Re: Need info . .

[Alan Muller <amuller@dca.net>]

At 12:49 PM 11/7/99 -0500, Jim & Jackie Elliott wrote: 
>
> What is a Kvaerner 'fluidized bed' incinerator? That is what is being
> proposed for Twin Mountain, NH. Supposedly comes from a foreclosure auction
> in North Carolina and was never fired up. Anyone know about this and where?
> There is one that was fired up but lots of problems-BCH something? The one
> we're looking at might be one called Carolina Energy Partners. Parent company
> of both is VEDCO, of Houston TX? Anyone know any links with VEDCO and the big
> guys? Thanks for any help. Jackie



Hi Jackie--

I'm glad to hear you are following this.

A fluid bed burner is one of the several basic types.  Basically, the waste has
to be ground up pretty well, and bounces around in a bed of hot sand
"fluidized" by air pumped up from below.  Think of an airborn version of
quicksand,  For comparison, other types of burner include the rotary kilns used
by Westinghouse and various types of rocking and rotating grates used by Ogden
and etc.  The promoters will probably claim that this is the magic incinerator
technology that doesn't pollute.  Actually, fluid bed burners have pros and
cons compared to other types but the results, if the engineering is done
correctly, are about the same.  

Foster-Wheeler built a fluid bed trash burner in Robbins, IL., and tried to put
one in Pennsville, NJ, which was stopped.  They had the  local authorities
pretty convinced, until we checked with people dealing with the Robbins burner
and found that it had racked up hundreds of air permit violations in its first
year of operation (along with innumerable other problems).  We could provide
many clippings and tales of this horrible fluid bed burner.

I don't know anything about Kvaerner.  Is this a Scandinavian company that does
shipbuilding?

Alan Muller




Alan Muller, Executive Director
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