First American Scientific Corp. (fka FASC)

[I4C6S]

ATLANTIC UPDATE ON AGES WEBSITE !!!

http://www.ages-biomass.com/update_atlantic_trials.htm

Summary of Results from AGES Demonstration KDS Trials at
Atlantic Packaging, Whitby, Ontario.
Project: Mechanical dewatering and disintegration of de-inking sludge.

After completing trials at Simoneau, Boucherville, in December 2002, the demonstration KDS machine was delivered to Atlantic Packaging, Whitby, Ontario, Canada. Installation took place during January and February 2003.

Objectives of the trials are to evaluate performance of the demonstration KDS in a normal production environment, including:

· Ability to reliably dewater de-inking sludge
· Ability to control moisture content and production rates
· Prove continuous operation of the KDS
· Evaluate impact of extended runs on the KDS components
· Evaluate suitability of KDS to Atlantic’s application
· Collect data for the design of KDS-6000 production model


To allow for unsupervised operation, the KDS machine has been upgraded with a sensor and monitoring package that integrates the following into a brand new AGES safety and controls package:

· Operation of the entry and discharge rotary valves
· Operation of the feed, recycle and discharge conveyors
· Temperatures of the KDS chamber and the cyclone
· Pressure of the KDS chamber and the cyclone
· Position of the material charge damper
· Current draw of the main motor
· Vibration on the main drive

In addition, the AGES software has been upgraded to incorporate each of these sensed functions into a comprehensive alarm and safety package. On going PLC and data logging work is focussed on appropriate data collection and referencing the machine operating conditions with the sample collection system. The machine has operated since these modifications with only limited supervision. Finally, another AGES software package has been added that enables the machine to maximize production for any given charged material. This part of the program is now complete.

AGES has demonstrated that the KDS does not require a dedicated operator provided that the safety and control systems are integrated with a local DCS package.

The first dry powder was produced from belt press material on February 26th and the first real production run was completed on March 6th 2003. Early efforts were hampered due to the non-availability of the drier screw press material. Only belt-press material was available which contains 75-80% moisture. Since then it has been confirmed that the optimal input moisture content for the demonstration KDS is 45-55%. Nonetheless, during this period AGES demonstrated that the machine could be set up to reliably process material derived directly from the belt press. On March 27, 2003, a recycle conveyor was installed to enable more reliable operation with belt press material by mixing the dry product with the wet feed. When screw-press material became available, its moisture content varied between 47-67%over the course of the trials.

Results to October 9th 2003.

As of October 8th 2003 the KDS has operated for over 250 hours. Trials included continuous runs in 24, 16, 8, 6 and 4-hour intervals. In all cases the machine ran without problems during the run and the KDS chamber, ductwork and bar assembly were clean and in good condition at the end of the run.

All original beater bars are still in operation in this KDS. Wear of these 4 beater bars was approximately 1% after 250 hours of operation. Recent data indicates that it would be safe to project a life of 2500 hours with this bar set for this material. A number of coatings and some high strength alloys are available to improve the surface abrasion resistance. There is no measurable wear on the baffles or on the striker plates inside the KDS chamber.

The beater bars life is extrapolated to be 3 months of continuous use based on conventional materials.

AGES have successfully controlled the product’s exit characteristics despite varying feed conditions, and have demonstrated the ability to produce predictable and consistent results.

A number of trials have been completed to determine that the product moisture content is controllable. The KDS has been set up to produce a moisture content varying by a few percent in the range of 5.5% - 30%. Moisture in the range 10% - 20% has so far proved to be the most easily achieved, and has in general provided the steadiest conditions. The lowest product moisture achieved was 4.7% at the expense of production rate.

The KDS chamber size for this material is 5 times smaller than the AGES production machine envisaged for 3 tons/hour feed rate. Therefore, much of the data collection has focussed on operations at roughly 800 – 1500 lb/hr. It has been determined that 2200 lb/hr is the practical limit for this material with the current demonstration machine. Highest production rate achieved with the demonstration KDS machine was 2700 lb/hr. This demonstration KDS consistently removed 600 - 800 lb. of water/hr. Best water removal rate has been 1050 lb/hr. The full size production machine (KDS-6000) is being designed to remove 3000 lb of water per hour.

Average power consumption is approximately 75kW and varied in the range of 70-90 kW (13-35 lb/min). The background load is about 60kW. These numbers correspond to approximately 85 kWh/ton (@ 50% moisture to 15%) of material being processed.

Material build-up in the KDS following high moisture trial exposes inefficiencies in the machine’s design, which will be enhanced in the AGES production size unit (KDS-6000). AGES have identified these necessary modifications.

Significant data has been collected on the interactions between vapour, water-droplets, and material passing through the system, which will be used to improve the moisture removal efficiency of the production machine.

Numerous tests have been carried out on the dry, processed sludge. The dry material was screened to separate the fibre from the fines. Original lab testing seemed to indicate that good fibre separation is possible using high frequency mechanical sieves. Samples viewed under the microscope seem to show relatively clean fibre, with little residual inorganic material adherent to the material. Tests are on going to further improve this separation. Separated material has been sent out to determine its suitability for combustion. The result was that the material passed combustion tests in Germany (LBE) and could be in fact burned unscreened. The residual ash will undergo a mass change of roughly 15% resulting in 35% unburned residual material based on ATSM testing procedures.

The reported calorific value of the sludge was 5200 Btu/lb based on 35% ash. AGES is projecting approximately 4000 Btu/lb based on 8% residual moisture and 50% ash in the product. Net benefit of the dry product from this type of sludge would be approximately 7MBtu/ton.

The actual ash has been measured in the range of 50% at the discharge of the KDS machine. The ash was reported to have a relatively low fusion point and it has therefore been determined to operate a slagging combustion chamber. The ash will be agglomerated and discharged as a loosely bound sinter. Testing is underway to determine the temperature at which this material will fuse and how consistent this fusion point is.

BBG Engineering has been independently hired by Atlantic Packaging to verify the AGES results.

Summary

Performance and reliability of KDS technology for processing de-inking sludge has been confirmed.

The KDS machine can be integrated with normal operations in the wastewater treatment plant.

AGES has confirmed the viability of the AGES True Total Recycling system for sludge applications.

AGES has acquired a far deeper understanding of the processes involved in the KDS technology.

AGES has demonstrated that the KDS can process both belt and screw pressed sludge materials.

Samples of material were collected and evaluated by 3rd parties.

Operational wear of the machine’s components has been evaluated, and operational life of the KDS has been determined for the purposes of in service guarantees.

Data collected from the trials has exposed area that can be enhanced in the design of the full size production machine. AGES has identified 21 such areas for performance improvement which will result in significant improvement in the moisture removal efficiency of the KDS6000 production machine, and better control of particulate size. These trials have now allowed AGES to offer its clients performance guarantees.

AGES is now prepared to enter into the marketing phase armed with the accumulated data to substantiate guarantees and performance claims.

We must express our appreciation to Dr Sundar Narayan Ph.D. and the rest of the FASC staff for their formidable contribution to our R&D effort. Also of mention are Dr John Black - Technical Consultant, and Tom Tokarczyk P.Eng. - Thermix Project Engineer. Of special mention, the Atlantic Packaging engineers and operating staff that were constantly available to help move our program forward.