Today, Ze-gen is pleased to announce the completion of a 30-day continuous trial of our Liquid Metal Gasification (LMG) technology at our New Bedford Demonstration Facility. Normally, in New Bedford, we’re conducting tests that run anywhere from three hours to twelve hours at a time in order for us to  test and analyze a range of operating conditions. The purpose of the longer continuous runs is to demonstrate the operational viability of the Ze-gen LMG process. This is the second time since Phase II testing began in September 2009 that we’ve conducted a long-term continuous run trial, and the completion of this test brings the facility to over 4200 hours of cumulative run-time.

During this most recent 30-day run, we experienced 90% up-time, which means the gasifier was converting waste railroad ties into a high-quality, tar-free syngas for 90% of the operating time. The other 10% of the time was spent on slagging, operational adjustments and minor maintenance.  Slagging is the process of removing the inorganic constituents of the feedstock from the gasifier. The slag is a recyclable byproduct that is non-leachable and can be used as an aggregate for construction. All air and solid waste permit limitations were met throughout the trials.  The 90% operational time exceeds our goal of 80%, which helps to further demonstrate the commercial potential of Ze-gen’s LMG technology.

The 30-day operational test run using ground up railroad ties is an example of how Ze-gen’s facilities offer an environmentally beneficial disposal alternative to landfilling and incineration. Railroad ties are waste materials that are difficult to dispose of in an environmentally responsible fashion because they are bulky and contain creosote preservatives. Ze-gen’s ability to process, thermo-chemically destroy, and thus beneficially reuse creosote-treated crossties in an environmentally sound manner presents an excellent alternative to landfilling this material.

Because the New Bedford facility is a pilot plant, the syngas produced is not used to generate steam or electricity. The LMG process’s performance and emissions are continuously monitored for R&D and reporting purposes. The process produces  consistent, tar-free syngas and the 30-day continuous run helps to further demonstrate how Ze-gen’s LMG process  can offer existing facilities seeking to reduce their fossil fuel use, a reliable and continuous source of renewable fuel.