I-Corps: Waste Torrefaction Technology

这个I-Corps项目的广泛影响/商业潜力是尽量减少堆填废物的处置，并生产清洁和可再生的固体燃料。该项目的主要目标是深入了解客户需求，并确定该技术是否具有价值主张。废物是一种难以处理的原料，与高氯含量有很大的不一致性。该团队开发了一种热处理方法来解决这些问题，生产出一种碳化燃料产品，这将使能源密集型公司（水泥窑、冶金、电力等）受益，鼓励他们使用可再生能源并降低成本。社会将从该项目中受益，减少垃圾填埋，保护土地免受未来填埋，减少有毒渗滤液的污染，减少温室气体排放，并将废物转化为资源，从而支持循环经济。这个I-Corps项目将揭示客户在固体燃料燃烧领域的需求和痛点，并帮助确定碳化废物是否可以被视为用于中小型发电厂的固体燃料。作为客户发现过程的一部分，将探讨将废物用于能源应用的问题，如处理困难、运输困难、大不一致、高氯含量、严重腐蚀和排放。该团队开发了一种焙烧系统，通过一系列工艺解决了这些障碍，包括缩小尺寸、熔化、热解和制粒，从而减少了氯和硫。该固化产品为颗粒状，具有高均匀性、高密度、高热含量、高稠度、高耐久性等特点。颗粒氯含量低，可研磨，安全储存，安全运输，成本低。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to minimize landfilled waste disposal and produce clean and renewable solid fuel. The main objective of the project is to gain insight into customer needs and to determine if there is a value proposition for this technology. Waste is a feedstock that is difficult to handle and has large inconsistencies with high chlorine content. The team has developed a heat treatment that addresses these issues, producing a torrefied fuel product that will benefit energy intensive companies (cement kilns, metallurgy, power, etc.), encouraging them to use renewable energy and reduce costs. Society will benefit from this project through reduced landfilling, which will preserve the land from future landfilling, reduce pollution by the toxic leachates, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and turn waste into a resource, thus supporting the circular economy. This I-Corps project will reveal customer needs and pain points in the area of solid fuel combustion and help to determine if torrefied waste can be considered as a solid fuel used in small-to-medium size power plants. As part of the customer discovery process, problems in using waste for energy applications such as difficulty in handling, difficulty in transport, large inconsistencies, high chlorine content, and severe corrosion and emissions will be explored. The team has developed a torrefaction system that addresses these hindrances with a series of processes, including downsizing, melting, pyrolization, and pelletization which reduces chlorine and sulfur. This torrefied product is pellet-shaped with high uniformity, high density, high heat content, high consistency, and high durability. The pellets are low in chlorine content, grindable, safe to store, safe to ship, and low in cost.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.