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Reclamation & Remediation

• Drill Cuttings

  • Diesel Reclamation

  • Aggregates Remediation

• Landfill Remediation & Reclamation

The residual byproduct of AG’s Waste handling technology & process is all of the inorganic (non-carbon bearing) material which was either mixed with, or an integral part of, the material found in the waste stream. 100% of the ferrous, and non-ferrous metals, and glass are recovered at the end of the process cycle. The only other product remaining is a fine, mineral residue (usually containing less than 5% carbon) which is an acceptable concrete additive, and can be made into reusable products at the plant site. Nothing from AG’s process should be destined for landfill disposal.

Drill Cutting

Any time an oil well drilling company drills a well, a hole in the earth is made which runs several thousand feet deep. As the hole gets deeper and deeper the sand and gravel come up out of the hole in a process where drilling fluid is pumped into the hole through the bit and this pressure floats the sand and gravel bits to the surface. When this mixture reaches the surface, the free-flowing diesel oil portion is usually reclaimed at the drill site for re-use, the remainder of the oil-soaked sand and gravel are called “drill cuttings”. These drill cuttings are placed in a reserve tank. When the tanks are full they have been dumped at a landfill. The US EPA is or soon will be changing all of that. Due to the high Carbon load of the diesel oil, there are major environmental objections to dumping the drill cuttings in landfills. In some states this is already prohibited. In other states such prohibition regulation is being developed. The average reserve tank is comprised of approximately 60% diesel oil, and 40% sand and gravel. We have found that the significant volume of diesel oil in the drill cuttings can be effectively reclaimed by exposing the raw reserve tank contents to our gasification / condensation process.

Landfill Remediation & Reclamation

The final, long term, sustainable workable solution to waste management is a process which provides a simple, highly efficient, environmentally acceptable and economically realistic alternative to landfilling. Gasification technology is not the ‘end-all-be-all’ solution to every waste management or alternative energy situation. On the other hand, AG’s solutions set is the ultimate of simplicity, economy, and elegance. The un-sorted municipal, industrial or agricultural waste stream is loaded into a AG’s gasification module straight from the delivery vehicle. AG’s process converts all of the combustible materials in the waste load (wood, paper, cardboard, plastics, rubber leather, textiles, yard waste, tires, et al) into a Btu-rich gaseous fuel. The fuel is consumed on site to power a boilers, hot water heaters, refrigeration systems, or electrical power generation systems which in most cases will support almost any industrial or agricultural operation. The result is an integrated efficient system which harnesses energy from diverse waste materials in a cost effective manner while reducing Carbon dioxide and regulated pollutants from its emission stream.

No discussion of waste treatment is complete without addressing the major landfill operators, Waste Management (WMI). WMI is the largest waste company in the United States, with $11.6 billion in current annual revenues. WMI generates 30% of industry revenues and owns or operates 40% of the landfill capacity in the United States - almost twice the amount of its closest competitor. Allied Waste Industries is the second largest waste company and owns or operates 23% of the U.S. landfill capacity. As current landfills reach capacity and are not replaced, the shortfall for waste disposal can be filled by the installation and operation of new, AG’s waste-to-energy facilities.

The reduction in the number of landfills has had an additional environmental impact that goes mostly unnoticed. With fewer landfills, the trucks that haul the waste have to drive farther. Some estimate that whereas waste used to travel 12 miles to disposal, it is now hauled 100 miles or more on average to a disposal site. This increase from 12 miles to over 100 miles increases product handling as well as the financial and social costs of landfill disposal.

Given the persistently increasing volume of MSW, diminishing landfill capacity and the increasing fees, waste handling costs will continue to increase. MSW generators seek an environmentally defensible, financially feasible alternative. Despite the obvious and urgent need, the market has yet to settle upon a viable alternative technology for the purposes of environmentally sensitive waste disposal or on-site energy production that does not generate greenhouse gases.

As current landfills reach capacity and are not replaced, the shortfall for waste disposal can be filled by the installation and operation of new, AG waste-to-energy facilities. Eventually landfills will no longer be an option to disposing of waste. Firms that have foreseen the future will be prepared with alternative waste disposal/ waste management technologies and facilities in place.