Omega Thermal Technologies, Inc.
Constructed Facilities
Mount Laurel Facility
The 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 was constructed in an area that was
close to residential communities. It operated flawlessly for 14 years, but was
decommissioned in1992 due to the fact that new residential communities had
developed too close and the State of New Jersey would not extend the permit to
operate. 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 4,000°F 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, has the most stringent
regulations.
Houston Medical Waste Facility
The 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. The
local competition for medical waste management employed landfills for disposal.
The competition lowered the price of disposal, putting pressure on the operation
to survive. After several years of operation, the plant was forced to cease
operations for economic reasons. 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. TheTexas
regulatory authorities were quoted in the local news media as having described
the unit as the "Cadillac" of incineration systems.
Laverton, Australia Facility:
The 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.
For further information on any of
the three sites mentioned above please contact
Peter V.Hewka,Ph.D.
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