One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.  In this case, one man’s solid waste, commercial and industrial waste, biomass, plastics, tires, and organic contaminants are another man’s energy, fuel, and commodity chemicals thanks to waste conversion technologies generally known as pyrolysis and gasification.  For years, these waste conversion technologies have been regulated under a patchwork of ill-fitting Clean Air Act (CAA) regulations and remain at relatively low levels of commercial adoption.  Now that may be changing.

On September 8, the US EPA announced an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) to “assist in the potential development of regulations for pyrolysis and gasification units,” which, many hope, represents the first step in standardizing and clarifying regulations for these technologies.  In addition, last August EPA issued a proposed rule for Other Solid Waste Incineration (OSWI) plants which would simplify pyrolysis regulations by removing the reference to pyrolysis from the definition of “municipal waste combustion unit.”  In the ANPRM, EPA states that it would issue the final OSWI Rule by October 31.