InEnTec, co-founded by Dan Cohn, a fusion researcher at the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, will use its Plasma Enhanced Melter for the process. InEnTec has been operating a 25-ton per day demonstration project in Richland, Washington which is capable of processing 20 percent of Richland's waste. Jeffrey Surma, President and CEO of InEnTec says "InEnTec is bringing a new paradigm to the disposal of solid waste." He adds that their Plasma Enhanced Melter has "huge advantages over both conventional ethanol production and conventional waste disposal" because "one of the world's most vexing problems -- how to get rid of tons and tons of garbage -- now becomes one of its most abundant energy resources." He notes that "it is a conversion process and not an incineration process, so emissions are extremely low." "It doesn't compete with the world's food supply or even cultivatable land, and it significantly reduces the need for landfills which produce greenhouse gases and can leach toxins into groundwater," he adds.

This is not the first commercial venture for InEnTec, which is based in Bend, Oregon. In 2003, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, in Japan, began using the InEnTec system to destroy PCBs and asbestos. In Taiwan, Global Plasma Corporation has operated an InEnTec Plasma Enhanced Melter for over three years, converting medical and industrial waste into synthesis gas, which is used to generate electricity.

For more information, contact Dan Cohn (cohn@psfc.mit.edu) or Linda Garza (LGarza@inentec.com) or visit InEnTec's web site at http://www.inentec.com