| LEED certified companies and environmentally | | | | to energy is. |
| conscious businesses continue working towards the | | | | First, municipal solid waste or MSW is received from |
| same goal – making our planet a better place to | | | | local municipalities or private contractors. Then it is |
| live in. Companies and communities take various steps | | | | being shredded into pieces 8" or smaller. Recyclables, |
| towards becoming green, either simply by recycling, | | | | such as steel, aluminum and plastics are removed |
| installing solar panels or wind turbines. | | | | from the waste stream and non recyclables, such as |
| The Oneida Indian Nation of Wisconsin is taking an | | | | soiled paper, pizza boxes, food containers, waxed |
| entirely different and innovative approach in being | | | | papers and organic waste continue down the line to |
| environmentally friendly. Alliance Construction & | | | | the final shredder. Materials are moved to the |
| Design is the firm to build the first of its size US | | | | pyrolysis system, gases are extracted, cleaned and |
| Pyrolysis Gasification System, which will convert more | | | | finally used to power generation units so energy can |
| than 150 tons of MSW/day into over 6 MW/hour of | | | | be placed back to the grid. |
| electricity. The amount of electricity that the system | | | | Potential energy sources include not only municipal |
| can generate compares to the amount of electricity | | | | solid waste, but also agricultural waste, car fluff, |
| generated by 38 wind turbines. | | | | wood products, oil based waste, tires and rendering |
| A Pyrolytic Gasification Chamber is used to convert | | | | waste. |
| biomass and/or waste into a combustible gas mixture | | | | The Oneida Nation's ultimate goal is to provide |
| knows as Syngas. Non-combustibles remaining after | | | | efficient disposal of MSW, manure and car fluff, be |
| gasification are extracted from the Pyrolytic | | | | environmentally friendly and generate a significant |
| Gasification Chamber and can be saleable for use in | | | | return on investment. |
| carbon based filters or be used as landfill cover. The | | | | Other entities which could be interested in investing in |
| combustion of Syngas results in a clean gas that is | | | | such a plant include municipalities, large corporations, |
| very low in NOx and CO, in addition to being | | | | manufacturing plants, colleges and universities, |
| environmentally superior to firing conventional fuels | | | | agricultural, waste haulers, disaster cleanup |
| such as coal and fuel oil and being permitted by the | | | | organizations or any business that can dispose of |
| DNR. | | | | waste and power itself. |
| Many wonder what the process of converting waste | | | | |