Public Funding for Manik Ventures Limited

Disposal of solid waste and access to sustainable sources of energy are real issues in developed and developing countries. It takes energy to collect waste and most is sent to landfill, incurring costs, generating greenhouse gases (methane & carbon dioxide) and hazardous residues. This project proposes the development of a process and integrated system safely disposing of waste at commercial facilities and generating a solid clean fuel for heating & hot water or cooking. Pyrolysis has been used for centuries to produce charcoal. Organic material is heated in the absence of oxygen, producing a combustible gas (syngas), oils and a solid carbon product (char). Current pyrolysis systems are inefficient as uniform temperatures in the pyrolysis chamber are difficult to achieve and heat is poorly extracted. This project progresses the development of a novel, integrated heat pipe based pyrolysis unit to commercial scale, with compaction of the solid pyrolysis products into briquettes. The project will design, build and monitor complete prototypes in Brazilian supermarkets over 6 months, evaluating technical performance, commercial potential and impact on waste collection and supply of fuel.

Disposal of domestic waste is a significant issue. It takes energy to collect and most is sent to landfill, incurring costs and resulting in greenhouse gases (e.g. methane & carbon dioxide) and hazardous emissions. This project proposes the development of a process disposing of waste in the home and generating heat for domestic central heating and hot water. Pyrolysis has been used for centuries to produce charcoal. Organic material is heated in the absence of oxygen, producing a combustible gas (syngas) and a solid carbon product (char). Current pyrolysis systems are inefficient as uniform temperatures in the pyrolysis chamber are difficult to achieve and how heat is extracted needs improvement. This project progresses the development of a novel, heat pipe based domestic pyrolysis unit, with combustion of pyroloysis products and high efficiency water heating, all integrated in a novel type of home boiler. The project will design, build and monitor a complete prototype unit in a lab 'virtual home' setting over a period of time and evaluate its impact on waste collection and heating. The goal is a completely new type of energy from waste boiler unit for hot water supply.