasification from Montreal-based PyroGenesis.
What am I talking about? Plasma arc gasification takes solid waste, shreds it, and then feeds into a furnace where extreme electrical charges bring the temperature above 3,000 degrees. From the article,
After an hour or so, waste material breaks down into its molecular building blocks, leaving three marketable byproducts: a combustible synthesis gas, or syngas, that can be converted into steam or electricity; metal ingots that can be resold and melted down again; and a glassy solid that can be processed into material for floor tiles or gravel. Plasma furnaces can safely handle factory and hospital waste, hazardous runoff, and even the oil sludge that comes off ships.
How about that? This process is especially useful for large ships at sea with very few opportunities to dock and dispose. The Carnival Cruise line uses a PyroGenesis system to reduce 5 tons per day of cabin waste and food on one of its vessels into a few pounds of harmless sand. The US Navy recently hired PyroGenesis to develop plasma waste systems for new aircraft carriers due out in 2015. As the article mentions, an estimated $40 billion is spent annually to transport, incinerate, recycle, and store waste in the United States alone. The opportunity to cash in on this industry is immense.
Hit the article for more, and let's hope that the days of ski-slope landfills are coming to an end.
Tags: disposal, Green Tech, pyrogenesis, recycle, waste
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April 25th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
Pyrogenesis has been under bankruptcy protection for over an amazing 3 years with no sign of recovery. All of the inventors listed on the patent for their key technologies no longer work for the company.
Carnival Cruise Lines bought one system from them 4 years ago, and hasn’t purchased anymore since.
They are currently embroiled in a number of frivolous lawsuits initiated by them.
All to say, do your homework before considering investing in this company.
June 20th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
Dear All,
My name is Peter Pascali and I am the President of both PyroGenesis PLC and PyroGenesis Canada Inc. and together with my family and employees own, directly or indirectly, 99% of the technology referred to above.
I write to you today to address the anonymous comment posted above which only recently was brought to my attention.
First and foremost, the technology referred to above, its’ IP and assets, are not subject in any manner whatsoever to any sort of bankruptcy protection in Canada nor in any other jurisdiction. This also applies to the companies housing such. The record is clear in this regard. Also, these same companies have not been, and are not, a party to any lawsuit frivolous or otherwise. The record is also clear in this regard as well.
With respect to the balance of the comment it saddens me to read such material which can only be characterized as genuinely misleading at best. The writer of such nonsense would have you believe that my company is shell, without inventors, embroiled in lawsuits and bankrupt to boot. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
What is true is that we have a dedicated and talented group of engineers who have been together, developing this technology over many years and against significant odds, to demonstrate the above technology in one of the most demanding environments in the world: the marine environment – on board ships! The result is that we have 7 patents in 28 jurisdictions (The most recently awarded, and those currently pending, are considered some of the most amazing developments to date). We count amongst our best clients the US Navy and Carnival Cruise Lines who both have done business with us and continue to do business with us to this day. In fact recently Carnival supported our program to develop sludge oil capabilities and we are entirely successful in this regard. Also Carnival was key in securing Lloyds Registry approval for our marine system and such was received late last year. Our program with the US Navy has been ongoing since 1999 with the objective of installing such a system on an aircraft carrier. We are confident that we will shortly conclude a contract to do just that. All this to say that such long term relationships with such credible entities are not typically the purview of bankrupt companies with no inventors!!!
Another interesting sidebar not known to most is that in the summer of 2006 we were cleared to do a public placement on the AIM exchange in the UK. We were sponsored at the time by the oldest brokerage house in the UK renowned for managing the Royals’ money. To the uninitiated this might not seem like much, but the process required to be accepted on such a credited exchange is grueling. Suffice it to say that we passed with flying colors – to be accepted on the AIM exchange implies you have gone under the microscope which once again is not the purview of bankrupt companies with no inventors.
So the only question that remains is why would someone post such misleading comments? To that I do not have an answer. A disgruntled ex-employee? Competitors that might try in vain to make things difficult for us? In the end it does not much matter for the technology will march on as it gains acceptance amongst the giants of the world such as the US Navy and Carnival Cruise Lines
I trust that the mere fact that I identify myself in this commentary while the other commentator speaks from behind the veil of anonymity has not been lost on the reader.
I leave you with one last thought regarding the technology described above: The best is yet to come!!!!
Peter
June 25th, 2007 at 6:29 pm
What Peter Pascali forgot or omitted to mention that he is also President of PyroGeneisis Inc., the company that is under bankruptcy protection and involved in law suits.
Why he created PyroGenesis Canada Inc. and PyroGenesis PLC after PyroGenesis Inc. was put in to bankruptcy protection should be apparent to the reader…..
The best is yet to come?