Introduction

By definition, Pyrolysis is the endothermic (heat absorbing reaction) gasification of waste using external energy (heat) in the absence of oxygen. In practice, it involves the controlled breakdown of the waste's molecular structures by elevating their temperatures in the absence of oxygen. High heat must be applied from an external source. Because the flame never touches the waste, and no outside air is added to the chamber, pyrolysis does not allow the waste to combust (an exothermic or heat releasing reaction) within the pyrolysis chamber as it would in a tradional, starved air, rotary kiln, or plasma arc incinerator. There is no turbulence or flame in the pyrolysis chamber to cause currents that carry away air emissions and particulate.

There are no visible particulate emissions from a properly operated Pyrolytic Destructor and it easily meets the most stringent emissions laws in the world - the United States Environmental Protection Agency's regulations pertaining to regulated medical waste incinerators.

In fact, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has excluded equipment achieving true pyrolysis from the hospital and medical waste incinerator regulations because pyrolysis is not considered incineration. The U.S. EPA has even provided a specific exemption for pyrolysis in its most current air pollution regulations (40 CFR 60.50.c(f)). The U.S. EPA has set very rigid standards for pyrolysis. In order to qualify, Honua submitted detailed test results to the U.S. EPA, which have been accepted. To our knowledge, Honua's Pyrolytic Destructors are the only such units that meet the U.S. EPA exemption.

Honua's proprietary Pyrolytic Destructor systems are simple, rugged and capable of destroying even mad cow disease pirons and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Operator training requirements are low, because Pyrolytic Destructors are simple to operate and maintain.

Next Chapter: Pyrolysis Process