How it works:

The GCS model facility, MVR, is a co-generation power plant for the disposal of waste and recovery of reusable materials safely and reliably.

MVR utilizes a state of the art, flue-gas cleaning system that ensures the emission values stay near or even below the detection limits. It has been proven that less Dioxin leaves the plant than enters it when the waste is delivered and that is good news for the environment.

Right after initial combustion – while in the first draft, the nitrogen oxides or NOXIs , are reduced by the injection of ammonia.

NOXIs are transformed into nitrogen and water substances that can be found in abundance in the atmosphere. Between the third and fourth draft of the steam generator, about 50% of the fly ash is filtered out of the flue-gases.

After the steam generator the flue-gases pass through the first bag house. With the help of active carbon dioxins, furans and heavy metals are absorbed and separated from the flu-gas.

The next stage is the HCL – hydrochloric acid scrubber.

Acids are scrubbed out of the flue-gas in two stages.

Finally the SO2, sulfur-dioxide scrubber – quick lime is mixed with water to form a lime-slurry which absorbs sulfur dioxide from the flue-gas.

A second bag-house serves as a police filter to extract any remaining heavy metals or dioxins out of the flue-gas with the aide of active carbon.

At the end of the flue-gas cleaning system, the draft-fan pushes the flue-gas into the atmosphere, keeping the steam generator and the flue-gas cleaning system below the atmospheric pressure, so that flu-gases can not escape into the plant.

The environmental impact to the atmosphere is insignificant. It is compared with the emissions from six cars equipped with catalytic converters.

The residues of the flue-gas cleaning system are valuable materials.

The desulphurization at MVR produces a high quality gypsum; higher purity than natural gypsum.

Hydrochloric acid is also recovered, concentrated at 30% and pure … according to technical standards which has proven to be a very marketable product for the power and chemical industries.

Finally, scrap metals and slag remain as marketable products or residue respectively. It is important not to mix fly and bottom ash as that would make it a hazardous component that would require special disposal. When keeping the fly and bottom ash separate, the bottom ash or SLAG, may be used in the construction of roads serving as a stable support for the asphalt.

Other applications include the use of 450,000 tons of bottom ash as the carrying layer at the world’s most advanced, fully automated container terminal located in the port of the city/state of Hamburg. This project has been so successful that there are now three more underway within the port.