Wood Burner (Incinerator) Proposed for Delaware by Philpower Corporation

[Alan Muller <amuller@dca.net>]

Philpower Corporation is trying to build a wood burner near New Castle
Delaware.  According to permit applications this thing would:

Burn 263,000 tons per year of  “waste wood, demolition waste and yard waste.” 
Up to 5 percent (2.4 million pounds per year) could be treated with creosote,
pentaclorophenol, arsenic, chromium, and etc.    Up to 20 percent (96 million
pounds per year) could be “... foreign matter (nails, staples, metal brackets,
plastic, etc.)” The “construction” and “demolition” debris can be expected to
also include lead paint, asbestos and other harmful materials.  (Later versions
of the permit applications may be more restrictive.)

Philpower says the materials would be processed before burning to remove most
(exact amounts vague) of the metal and plastic via screens, air flotation,
magnets and so on.

The combustion system is a "wood-fuel gasification system" by Wellons of
Sherwood Oregon.

Steam temperature would be 950 deg. F, and furnace exit gas temperature would
be 1875 (or 1675) deg F.  Emission controls consist of a baghouse operating at
about 600 deg F.and selective catalytic reduction (using aqueous ammonia) for
NOx abatement, at about 575-600 deg F.  Exit gas temperatures at the stack
would be about 180 deg. F.  No equipment for abatement of acid gasses is
proposed.  (Philpower proposes to install a CO2 extraction and liquifaction
plant that would process around 50 percent of the stack gasses, and they claim
the sulfur fraction of these would end up in the public sewer with process
water discharges.)

The President of Philpower is W. Wayne Coverdale of 3212 Wickford Road,
Wilmington, NC, 28409.  Phone 910.392.7690.  Mr. Coverdale's background is in
oil and gas exploration.  So far as we know neither he nor any of the other
officers and employees of Philpower have any experience of building or
operating incinerators or power plants.  Mr . Coverdale and his associates say
they would like to build lots of wood burners around the United States.

Now, getting to the dioxin question:  This is nowhere mentioned in the permit
applications, nor have Delaware environmental officials mentioned dioxin
concerns in their correspondence with Philpower.  (At a recent public hearing a
person trying to talk about dioxin concerns was harassed by the Hearing
Officer.)  Would appreciate advice on dioxin concerns associated with this
proposal

Alan Muller



Alan Muller, Executive Director
Green Delaware
Box 69
Port Penn, DE 19731 USA
(302)834-3466
fax (302)836-3005 
http://members.dca.net/greendel/