Can the KDV facility be operated on a staggered schedule; by turning it on for a period of time then shut off until a later date or time?
Like a conventional refinery, the KDV process is a 24h operation. The KDV system is such a dedicated technology that it can not be switched on and off.
One specific feature of this technology is the heat transfer, achieved by a patented turbine running in an 'oil bath'. This technology prevents the solid carbon build-up, which is a constant problem in refinery technology and other thermal depolymerization processes. The fact that the turbine friction parts, creating the process heat, are constantly flushed by the surrounding oil prevents the large heat differences in convection systems (flame heated plates or boilers) that lead to carbon build-up.
It actually requires several hours to heat up to the required temperature and consistency, and conversely requires an equally long time to cool down. Therefore, it is designed to run and convert on a steady run.
And remember, as long as it runs it is turning out valuable quality diesel fuel - clean and without carbon soiling.
Dedicated Feedstock
Is it better to use one specific feedstock or is it possible to mix?
Frequently we are asked, if a unit is built in a recycle center or adjacent to a landfill do we need to sort the refuse and deal with one type of feedstock at a time, like all clippings or only sawdust, or is it possible to mix the input.
Actually, we’ve found that the system works better and produces a higher quality fuel when various feedstock is mixed.
A dedicated run is fine but a mix is even better.
Yield
What does the term'yield’ mean?
Yield describes the relation between feedstock input and diesel output. Lets say one pound of shredded carpet might result in two and a half cups of high grade diesel.
As the energy contents (BTU per weight unit) of feedstock varies substantially, it is only natural that different base materials yield more or less diesel fuel.
At the high end is feedstock derived from fossil sources, like waste oil and plastic, as well as high-energy oils from plants like canola.
On the other hand, some feedstock, for example glycerol from biodiesel production, due to the fact that most of the energy has been taken out and stored in the biodiesel, have only a very low residual energy contents.
The cellulosis of most regrowing feedstock, like chaff, rice straw or switch grass have also a relatively low energy contents and yield about 30%. In other words, one ton of this material will result in 80 to 85 gallons of diesel. Cellulosic ethanol also yields 80 gallons, but under the consideration that diesel has almost twice the BTU (energy contents) than ethanol, KDV yields almost twice the energy from the same feedstock as cellulosic ethanol processes!
This shows the tremendous competitiveness of the KDV process.
Plastic
I understand that plastic results in a very good yield of oil from the KDV. Does this apply to all plastic?
Yields from Plastics vary; for example, there is little yield from foam plastic (styrene). Most all else presents a very high yield of 80% weight and more.
Unfortunately, Plastic-to-Energy in Japan – “A consortium of public and private players is planning to build the nation's first power plant that burns waste plastic as fuel. Plastic waste from the Tokyo Metro area will make up half the feedstock, and industrial waste will make up the balance.
The plastic will be pelletized before shipment to the pilot plant in Iwaki City.
The government likes to refer to this as 'thermal recycling' so it fits in with administration plans to promote incinerators with energy generation capability. They also see it as a first step toward 90% plastic 'recycling' by the next century."
What a waste - external combustion (incineration) has only one quarter the energy efficiency of internal combustion in an engine. Therefore it would make much more sense converting plastic into diesel and use it a propulsion fuel.
Cleaning
How frequently has the system to be cleaned?
The system is designed for continous operation. The area around the unit, namely for drying, cutting and other pre-processing, has to be kept clean for prevention of accidents. The KDV unit itself receives only fine cut and clean material and does not requiry cleaning outside the service intervals. Solid residue from processing, e.g. from dried sewarage sludge, is extracted from the bottom of the reaction chamber, de-oiled and transported outside the facility.
Maintenance
What kind of maintanance is necessary?
Liike every other industrial equipment, KDV requires regular maintenance. Overall availability is 330 days or approx. 8000 hours per year. It is not necessary to shut the system down outside the regular maintenance intervals . Minor maintenance has to be done during operation, since the system has to be configured in such way that this will be possible.
There will obviously be improvements in the works as we go along, particularly with respect to turbine wear, feedstock preparation, and processing within the KDV system. We would be happy to share improvements we come across which would certainly be feedback to Christian (Dr Koch) and he would, of course, pass them along to his clients.
Cost
How much does the KDV facility cost?
The value of the unit is substantial, but inconsequential to our clients.
Under our business model, we do not sell the KDV. We exclusively form PPPs and joint ventures with partners who guarantee a continuous flow of feedstock and possibly the land nearby.
Energy Visions will enlist workers from the local economy, train them to the high standards of the company and pay their salaries. In this way, we can maintain proper quality control.
In return, we offer the client the produced diesel at a significant discount. Our partners therefore have two benefits, resolving their waste problem and reasonably priced fuel.
Sales
What happens to the finished product?
The KDV operates 24/7 with a constant amount of gallons per hour, not depending on the type of feedstock. For the mid class KDV500, the production is a minimum of 130 gallons per hour, but can be higher, depending on the feedstock. Fluid feedstock may gain higher throughput.
Depending on the yield from the specific feedstock, however, the necessary amount can vary. While only about 150 gallons of waste oil or 1400 pounds of plastic per hour satisfy the apetite of the KDV500, almost 2 tons of straw, wood chips or other low yield material have to be provided.
10% of its’ diesel output is consumed by the unit for its’ own power.
Under agreement conditions with the client, they can purchase their needs at approximately 10≈15% below market price of ULSD diesel.
The balance is contracted out to wholesalers who supply various gas stations to get KDV diesel in the marketplace. In the long run, we may even establish our own facilities at truck stops and/or other high traffic locales; harbor wharfs, fleet centers, etc.
Timeframe
How long is the installation time from order to operation?
From the client’s firm order, from Dr. Koch’s factory thru delivery, to ultimate fire up – physically, approximately 3 - 4 months.
The bottlneck is the timeframe of the bureaucracy for permitting, which can extend from within this schedule out to 18 months.
Ethanol
What is the advantage of KDV vs Ethanol or Biodiesel?
The heavy focus of alternative fuels seems to be running toward Ethanol. In our present environmental and energy crisis, we applaud any effort to explore other methods to fuel America.
First, the KDV is a pure light oil product - chemically equivalent to diesel fuel from fossil sources - derived from agro-waste and other waste refuse, meant to supply the myriad of diesel vehicles (and oncoming hybrid/diesel and total diesel cars).
Ethanol is crop produced for the gasoline market, which eats directly into our food chain.
The ‘ol’ stands for alcohol, and we need to keep in mind that alcohol steadily attracts water. Ethanol means that there is a high probability that water becomes also present in this fuel. Not a good thing. Many cars stop running due to water in the gasoline
The gas you buy has an octane rating, which is the ability of the fuel to resist knock. Knock can tear an engine apart. However, alcohol can prevent an engine from running properly because of the water absorption.
Ethanol is highly corrosive and can be used only in engines, specially prepared for this use. It can only transported in special tank lorries, as the corrosiveness prevents the use of pipelines.
Another problem is the low energy contents, which is less than 60% of diesel, resulting in a loss of miles-per-gallon.
All the time that alcohol sits inside the tanks at the gas station, in the case of E10 or E15, it is attracting water– especially in wet or cold weather. So, when you gas up– you are also putting water in your car along with the Alcohol in Gasoline.
see: http://www.lubedev.com/articles/alcohol.htm
For Biodiesel, a number of disadvantages come to mind.
Biodiesel is also derived from our food chain - why burn food,
if we can use organic waste?
For each one gallon of biodiesel processed one half pound of Glycerin is left,
at first glance not even necessarily a bad thing. Glycerin is prime for soap
and cosmetics. The KDV can actually take this refuse but it returns only 20%
yield, meaning from 20 gallons of biodiesel refuse we can squeeze out another
gallon of high-grade diesel.
And with, for example, 1 million of biodiesel gallons, 500,000 pounds of glycerin
would be on the market. There is only so much soap you can manufactur. The oversupply
of glycerol is already quite noticable and several producers have started to
burn it - not a good idea, considering its low energy contents. The overhang
of glycerol will be an ongoing problem for the biodiesel industry.
KDV targets the world’s trash piles while Biodiesel consumes food.
It has a much lower ‘cloud’ point which means it can ‘gel’ and thicken in very
low temperatures – like Wisconsin or inside an aircraft wing.
Feedstock Availability
Is there endless feedstock for the various alternative fuel processes?
Our position on the elastic situation of creating fuel out of earth produce has
a disadvantageous market effect. As a result of the current drive to promote
Ethanol gasoline as a replacement fuel, the price of corn has risen, depleting
farm income from exports to a hungry world.
Huge virgin land masses are coming under cultivation to plant more corn; but
United States does not posses the tangible land to support the coming need to
support Ethanol. Remember, 4 billion gallons a day is the requirement. Agro-scientists
are concerned about increased pesticide and fertilizer in the water runoff.
Sugar cane in Brazil and the Caribbean increased in value along with the demand
in Malaysia, palm oil is in high demand after it’s discovery as a source for
biofuel.
The rush has caused a ripple effect of cutting down precious rainforest to install
plantations of palm.
Costs have also risen for soy and rapeseed to supply the biodiesel industry.
Soon, we estimate fast food restaurants will see a source of cash flow and start
charging for their waste fats and French fried oils.
Great amounts of energy are required to produce these alternative fuels; much
of it derived from fossil crude.
Securing Feedstock
How does the KDV stand outside this economic anomaly?
Every corner of the world is inundated with municipal & industrial
waste and trash; so much so we can hardly manage its removal. Nobody
wants this commodity,
no one eats it – except the KDV unit.
Many municipal authorities are so overwhelmed with this troublesome non-article
of trade that they are desperately searching for a way to dispose of, or at the
least, manage it. They abhor the idea of opening another landfill (millions of
dollars).
We come along and offer a solution to this mountain of trash and in the bargain,
sell them back value-added diesel for their civic machines, like school buses,
road vehicles and generators, snow plows, city transit, etc.
This amounts to:
1. a tremendous annual dollar savings
2. operating this equipment with low or no sulfur emissions
3. becoming a city that contributed to curtailing foreign crude imports
4. bringing this environmentally friendly, relatively clean fuel to their citizens.
E-Waste
E -Waste is the Fastest Growing Part of the Waste Stream
Just like batteries, electronics seem safe to use, but if we throw them out,
they can leak toxic chemicals like lead, mercury, and cadmium into our water
and air.
One computer monitor can contain 4-8 pounds of lead, which if released can hurt
an entire community. The problem has reached crisis level because of the sheer
volume of electronic waste being created around the world everyday.
• There are 500 million obsolete computers in the U.S. alone.
• 130 million cell phones are disposed of annually.
• 20 - 24 million TV’s and computers are stored annually in homes and offices.
• Only 10% of unwanted and obsolete computers are recycled
What happens to all the CPUs, monitors, and keyboards when their useful life
is over? What happens to dead TVs and old cell phones?
Mostly, they've been going to landfills, and that's a problem—not only because
it adds to the volume of trash, but more so because these components contain
toxins such as picture and circuit board lead, cadmium, and mercury.
And given that electronic waste is the fastest growing component of the municipal
waste stream, it's a problem that will loom larger in the future. However, this
mounting source of plastic can be mitigated by growing numbers of KDV units.
Non-Feedstock
What can not be put in a KDV?
The key word to remember in regard to the KDV is organic.
This would exclude metal (steel, tin, aluminum, lead), glass, stone, and dirt.
These elements do not jam the machine, but consume more catalyst beyond an economical
payback.
Will we see more diesel passenger cars?
In view of the wild popularity of diesel passenger cars in Europe with market
shares of 30 to 50%, it is astonishing that they never gained a serious share
in the US. Amazing too, even light trucks and vans, which are traditionally diesel
powered in other areas of the world, run on gasoline.
For those reminiscent with the sooty, smoke belching from older big-rig trucks
and buses, or the foul smells from 1970s diesel cars, the question may come as
a surprise.
However today, modern diesel engine design like common-rail direct injection
and soot filters, coupled with the much-cleaner types of diesel are increasingly
available. Biodiesel, and now KDV diesel in particular, make diesel vehicles
an agreeable, environmentally friendly choice.
Diesel-hybrid-electrics would be an obvious, positive development.
So why don't we see them?
The answer varies depending upon where you are. In most of the U.S., diesel fuel
availability in most locations remains the old, dirty, high-sulfur variety. Therefore,
a hybrid diesel actually wouldn't be a significant improvement in emissions.
Alternative fuel pioneers are working to change the infrastructure to accommodate
the proposed new entrys of foreign diesel vehicles scheduled for 2007 and beyond.
This should be good news for the manufacturers as a crucial element to sales
is the ready availability of abundant diesel fuel at the roadside.
In 2006, low-sulfur regulations took effect and the situation may change drastically.
European automakers are testing the water to see if American buyers might convert.
Problems with soot and particulate matter have been solved (drive a BMW diesel
or a Volkswagen TDI next time you’re in Europe). Stylish sedans – coupling the
power of a diesel engine with extreme fuel efficiency better than anything coming
out of Japan – dealers won't be able to keep them in stock.
In Europe, where advanced-technology ‘clean’ diesel autos are one-third to one-half
of the auto scene and growing, some diesel automobile already get mileage roughly
equivalent to hybrids.
The irony is that diesel hybrids could be far more efficient and cleaner than
any vehicle now on the market; and without any leaps in technology. The combination
of modern, clean, diesel engines, Prius-style serial hybrid-electric systems,
and vegetable or waste oil fuels, could provide sheer amazing mileage, cleaner
air, and vastly reduced petroleum dependency. Comfortable, powerful sedans could
get upwards of 80 miles per gallon and be carbon-neutral.
Certainly, diesel hybrids are not impossible. Diesel-electric hybrid buses are
now available and have been rolled out in (among other places) Seattle, Washington
and Apeldoorn, in the Netherlands. As for autos, Ford, GM, and Daimler-Chrysler
each built prototype diesel hybrids a few years ago, which reported mileage in
the 70-80 mpg range. Nevertheless, the automakers opted not to mass produce them,
as the cars could not meet strict air pollution rules while running on the sulfur-laden
American imported diesel fuel.
Combining the power of diesel engines with the efficiency of hybrid technologies
can have terrific payoffs. MIT's Laboratory for Energy and the Environment produced
a study comparing total lifecycle energy efficiency and greenhouse emissions.
This included use, production, fuel production, (and eventual disposal) of idealized
advanced internal combustion, hybrid, and fuel cell vehicles. Diesel hybrids
turned out to be much better than gasoline/gasoline-hybrid cars, and highly competitive
with the best hydrogen fuel cell systems (even assuming an optimistic, accelerated
vehicle fuel cell development).
However, the best hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will require entirely new hydrogen
production, storage, and fueling facilities. Reformed-gasoline fuel cells, which
are more likely to be used, as they would not require the wholesale replacement
of fueling stations, fared much worse.
It is particularly notable now that the results in the MIT study were based on
the assumption that the diesel fuel would be petroleum-based. One of the compelling
aspects of diesel engines is their ability to run on biodiesel, a fuel which
does not actually contain any petroleum - and from now on, that’s KDV diesel
as well.
European automakers are testing the water to see if American buyers might convert.
Problems with soot and particulate matter have been solved (drive a BMW diesel
or a Volkswagen TDI next time you’re in Europe). Stylish sedans – coupling the
power of a diesel engine with extreme fuel efficiency better than anything coming
out of Japan – dealers won't be able to keep them in stock.
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