Short List of Accomplishments to Date
Mount Laurel system,(thermal capacity 25,000,000 Btuh) located in
New Jersey, was designed in 1978. US Patent #4,320,709 was issued to
Kenneth W. Hladun of Omega Thermal Technologies, Inc. for the unique
process and associated innovations. This facility was regarded as
the state of the art, being at least a decade ahead of the rest of
the competition at the time of its startup. It
featured a conical rocking solids combustor, the bottom half of
which consisted of three adjacent planes at a 120 deg angle to one
another. The combustion air was injected directly into the burning
mass allowing for efficient and controlled combustion. In addition,
a proprietary burner design for liquid and gaseous materials (later
to be known as the "OTT Vortex Burner") was included with the capability of oxygen
and air firing. Test runs were made at temperatures exceeding
4,000OF while burning a combination of wastes. Hazardous wastes of
many types were processed on a demonstration basis. The three-stage
wet-dry-wet air pollution control train was also a breakthrough in
gas cleaning technology. OTT has since replaced this technique with
a proprietary all dry system that can be "tuned" to capture even the
most fugitive species such as mercury or cesium. The system is a
closed loop with no aqueous discharge. The results of stack testing
readily met the requirements of the State of New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection, which along with California, have the
most stringent regulations.
Houston Medical Waste Facility (thermal capacity 10,000,000 Btuh)
incorporated the first OTT vibratory hearth. It began operation in
1987. The vibratory hearth for which US Patent #5,086,714 was granted, literally went from the
drawing board to actual production with no intermediate steps of
development. It performed as expected and resulted in a burn down of
the waste to a point where the glass and ash was partially
vitrified. Instead of the usual black color, the ash is actually
gray to white, because of the low residual fixed carbon
The facility performed well and was a commercial success because of
the high price, which could be charged for the processing of medical
waste. In addition to the first OTT vibratory hearth,
the facility featured compactness of design, from the unique
two-stage ram charging system through to the combustion chambers,
ash removal and air pollution control. All parts were easily
accessible for maintenance.
Laverton, Australia facility (thermal capacity 25,000,000 Btuh) was constructed in 1991 for the purpose of processing a wide range of liquid, solid, gaseous and sludge wastes. It incorporated the following proprietary OTT process items:
- Vibratory hearth - the second-generation unit, which included improvements, based on the experience in Houston.
- Multi-stage wet-dry-wet pollution control train - an updated version of the Mount Laurel System.
- Containerized bulk waste handling - the first of its kind. Solid waste was brought to the site in containers, which were filled at the source. OTT designed the system to empty the container in a controlled automatic manner. The container is shown in the left-hand side of the above photograph docked in the OTT bulk lifter unit. This eliminates double handling of the waste, controls odors, spillage and vermin. The waste is never exposed to human contact after the container is closed at the source. This system also went directly from the drawing board into production.
- Computer control - using purchased standard components, OTT designed, assembled and programmed a DCS system for the control and monitoring of the process.
- Vortex chamber - which is the tower ahead of the bulk charger. This down fired unit was designed to burn a combination of liquid and gaseous wastes.
The entire process equipment package was designed, fabricated and delivered to dockside, Melbourne, Australia, within five (5) months of the contract signing. It was well ahead of schedule. It took another three months to install and start the unit up on the prepared site. The permitting process was in accordance with the high standards required by the State of Victoria EPA. The permit conditions were similar to that which would be issued in the European Community. Based on a technical evaluation, a permit was granted. The unit performed well in compliance with permit requirements. Although the system was designed for and capable of processing a wide range of wastes, the owners decided to process medical waste due to the high revenue it would bring in comparison to other types of waste.
The following projects were completed under the direction of Jean Paradis:
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Quebec City, Canada 280,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste per year 66,000 tonnes of raw sewage sludge per year Produces 602,000 tonnes of steam per year |
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Burnaby, BC,
Canada 250,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste per annum Produces 750,000 tonnes of steam per year |
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Plymouth Township,
Montgomery County PA USA 400,000 tons of municipal solid waste per annum 32 megaWatt power generation capacity |
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Jersey, Channel Island, UK
85,000 tons of municipal solid waste per annum and supplies steam and hot water to local industry |
For additional information on the OTT innovations mentioned above or other projects please contact Peter V Hewka