An Optically Isolated HV-IGBT Based Mega-Watt Cascaded Inverter Building Block for DER Applications

65890 The Department of Energy has and is adding to a large stockpile of mixed low level waste. Incineration is a very good process for reducing the volume of waste for subsequent disposal but emissions regulations for incinerators are becoming increasingly stringent, making incineration more problematic. Process improvements for the reduction in incinerator emissions, namely dioxins and furans, would be very helpful in allowing incineration of such waste streams. This project will develop a two-step process for reducing the amount of dioxins and furans from incinerator off-gas. In the first step, the catalyst surfaces, upon which dioxins and furans are catalytically formed at moderate temperatures, will be eliminated. In the second step, the organic precursors and, potentially, the dioxins and furans themselves, will be destroyed. In Phase I, the two-step process will be evaluated for dioxin emissions reduction at the bench scale. The effectiveness of the novel combination of the two processes will be demonstrated. Commercial Applications And Other Benefits as described by awardee: Using this technology incinerators should be able to reduce the volume of solid wastes going into landfills while at the same time potentially produce valuable power. They will be able to do this in an environmentally friendly manner and with better economics due to the reduction in secondary waste streams.