Canada: PyroGenesis Successfully Completes Design, Construction and Testing for Its PAWDS

PyroGenesis Canada Inc, an environmental solutions company that designs, develops and manufactures plasma waste-to-energy systems and plasma torch products, announced today that it has successfully completed the design, construction and testing of one of its Plasma Arc Waste Destruction Systems (PAWDS) for a United States Navy aircraft carrier. The design, construction and testing were done on behalf of Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries.

The successful conclusion of this testing is a prerequisite to the PAWDS system being disassembled, packaged and ultimately shipped for installation on board the Navy’s CVN 78 aircraft carrier. This is the first ship of the Gerald R. Ford class aircraft carriers. The factory acceptance testing is a significant milestone in PyroGenesis’ ongoing commercial relationship with the Navy. In 2008, the Navy contracted Northrop Grumman Newport News, now Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), to procure a PAWDS unit from PyroGenesis for its next-generation aircraft carrier. Today’s announcement is a culmination of a thorough evaluation by NNS that occurred at PyroGenesis’ 6,000-square-meter manufacturing and testing facility in Montreal.

“We continue to execute on our commercial milestones, and are looking forward to the installation of our plasma-based waste management system on this new aircraft carrier,” said P. Peter Pascali, President and Chief Executive Officer of PyroGenesis. “The Navy evaluated many waste management technologies over the past 10 years and decided that our PAWDS unit was the best solution to meet their needs. We are excited that this relationship is progressing and intend to leverage our success with the Navy to expand our commercial pipeline in both the marine and land-based markets.”

PyroGenesis’ Chief Operating Officer, Gillian Holcroft commented, “The U.S. Navy is highly selective when it evaluates technology for its multi-billion dollar, nuclear aircraft carrier. The technology that the Navy chooses has to meet the most stringent design and performance specifications in the world. PyroGenesis is proud to have earned the confidence of the U.S. Navy to deliver such an important system for its state-of- the-art carrier.”

The PAWDS system is designed for the safe and efficient destruction of shipboard waste. The patented, compact technology is five times smaller than a conventional marine incinerator, and does not use fossil fuels. Instead, the system uses air and electricity to generate a plasma plume, with a temperature of approximately 5,000 degrees Celsius that can rapidly and efficiently gasify five tons per day of combustible waste. PAWDS can safely and efficiently treat waste such as paper, cardboard, plastics, textiles, wood, food and sludge oil, and can be started up or shut down in just a few minutes.

PyroGenesis Canada is an environmental solutions company that designs, develops and manufactures plasma waste-to-energy systems and plasma torch products. PyroGenesis’ proprietary plasma technologies utilize the intense energy of plasma to gasify and vitrify virtually any type of waste without producing hazardous by-products. PyroGenesis’ patented gasification and vitrification technology is different from incineration because it produces a clean synthetic gas from waste, which can be used for power generation. PyroGenesis’ technology can also turn waste into a glassy rock that can be utilized as construction material. PyroGenesis has marquee defense industry and civilian customers that are using its technology in marine and land-based applications.

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Source: pyrogenesis, September 13, 2011; Image:huntingtoningalls