Phase Separation Solutions Inc.


The TPS Extraction Chamber		To choose PS2 is to choose one of the most advanced thermal treatment technologies available. The TPS technology is a closed loop, indirectly heated, low temperature thermal desorption process capable of liberating extremely stable chemical compounds such as PCBs, Dioxins/Furnas, chlorinated pesticides, treated seed and other Persistent Organic Pollutants (PCPs) with boiling points up to 550 Degrees Celcius from soil, concrete, sludge, sediment and most porus debris. This indirect heating in a closed loop, oxygen free system ensures no inadvertent combustion and prevents any release of harmful compounds to the environment. The TPS technology is not incineration. The system was originally designed for and used extensively around the world for on-site remedial operations. Composed of 4 components: Extraction Unit, Gas Phase Condensation and Treatment Unit, Oil/Water Separation Unit and Control Unit, it was engineered as a modular and mobile system. It can be readily transported via rail, road and marine intermodal anywhere in the world. It can be disassembled to components weighing no more than 8 metric tonnes allowing it to be transported by heavy lift helicopter which was a key element in its selection as the oilfield treatment system of choice for a major drilling program conducted in the headwaters of the Amazon Basin. The base system is capable of sustaining production of up to 55 metric tonnes per day but expandable up to 165 metric tonnes through the addition of two add on Extraction Units with no additional personnel. An optional single component design capable of 24 metric tonnes per day is available specifically for remote Arctic military site remediation as it was engineered to be transported whole via C-130 aircraft. The TPS was evaluated by representatives of Environment Canada’s Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program and subsequently received one of the first verifications issued by the ETV Program Steering Committee at a ceremony in June, 1997. The TPS technology was rigorously tested under Environment Canada’s Demonstration and Evaluation of Site Remediation Technologies (DESRT) Program, a program similar to the US EPS S.I.T.E. program, and was successful in achieving all treatment and emission criteria imposed by Environment Canada. Environment Canada officials audited all aspects of the tests. The process is two-staged employing thermal desorption and condensation. Feedstock, properly sized, is fed through a hopper into a rotary paddle airlock which in turn meters material into an indirectly heated extraction chamber which passes through a directly heated shell or firebox. The firebox is heated by the combustion of clean burning natural gas (diesel, bunker oil and recovered hydrocarbons are also options) via burners and the heat is indirectly transferred via conduction through the soil extraction chamber shell to the host material. The corresponding increase in host material temperature results in volatilization of the chlorinated or non-chlorinated hydrocarbons. This is the desorption process. The second stage, condensation, involves cooling the desorbed gases (hydrocarbon vapour) and condensing them into liquid. The gases are first cooled in a direct quench process, using recovered and recycled process water. At these temperatures the hydrocarbons are completely re-condensed and captured in the liquid stream. The liquid stream is routed through a three-phase oil/water/solids separator where the separated hydrocarbons are drawn off to an oil storage tank for analysis. Non-chlorinated hydrocarbons are subjected to a QA/QC protocol prior to release for sale. Chlorinated contaminants, such as PCBs, can be directed to an approved final disposal facility at no more than less than 1% of their original volume or chemically dechlorinated at the treatment site. All recovered water is treated using activated carbon and organoclay and returned to the system for reuse where applicable. All treated solids are re-hydrated, again using recovered process water, collected, analyzed and released for landfilling or other use.