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Electricity and hydrogen from coal or waste (Waste-to-Energy) without pollution
About
Ardau is a technology that can generate power (electricity and heat) on a commercial scale 24/7 from any carboniferous material without emitting any greenhouse gases or other pollutants. Ardau uses an enclosed reactor rather than a boiler to create heat, so all output gases and other pollutants can be captured (Carbon Capture and Storage) and stored or separated and sold. An exothermic reaction in the reactor maintains a temperature of around 700 degrees C and around 300 bar pressure. In these conditions water becomes a 'supercritial fluid' which is passed to a turbo-expander to generate electricity. The efficiency of the system is over 80%, making the electricity much cheaper than conventional fossil fuel systems. Ardau units can be retrofitted to existing power stations replacing their boilers with enclosed Ardau carbon reactors. Any type of carboniferous material can be used, even those that are currently regarded as too 'dirty' to be in normal use, including coal, lignite, plastics, domestic waste, industrial waste, sewage. The system can also be configured to create 'green' or 'blue' hydrogen on a commercial scale at a significantly lower cost than other currrent methods. At a smaller scale complete Ardau systems can be transported in a standard 40ft container and delivered to remote communities. A 5MWh system provides enough electricity for around 3,000 families and can be powered at least partly by their own waste and sewage. For more details see www.ardau.energy (NB not .com.This is the relatively new .energy top level domain).
Key Benefits
Ardau installations can use cheap and 'dirty' fuel that other systems cannot, making the power provided much cheaper than other fossil fuel alternatives. Ardau installations can run 24/7 unlike renewables which are dependent on such variables as sunshine and wind. All pollutants can be captured and stored, so the electricity is 'green'. The capacity of Ardau units ranges from 5MW to 50MWh. To replace a 500MWh boiler system 10 Ardau units can be installed in parallel. They will easily fit in the turbine hall of the boiler(s) they are replacing. Ardau units can be ramped up in around 10 minutes and powered down in less. In an installation of 10 or 20 units some can be powered down when demand levels are low, and quickly restarted when demand goes up. This is a flexibilty that coventional and nuclear power stations do not have.
Applications
Power and hydrogen production on a commercial scale Water desalination