Blue Tower Hydrogen from Waste Projects in U. S. and Germany

March 9, 2009 | By Hydro Kevin Kantola | Filed in: Hydrogen Fuel Production.

Blue TowerBlue Tower Energy for years has been working outside the box. The company is in the process of developing and demonstrating methods in Germany and the U. S. to turn waste into hydrogen and supply power to local residents.

In Germany, the plan is to collect roadside grass clippings along the Ruhr region and process this into hydrogen and enough electricity to power 12,000 homes. Approximately 13 megawatts of electricity will be generated with this method.

Besides grass the Blue Tower can also take advantage of other feedstock for its process including olive stones, roadside green cuttings, garden waste, or even chicken manure. This organic material is turned into “blue gas” inside their iconic, roadside 120-ft blue towers.

And, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Blue Tower Energy is building its first U. S. waste to energy processing station. Organic materials sans glass, rocks or other inert substances will be used to produce hydrogen and other gas that can be used in vehicles and appliances plus provide electricity.

Organic waste is decomposed through Pyrolysis, then heated and the elements separated. Some of the chemical substances created through this process include hydrogen rich gas, pure hydrogen, ethanol or ammonia.

The blue tower only takes up around 20 square yards of space at the base, can process 50,000 tons of organic waste per year and will pay for itself in 5 years. The idea is to use the blue tower CHP (combined heat and power) plants as an alternative to trucking municipal waste to the landfill area.

According to Blue Tower Energy, this is an extremely low emissions method of processing waste, emitting less than a small car. A process such as this could address several key alternative energy solutions at once.

First, it could create hydrogen locally as fuel for cars. Second, it would be a method to produce electricity locally and with few emissions, relieving the fossil fuel fired grid of much of its duty. Third it would be a method of dealing with municipal waste.

There are so many benefits to this process with so few downsides that progress of Blue Tower Energy will be one company to watch going forward.


«
»

14 comments on “Blue Tower Hydrogen from Waste Projects in U. S. and Germany”

  1. Its a black tower producing cokes, the gas is a mix of methane, carbon monoxide and a little hydrogen,

    Staged reforming is the name of the process.

    Purr

  4. I can only get a poor translation with Google or Yahoo translation tools, but from what I can make out, nothing contradicts the sources to which I’ve already linked.

    Pure hydrogen is the main output from this process.

  6. Here is a comment emailed to me from a representative for Blue Tower:

    I appreciate your being informed and keeping the general public informed of clean alternative energy like ours.

    I am also aware of malcontents and misinformed individuals like the one that commented that we are the Black Tower . . .for burning coke.

    Thas gentlemen, is in reality, partially informed as the gassification process in its early stages of 6 years ago had that high emissions issue as well as duplicitious stages that made the technology barely an economic option for potential customers, these limitations were applicable to us as an industry, not just Blue Tower, however innovations to the heating process and additonal retrofits, not just by Blue Tower engineers, but by gassificationn engineers in the industry now have made those, issues of the past.

    Blue Tower actually is certified by the European Union Environmental Standards, we surpass the minimum requirements and blow away EPA standards here in the USA which are unfortunately light years behind European Union standards. We supply all of our clients with valid certifications and will never have any issues relevant to the coke burning comments made after your brief report.

    Hydro Kevin, Blue Tower proudly just completed a 15MW plant in Mumbai India on March 10 of this year, once we finish editing the video of the process, if your interested, I would be happy to send a copy to you.

    Furthermore, our Las Vegas plant is about 3 to 5 weeks from being completed, again if your interested I will inform you of this event and we would welcome your visit in Las Vegas (God knows the town could use visitors incredibly enough) and you can interview one of my partners who is one of the consulting engineers for North America.

    During the summer we have several projects that will commence in Texas and other US states that have electric energy de-regulation as the entreprenuers who re-sell the energy are now seeking for a way to control the price and volume of energy available for their customers as a way of assuring a constant price, Blue Tower will be performing that desire for these entreprenuers.

    Hydro Kevin, Im based in Frisco Texas, my contact information is down below, please feel free to call if I can be of any service to you.

    Thank you again for the report on Blue Tower, keep up the excellent service of your internet reporting.

    Rene Gallegos

  7. Dear Blue Tower.
    My name is Francisco Navarrete, Master in Business Administration and Environment Impact, clean energy research , I`m activist of fixed, remediation and protect Eco systems, I been now in San Francisco, California, USA, but I live in Guayaquil- Ecuador, South America and have relation with Mayor of Guayaquil first larges city of Ecuador with 13 million habitants , we look some waste project for resolve mayor issues, and create clean energy, please send me information about Blue tower plant, cost, time, to potential implement in pilot plan in my City.
    We look in near future establish good relation, thank you in advance for respond to my inquire .

    Very respectfully.
    Francisco Navarrete
    MBA- Environment Consultant.

  9. Dear Blue Towers,
    im very interested in the project of bringing the blue towers to Mexico, in the website the contact us link seems to be broken could you please give me the contact infromation

    thank you

  11. Hi,
    i would like to have feedback on the blue tower waste to energy concept reagrding completed projects as well as to have their contact email IDs.

    regards

  12. I will be careful with certain companies, Honesty and loyalty are only as much as what the dollar can buy. Please, be careful, and get references and check backgrounds of the person you will deal and get information from…. trust the records and facts first.

    Just because it sounds great, it does not mean it is a great person behind the scenes… Many dishonest people can always make things look good…. get the facts in everything you do! Good luck…