At GTL we employ an intelligent process as our way to solve problems. This may involve improved procedures and processes or it may mean the appropriate technology to provide a favorable outcome. Here are a few of the technologies that we are using currently at locations around the world:
ADVANCED PYROLYSIS
Advanced Pyrolysis, one of the primary methodologies used in waste-to-energy systems, is a process where organic and inorganic material (referred to as feedstock) is heated in an oxygen free environment, thereby producing fuel gases (clean combustible methane-based gas which can be used to generate electricity) and char (a sludge with a tar like consistency which based on the feedstock can be converted into various types of activated carbon products). The feedstock for a pyrolysis system will traditionally come from waste generated from the agricultural industry but for our purposes we will focus on waste from municipal landfills. This waste is called municipal solid waste (MSW) which waste hauling firms will pay companies to take. This creates yet another revenue stream for this process.
NANOTECHNOLOGY
It has been shown that carbon nanotubes exhibit strong adsorption affinities to a wide range of aromatic and aliphatic contaminants in water] due to their large and hydrophobic surface areas. They also showed similar adsorption capacities as activated carbons in the presence of natural organic matter. As a result, they have been suggested as promising adsorbents for removal of contaminants in water and wastewater treatment systems. Moreover, membranes made out of carbon nanotube arrays have been suggested as switchable molecular sieves, with sieving and permeation features that can be dynamically activated/deactivated by either pore size distribution (passive control) or external electrostatic fields (active control
OZONE
Ozone is the most powerful oxidising agent permitted for use at this time (only fluorine is stronger – its use is banned in most countries). As an oxidising agent it is 51% stronger than chlorine and has a kill rate of 3.125 times faster. Ozone owes its biocidal effectiveness to its ability to oxidise organic material in bacterial membranes, which weakens the cell wall and leads to cell rupture causing immediate death of the cell. In contrast, chlorine, and all other oxidising and non-oxidising biocides, must be transported across the cell membrane in order to interfere with either the nuclear reproductive mechanism or various enzymatic life-giving reactions in the cell, in either event resulting in substantially less biocidal efficiency. For this reason, ozone is capable of destroying all bacteria, algae and biofilms with no risk of resistance build up or immunity. Even resistant and problematic aqueous micro-organisms. Ozone remains effective over a wide pH range. Although viruses are more resistant to ozone destruction than bacteria, viral inactivation occurs more readily with ozonation than with halogenation.
CRYOGENICS
Cryogenic grinding or cryomilling is the process of cooling or chilling a material and then reducing it to ao a smaller particle size. Cryomilling is similar to mechanical milling where metallic powders or other samples are milled at a cryogenics temperature under processing parameters resulting in a nanostructured microstructure. Cryomilling involves both the cryogenic temperatures and conventional mechanical milling which suppresses recovery and recrystallization and results in finer grain structures with greater grain refinement. The embrittlement of the sample makes even elastic and soft samples grindable.
CO2 SEQUESTRATION TECHNOLOGY
Carbon dioxide is the most commonly produced greenhouse gas. Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide. It is one method of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere with the goal of reducing global climate change. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is naturally captured from the atmosphere through biological, chemical, and physical processes. These changes can be accelerated through changes in land use and agricultural practices, such as converting crop and livestock grazing land into land for non-crop fast growing plants. Artificial processes have been devised to produce similar effects, including large-scale, artificial capture and sequestration of industrially produced CO2 using subsurface saline aquifers, reservoirs, ocean water, aging oil fields, or other carbon sinks, bio-energy with carbon capture and storage, biochar, ocean fertilization, enhanced weathering, and direct air capture when combined