US Department of Defense approves Eco Waste system

The U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) Environmental Research Programs (ESTCP), Alexandria, Virginia, has announced that Eco Waste Solutions, Elyria, Ohio, has been approved to move forward with its deployable waste-to-energy convertor for expeditionary bases (DWECX) with thermal energy to electrical power system (TEEPS); a project in collaboration with Ethosgen, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and its teammate Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Ethosgen will provide project management and system engineering while Rockwell Collins will provide detailed design and hardware for the integrated TEEPS.

“We’ve known for a long time that one of the major environmental challenges facing the Department of Defense is dealing with solid waste on expeditionary bases,” Jean Lucas, president of Eco Waste, says. “Military installations often use open burn pits, which pose significant risks to the health of military troops, local populace and the environment. Our containerized waste systems can solve this problem as they are easily deployable, operate in extreme climates and don’t create airborne health hazards. The ESTCP project gives us an opportunity to take this further and demonstrate a practical approach to small-scale power generation from waste.”

The ESTCP’s goal is to identify and demonstrate the most cost-effective technologies and methods that address the DoD’s high priority environmental requirements. To ensure that demonstrated technologies have real impact, ESTCP collaborates with end users and regulators throughout the process of development and execution. Demonstration results are subject to rigorous technical reviews to ensure that conclusions are well-supported by data.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for the U.S. military to position itself on the cutting edge of waste-to-energy technology,” James Abrams, founder and president of EthosGen, says. “Successful small-scale waste-to-energy simply hasn’t been done like this before, and it could transform the way all expeditionary forces deal with waste.”

The DoD has committed to addressing burn pit issues and meeting its operational energy objectives, but solutions need to meet requirements for mobility, simplicity and efficiency.

“Our containerized waste systems have been used on military bases around the world for more than 10 years,” Lucas says. “However, the challenge has been finding an appropriate energy recovery technology to integrate with them. Our DWECX with TEEPS can do both while still maintaining a footprint no larger than the 20-foot ISO container required by expeditionary forces.”