ZEROS combines the following well established technologies:
- Rotary Kiln Technology
- Gasification – Oxy-Fuel Technology
- Rankine Cycle Technology
- Fischer-Tropsch Fuels Technology
- Gas Capture Technology
- Clean Water Technology
The gasification-oxidation process is a two stage process using limited oxygen and high temperature. The system gasifies the fuel source to produce primarily Carbon Monoxide and Hydrogen. This synthetic gas forms the building blocks for the transformation to liquid fuels such as diesel using the Fischer-Tropsch technology.
After exiting the gasifier, the gases pass through a dual-stage high efficiency cyclone separator to remove any fine particulates (fly ash). Additional oxygen is introduced into the afterburner to produce Carbon Dioxide and Water (Steam) from the primary combustion chamber gases. The auto-thermal oxidation produces tremendous heat which is used to produce electricity using Rankine Cycle technology.
Any trace gases (impurities) produced from the fuel constituents are conveyed through the afterburner to the Heat Recovery Steam Generator, then on to a baghouse to remove larger particulates. They are ultimately removed in either a packed bed wet scrubber as an acid or salt or an electrostatic precipitator as fine particulates. All ash and particulates are ultimately recirculated back to the rotary kiln, where they combine with a lime additive to be fused into a glassy slag. Typically, in addition to the particulates (flyash), there will be trace gas amounts of SOX, NOX, CL, or any heavy metals removed by a combination of processes (primarily as constituents of the slag or as an acid or salt).
The CO2 produced is removed by cryogenic process to provide for ease of separation from water and any other minute amounts of remaining contaminants. Typically, (depending on the fuel source) the remaining constituents of the gas entering the cryogenic removal process will consist of 5% oxygen, 1% nitrogen, 70-75% CO2 and 20-25% water. The CO2 produced by cryogenic recovery will be 100 percent pure. The CO2 is sold as a by-product, ideally for use in EOR (enhanced oil recovery).
The water vapor is condensed during the cryogenic recovery of the CO2 as distilled water. This internally produced water is then further purified by H-OH mixed bed demineralization or other water purification technology to produce de-mineralized water for condensate makeup and for potential ceramic membrane separation into oxygen and hydrogen. If used for hydrogen separation, the oxygen will be consumed internally and the hydrogen will be sold as a by-product. The oxygen produced can reduce, by up to approximately 30%, the size of the air separation unit that produces the process oxygen. This unit separates the oxygen from the ambient air and provides two additional by-products for sale – nitrogen and argon.
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