In the most basic terms, WE RECYCLE CARBON. Carbon exists in abundance in our waste stream: plastics, paper, food waste, and green waste. We process these carbon-rich wastes into beneficial products: fuel, oil, electricity, and plastic materials.

The Bridge System takes lightly sorted waste of wet municipal solid waste (MSW) and mixed plastics and food waste. It processes the waste into Bridge Blocks (solid fuel blocks) with low moisture, high heat, and non-absorbent properties. The Bridge Blocks are odorless, sterilized, and can be shipped and stored for prolonged periods. After sterilization and compounding, the Bridge Blocks are no longer considered MSW material and thus require no waste permits for handling, shipping, and storage.

Since the 1970s, we have used incineration as a waste-to-energy (WtE) technology. The traditional problems are:

1. High moisture content in modern MSW: this lowers the heat content of the MSW (per unit weight), thus reducing energy output per ton of MSW processed. Incineration may be an effective disposal technology, but it is barely viable as an effective WtE technology.

2. MSW is very uneven in make-up. Most WtE plants need energy source backups (usually natural gas) to ensure reliable energy production.

3. Mixed plastics contain Chlorine: incinerating such plastics produces dioxin, furan, and other toxins, which corrode processing machines and cause air quality issues and acid rain. Since the 1980s, the industry solution has been to add costly post-incineration scrubbing devices to minimize harmful emissions and has had success. However, soured by past experience, the world now has a rather dim view of incineration.

4. Siting the WtE plant: If one sites the WtE plant at the MSW transfer station, they will need power transmission infrastructure to deliver the energy produced to the grid or the end user. This is cost-intensive and could involve access issues. If one sites the plant at the energy delivery point, they will need a waste permit to bring the MSW on-site. Such permits are difficult to obtain.

5. The recycling industry uses pelletizers (using refuse-derived fuel, RDF) and gasifiers to turn MSW into beneficial products. They all demand labor-intensive fine sorting (especially in sorting out plastics) and shredding. The processes also consume much energy, mainly to dry the MSW to workable levels.

6. Even today, the waste industry has yet to have viable technical solutions for mixed wet waste and plastics. They bury that in landfills. The wet organic wastes are under decay and emit methane, carbon dioxide, and other harmful greenhouse gases.

1. The feedstock is the MSW we generate daily. It does not deplete additional natural resources (crude, coal, natural gas, wood, etc.) to produce the energy it supplies. The energy required to run the machine is relatively low. Once production starts, one can use the Bridge Blocks to generate electricity for operations.

2. As far as the waste industry is concerned, it achieves total elimination of mixed plastics and wet MSW wastes. Nothing after the pre-sort goes to the landfill, thus zero waste. The technology will significantly benefit the waste industry.

3. The technology eliminates organic waste at the start. It eliminates all MSW-associated methane and carbon dioxide production. Further, it eliminates the trips of hauling plastics and organic wastes to landfills. It is a very effective way to reduce carbon footprint.

4. The Bridge Blocks can easily replace coal in existing power plants. Existing coal-burning power plants equipped with scrubbing equipment will safely handle the cleaner emissions.

5. It enhances the energy yield of WtE plants as the Bridge Block is dry, consistent in makeup, and carries high energy content.

6. Sierra Energy in Davis, CA, tested the Bridge Blocks in their Fastox gasifier. With less than 30% of Bridge Blocks mixed with their usual feedstock, their energy yield enhanced by approximately 65% in that particular test.

7. Bridge Blocks bridge the geographical distance between waste and energy end users. Unlike crude oil, there are no environmental risks in transporting Bridge Blocks.

8. Existing technology processes plastics to drop-in-grade crude oil. The next step is to test the Bridge Blocks to produce oil. The oil can be used as a crude oil blend in refineries.

Heat Content: 14,800 btu/lb.

Moisture Content: 1.4%

Ash Content: 3.8%

Density: approximately 64 lbs/cu ft.

Each 100 tons per day MSW will produce twenty-four thousand (24,000) tons of Bridge Blocks per year. That contains roughly five hundred and eight billion BTUs, and will power a 2.7 MW power plant.