Waste Management

MACTEC is pleased to be part of the Geoplasma, LLC team, a pioneer in the waste management arena. The Geoplasma consortium is the US’s first provider of an environmentally sustainable, economically viable waste destruction technology known as plasma gasification. The plasma gasification process converts organic waste into clean gas energy, while inorganic waste becomes an obsidian-like compound that can be used in concrete aggregate, road gravel, bricks, and similar materials. The technology can be applied to all types of waste, including industrial and even biohazard waste.

Developed by NASA 40 years ago to test heat shield integrity, plasma arc technology uses electricity and high-pressure air to turn waste into plasma with temperatures exceeding 5500 degrees Celsius, which is nearly as hot as our sun’s surface. The process can recover enough energy from 1,000 tons of municipal solid waste to power approximately 12,000 homes for one day. As the process involves gasification and pyrolysis, rather than combustion, gaseous emissions are well below EPA permissible limits.

Considering the world’s rising energy costs and growing population (with Americans producing approximately 4.5 pounds of waste per person, per day), plasma gasification is an excellent way for municipalities to reduce landfill waste and to produce significant amounts of clean energy in the process. The technology’s use as a waste management resource was pioneered in Japan, where two commercial plasma arc facilities now handle hundreds of tons of solid waste per day and, in turn, contribute energy to the local power grid.

MACTEC also provides many other waste management services, including assessments, compliance, design, and remediation.