Extracting energy from chemical waste

Dow Corning announced in September 2007 a $50-million investment in an innovative waste management technology from Integrated Environmental Technologies (IET), the first of its kind in the United States, according to Richland, Wash.–based IET.

Dow Corning uses chlorosilanes to manufacture siloxanes and silanes—the building blocks for many silicone products. IET’s proprietary plasma gasification recycling process separates the waste material generated in the chlorosilanes manufacturing process into organic and chlorine parts.

The organic waste is converted to syngas for use in the plant’s steam boilers, while the chlorine portion is converted into one of the raw materials used to make chlorosilanes. Remaining materials are turned into an obsidian-like glass that is also recyclable.

According to Dow, the system could generate approximately onethird of the site’s steam load, reducing the plant’s consumption of natural gas by 400 billion british thermal units per year.