Hydrothermal Processing of Base Camp Solid Wastes To Allow Onsite Recycling

摘要

Bouldin Corp., McMinnville, TN, has developed a technology to process domestic solid waste using a unique hydrothermal system. The process was successfully demonstrated at Forts Benning and Campbell, where it was determined that, while the process was energy intensive, it had potential as a means to recycle Army solid wastes, both within and outside the Continental United States. The purpose of this study was to determine if the hydrothermal system could be made more energy efficient, thus making it suitable to deploy at Army contingency operations bases. Bench-scale experiments have shown that the desired characteristics of processed solid waste can be achieved at temperatures lower than temperatures currently used in the Bouldin process, thus decreasing projected energy requirements for a deployed system. A simple economic analysis shows that using waste wood as a fuel for steam generation would have even greater affect on reducing the power requirements for the system. It is recommended that the Army proceed with the development of a deployable WasteAway system. It is recommended that alternative operating scenarios and system configurations that address the treatment of other problem base camp wastes also be investigated.