Feedstock Acceptance Protocol
Every inbound load passes a five-stage gate protocol before it can enter the process. The feedstock envelope is a contractual boundary enforced physically at the gate — excluded materials (radionuclides, cyanide chemistry, unqualified HAZMAT) do not reach the reactor. Rejected loads are quarantined and returned to the shipper with the notification required under the national waste-management regulation.
5-stage gate protocol · accepted vs excluded envelope
| Stage | Check | Method | Pass / fail action |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manifest reconciliation | Digital chain-of-custody against pre-declared feedstock class; shipper credentials; a waste-code declaration made under the national waste-management regulation; the national waste-tracking platform (national waste tracking) record. | Fail → load turned away at gate before weigh-in. |
| 2 | Radiation portal monitor (RPM) | Fixed-installation gamma + neutron portal at inbound gate. NCRP / IAEA-classified thresholds. All vehicles pass through — no exceptions. | Fail (any alarm) → load quarantined; secondary handheld verification; if confirmed → returned to shipper with notification to the national waste-management regulator and the applicable nuclear regulatory authority. |
| 3 | Visual + composition scan | Weighbridge with camera array; AI-assisted composition classification against feedstock-class fingerprint (moisture, plastic fraction, metals, glass, C&D indicators, HAZMAT indicators). | Out-of-envelope composition (e.g. asbestos indicators at non-qualified site, cyanide-containing plating waste, medical waste at non-medical-permit site) → load rejected. |
| 4 | Sample-lab QC (per shipment batch) | Composite sample from tipping floor; on-site analytical lab; proximate + ultimate analysis; heavy-metal screen (Pb, Cd, Cr, Hg, As); halogen content (Cl, F, Br); PFAS marker screen at qualified sites; total sulfur. | Batch outside envelope for the site's permit class → batch quarantined, shipper notified, annotation filed under the national waste-management regulation. Within envelope → released to process feed. |
| 5 | Continuous in-process monitoring | Feed-rate composition inference from downstream mass-balance closure; CEMS-linked feedback loop; sub-hourly rolling analytics. | Drift outside envelope during operation → feedstock feeder throttle / halt; incident logged; corrective action per operator-license conditions. |
Feedstock envelope — accepted classes vs. exclusions
- MSW (post-source-separation)
- C&I / commercial & industrial dry waste
- C&D (with acceptable inert fraction)
- Tire-derived material (TDM)
- Agricultural residues & biomass
- Post-consumer plastic (all classes)
- WEEE (post-CRT removal)
- Mineral tailings (site-qualified)
- Radionuclides — any classification
- Cyanide chemistry — leach residues, plating baths
- Explosives — unspent munitions, propellants
- Untreated medical waste (unless site has medical-waste permit)
- Asbestos (unless site is HAZMAT-qualified → Glass MAX vitrification path)
- Liquids outside declared aqueous / hydrocarbon range
- Compressed gas cylinders (must be depressurized upstream)
Site-class variation. The accepted-vs-excluded boundary is per-site, determined by the operator-license classification issued under the national waste-management regulation. A Category 2/3 HAZMAT-permitted site accepts feedstocks a standard-permit site rejects. The gate protocol above is identical; the envelope thresholds differ. Each site's current accepted-class list is written into its operator license and mirrored to the counterparty / the counterparty authority.
Feedstock Design Library & Module Manifest
Modules are a factory design tool, not a fixed plant. Every ACM site is a composition of standard catalog modules chosen against that site's feedstock envelope + product demand. When a new feedstock class or a new product grade appears, the response is add / swap / retire modules — never redesign the plant. This is the operational payoff of Advanced Circular Manufacturing.
Manifest concept · 40-class library · fixed-plant contrast
This is a categorical difference from the fixed-plant industry (WTE, gasification, thermal treatment). A fixed plant is engineered once for a specific feedstock class and a specific product mix. Change either — and the plant needs a permit-scope amendment, a capital retrofit, and often a shutdown. In the ACM playbook, the same change is a module swap at a planned maintenance window.
The Module Manifest concept
- Catalog — Carbotura maintains a master catalog of manufactured modules across the 6 MAX Processing Trains (Water · Gas · Carbon · Metal · Glass · Aromatics) plus Pregenesis prep, MCR conversion, CRSCU, and PEM PowerBlock. Each module has a fixed part number, defined mass I/O, defined utility I/O, and a specific RC-grade slot.
- Site manifest — the subset of the catalog installed at a specific site. Day-one manifest is defined during site characterization. The site's frames are pre-provisioned to accept the full envelope of catalog modules; only the currently-installed subset is live.
- Manifest updates — adding a new feedstock class, adding a new RC-grade product, or retiring an obsolete module. Executed at planned maintenance windows. The operator license issued under the national waste-management regulation lists the site's currently-active class scope, which is amended per manifest update.
- DFM & ERL — modules ship from Carbotura's manufacturing line at Engineering Readiness Level (ERL) qualification. This is the mechanism that makes 100s–1000s of facilities deployable from one catalog. It is not TRL / pilot / one-off engineered.
Feedstock Design Library — ready-to-deploy classes
Standard feedstock envelope covered by the day-one manifest at every site:
- MSW (post-source-separation)
- C&I — commercial & industrial dry waste
- C&D — construction & demolition
- Post-consumer plastic (all polymer classes)
- Tire-derived material (TDM)
- WEEE (post-CRT removal)
- Agricultural residues & biomass
- Mineral tailings (site-qualified)
Additional engineered feedstock classes available as manifest-add modules — each with characterized mass I/O, RC-grade slot mapping, and its classification under the national waste-management regulation pre-determined:
- Petrochemical residues (heavy fractions, catalyst fines)
- Refinery sludges
- Oil-water emulsions
- Automotive shredder residue (ASR)
- Battery recycling — Li-ion
- Battery recycling — NiCad
- Battery recycling — lead-acid
- Battery recycling — alkaline
- Medical waste (autoclave + CRSCU chain)
- Fly ash from legacy WTE
- Bottom ash from legacy WTE
- Spent catalyst
- Spent refractory
- Contaminated soil (industrial spill / remediation feedstock)
- Chemical process residues
- Textile / apparel waste (incl. PFAS-contaminated)
- Food processing residues
- Slaughterhouse / rendering residues
- Municipal wastewater sludge
- Industrial wastewater sludge
- Dredge material
- Contaminated sediment
- Spent solvent
- Industrial-solvent recovery streams
- Fiberglass / composite waste
- Rubber / elastomer waste (beyond tires)
- Aerospace composites (CFRP / GFRP)
- Photovoltaic panel recycling
- Wind blade recycling
- Cement kiln dust
- Steel-mill baghouse dust
RC-grade slot additivity
A site starting at RC1–RC3 water can add RC4 semiconductor and RC5 pharma-WFI modules later without touching the base Water MAX train. The same additive pattern applies to Carbon MAX (RC1 activated carbon → RC5 CNT / fullerenes / graphene), Glass MAX (RC1 container → RC5 ultra-pure optical), Metal MAX (RC1 EAF billet → RC5 high-purity REE), Gas MAX, and Aromatics MAX. The RC ladder is a product-quality axis, and the manifest chooses how far up the ladder the site currently produces.
The fixed-plant contrast — stated plainly
| Change scenario | Fixed WTE / gasification / thermal | ACM modular |
|---|---|---|
| New feedstock class arrives | Custom engineering study, permit amendment, capital retrofit, plant shutdown. 12–36 months if feasible. | Select existing module from catalog, install in pre-provisioned frame at maintenance window. Weeks to months. |
| New product grade requested | Impossible without redesign. Fixed products by construction. | Add refining module upstream of target RC slot. Base MAX train untouched. Incremental. |
| Feedstock composition drifts over the site's life | Plant off-design; efficiency degrades; eventual major refit. | Manifest updates as composition drifts. Plant stays on-design across decades. |
| Product no longer commercially viable | Sunk equipment; asset write-down. | Retire module; redirect the RC slot. No stranded asset. |
| Multi-site rollout at scale | Every site custom-engineered. Sequential. Capital and schedule diverge from copy 1 to copy N. | Same catalog at every site. Manufacturing-line ERL qualification. 100s–1000s of facilities from one catalog. |
| Emerging regulatory driver (e.g. PFAS destruction service) | Plant either has the destruction capability or it doesn't. If not, uncompetitive. | CRSCU + AC guard bed modules already in the catalog. Add to site manifest; apply for a Cat-2/3 expansion under the national waste-management regulation. |
| Community augmentation (potable water / clean electricity) | Not designed for it. Retrofitting community service is usually infeasible. | PEM PowerBlock augmentation module + community delivery modules are catalog items. Add to manifest per site demand. |
Physical Interconnect — DC Microgrid + Nexus Utility Delivery
The modular-swap-without-plant-shutdown claim is enforced by two pieces of physical infrastructure: a DC power bus + DC microgrid across three standard voltage tiers, and an overhead modular Nexus Utility Delivery system with standardized connection points at every module. Modules occupy factory-floor grid positions; each grid position has its own Nexus Connection Point (NCP). Any single module can be shut down, disconnected at its NCP, and swapped — without affecting any other module or interrupting utility delivery to the rest of the facility.
DC voltage tiers · Nexus schematic · NCP spec · hot-swap procedure
A · DC power bus + DC microgrid
The site runs on DC, not AC. PEM PowerBlock output is already DC; converting to AC for distribution and back to DC at every load is a lossy legacy pattern. The ACM facility uses three DC voltage tiers, deployed progressively as the site scales:
| Voltage tier | Role | Deployed at | Load classes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 800 VDC | Low-voltage module tier | Module 1 (day-one, every site) | Auxiliary loads, controls, instrumentation, low-power drives, PEM stack aux, guard-bed heaters |
| 1,500 VDC | Mid-voltage module tier | Module 1 (day-one, every site) | Medium-power motor drives, MW-generator HV supplies, MAX-train pumps, CRSCU torch supplies, on-site PV interconnect (industry-standard 1,500 VDC) |
| 30 kVDC | Site power backbone bus | Module 2 (site expansion trigger) | Facility spine — long runs between buildings, PEM PowerBlock main bus tie-in, community-augmentation delivery when enabled, inter-module load sharing |
Why DC. PEM output is DC by nature; storage (battery / supercap buffer) is DC-native; PV augmentation is DC-native; modern semiconductor drives run more efficiently on DC input. Skipping the AC intermediate eliminates two conversion-loss stages, halves cable count for equivalent power transfer, and simplifies protection. 1,500 VDC and 30 kVDC are IEC / IEEE-standard microgrid voltages with commercially available protection and switchgear.
B · Overhead Nexus Utility Delivery system
All utilities — DC power (three tiers), nitrogen, cooling water, steam, instrument air, hydrogen, data/fiber — are delivered overhead along a single modular run per building. No trenched utilities, no floor-embedded conduit. The overhead Nexus bus is itself a manufactured product with its own catalog part number; it installs into the building shell before any process modules arrive.
C · Nexus Connection Points (NCPs) — the module interface
Every module ships with a standardized Nexus Connection Point on its top face. The NCP bundles all utility feeds into a single mechanical + electrical interface with keyed alignment. When a module is positioned into its factory-floor grid slot, the NCP mates to the overhead Nexus drop — a single physical action engages every utility the module needs. When a module is removed, the NCP disconnects cleanly and the drop is capped; utility flow to the rest of the Nexus is uninterrupted.
- Standardized geometry — every NCP has the same footprint, keying, and utility-lane layout across the entire module catalog. A Water MAX module and a Metal MAX module share the same NCP mechanical spec, differing only in which utility lanes are wired live.
- Individual isolation — each NCP has its own local disconnects on every utility lane. Isolating one module means throwing one NCP's local disconnects; the overhead Nexus continues delivering to every other module on the same bus.
- Data + protection integrated — the NCP carries a data/fiber return that reports the module's health to the site control system. Faults isolate at the NCP without propagating up the Nexus.
- Manifest-add ready — every building ships with more grid positions and NCPs than the day-one manifest populates. Adding a module is: position into open grid slot → mate NCP → energize local disconnects → commission. No civil, no trenching, no shutdown of adjacent modules.
D · The operational consequence — hot-swap without facility outage
This is the physical mechanism that makes the Module Manifest updates in the previous section real. When the manifest calls for adding a Li-ion battery recycling module (or swapping out an obsolete refining module, or upgrading an RC3 water product line to RC5), the physical procedure is:
- Shut down the outgoing module (or none, for a pure add)
- Isolate the module at its NCP (local disconnects — not the site bus)
- Uncouple + remove the module from its grid position
- Position the incoming module into the same (or new) grid slot
- Mate the NCP to the overhead Nexus drop
- Energize + commission per standard module SOP
Every other module on the facility continues normal operation throughout. There is no facility outage, no permit-window shutdown, no requalification of unaffected modules. This is the specific technical mechanism that separates the ACM modular architecture from every fixed-plant WTE / gasification / thermal facility in operation today.
Facility Layout — Buildings as APS Envelope
The Atmospheric Protection System is not a discrete piece of equipment bolted onto the process — the buildings themselves ARE the APS envelope. Every process building runs at negative pressure relative to ambient. Any pressure differential drives air into the building, never out. Pressure-relief headers inside each building capture any displaced vapor and route it (per composition) back to the Recyclotron feed inlet or the CRSCU inlet — not to atmosphere. This is the physical foundation of the zero-vent design.
Layout schematic · process buildings · standalone structures
A · Typical 1,000 TPD facility layout
A typical 1,000 TPD facility uses 2–4 process buildings under the APS envelope, plus standalone structures (container storage, ASRS, Zero-E PowerBlock) that sit outside the negative-pressure zone. Building count is driven by site topology, feedstock logistics, product dispatch flow, and community setback distances — not by process requirements. The same catalog of modules populates whatever building count the site plan uses.
B · Process buildings (APS envelope) — negative-pressure containment
- Reception & Prep — inbound gate infrastructure (radiation portal, composition scan, QC lab), tipping floor, front-end preparation (shred, dry, air-classify, magnetic separation). Under APS envelope from feedstock delivery onwards.
- Conversion + Cleanup — Recyclotron halls (up to 40 modules for 1,000 TPD), CRSCU plasma crackers, HRSG, condenser, oil-water separator, water-gas shift, PSA. Highest-hazard building; strictest APS negative-pressure setpoint.
- Regenesis MAX — six MAX Processing Trains (Water · Gas · Carbon · Metal · Glass · Aromatics). The product-refining zone.
- Optional 4th building — some site layouts split Reception + Prep from Conversion when logistics or setback constraints require it; some split Regenesis MAX by product family (metals + glass in one, water + gas + carbon + aromatics in another).
Building-level negative-pressure setpoints, HVAC differential design, and inter-building airlock protocols are engineered per site and subject to operator-permit conditions set by the national environmental regulator.
C · Standalone structures (outside APS envelope)
Some structures do not require APS enclosure because they handle materials at atmospheric conditions with no hazardous vapor path:
- Container storage — inbound feedstock containers (roll-off, sealed) waiting for QC + gate clearance; outbound product containers waiting for dispatch. Sealed containers have their own vapor containment; the building is a covered structure, not APS.
- ASRS (Automated Storage & Retrieval System) — automated warehouse for product buffer storage between Regenesis MAX output and dispatch. Handles finished RC-graded products at product-safe conditions. Standard industrial-warehouse fire and safety code.
- Zero-E PowerBlock — standalone building housing the PEM fuel-cell stacks that convert H2 to electricity. This is the origin of the DC power bus (800 VDC, 1,500 VDC, 30 kVDC). PEM cathode air is an atmospheric passthrough: air enters, oxygen recombines into product water, and the nitrogen-rich depleted air vents directly to atmosphere at the PowerBlock — oxygen-depleted cathode air (primarily nitrogen, residual oxygen, and water vapor), never in contact with process streams, outside the APS envelope and facility process scope. Standalone because the fuel-cell process is not part of the feedstock conversion chain and does not need APS containment.
- Rail Transfer Building — site-dependent. Rail-enabled sites use additional space and buildings for rail transfer (inbound feedstock rail, outbound product rail, or both). Not every site has rail access; the rail transfer building is only present where the site plan supports rail logistics.
D · Why buildings-as-APS matters operationally
- Directional airflow is passive. A leaky flange or a jarred seal cannot release process gas to atmosphere — the building pressure differential drives ambient air into the leak. This is a design property, not an active control that can fail.
- Building air is not exhausted. The APS envelope has no discharge stack. Building air (mixed ambient + any trace process vapor) is captured through the building's pressure-relief headers and routed back into the process at the Recyclotron feed inlet or CRSCU inlet. There is no HVAC exhaust to atmosphere from any process building.
- No personnel-in-vapor scenarios. Personnel entering a building enter through airlocks that maintain the negative-pressure differential. Personnel access protocols, PPE requirements, and evacuation-response setpoints are all engineered against the building being the containment boundary.
- Regulatory framing. Under the operator-permit conditions set by the national environmental regulator, the buildings-as-containment approach is recognized as inherently-safer-design compared to individual-unit vent stacks. Continuous emissions monitoring (CEMS) is installed at the permit-required compliance point. In routine operation the CRSCU gas path is fully captured to products — there is no combustion and no routine atmospheric release. The facility has zero stacks — anything requiring pressure relief or venting routes to the APS. The complete infiltration-air volumetric balance (ingested N2 / O2 / moisture exiting as product streams) is a multiphysics-simulation output verified at FOAK.
Module Manifest — taxonomy, example, diff
This subsection makes the Module Manifest concept concrete in three passes: (A) the 7-level taxonomy that anchors every naming decision; (B) the actual day-one manifest for a 100 TPD MSW site (40 modules across 7 buildings); (C) a diff mockup showing what a manifest update looks like when the site adds Li-ion battery recycling as a new feedstock class. This is how the “modules are a factory design tool” claim looks in practice.
Taxonomy tree · 40-module example manifest · Li-ion add diff
A · 7-Level Taxonomy
Facility → Building → Zone → Line → Frame → Module → Equipment. Every component in every drawing, spec, part order, and operator-license document resolves to a path through these seven levels. Modules live at level 6 — that is where the manifest operates.
The highlighted drill-down path (Facility → B2 Conversion → Zone β → V-Line 2 → Frame R2b → MW-GEN-R2b-01 → Magnetron 915 MHz) shows how any single equipment item is uniquely addressed. Reserved (dashed) frame slots at level 5 are pre-provisioned for manifest-add expansion — they exist physically but stay unpopulated until a manifest update installs a module into them.
B · Concrete manifest — 100 TPD MSW site (day-one)
Illustrative day-one manifest for a 100 TPD MSW site (post-source-separation feedstock). 40 modules across 7 buildings. Part numbers follow the pattern <TRAIN>-<FUNCTION>-<RC or SUFFIX>-<SERIAL>. Actual site manifests are written into the site's definitive-agreement package and mirrored to the counterparty at signing.
| Building | Zone | Line | Frame | Module part # | Function | Mass I/O | RC slot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 Reception | Weigh/QC | — | GATE-01 | GATE-PORTAL-01 | Radiation portal + composition scan | all inbound | — |
| B1 Reception | Prep | Prep 1 | PREP-01 | PREP-SHRED-01 | Coarse shredder | 4,167 kg/h in | — |
| B1 Reception | Prep | Prep 1 | PREP-02 | PREP-DRYER-01 | Rotary dryer (waste-heat driven) | dries to <15% | — |
| B1 Reception | Prep | Prep 1 | PREP-03 | PREP-CLASSIFY-01 | Air classifier + magnetic sep | splits inerts | — |
| B2 Conversion | Recyclotron | V-Line 1 | R1a | MCR-25TPD-R1a | Recyclotron frame · 25 TPD | 25 TPD | — |
| B2 Conversion | Recyclotron | V-Line 1 | R1b | MCR-25TPD-R1b | Recyclotron frame · 25 TPD | 25 TPD | — |
| B2 Conversion | Recyclotron | V-Line 2 | R2a | MCR-25TPD-R2a | Recyclotron frame · 25 TPD | 25 TPD | — |
| B2 Conversion | Recyclotron | V-Line 2 | R2b | MCR-25TPD-R2b | Recyclotron frame · 25 TPD | 25 TPD | — |
| B3 Cleanup | CRSCU | V-Line 1 | CRSCU-1 | CRSCU-01 | Plasma cracker 1,300–1,800°C | 1,840 kg/h in | — |
| B3 Cleanup | CRSCU | V-Line 2 | CRSCU-2 | CRSCU-02 | Plasma cracker 1,300–1,800°C | 1,840 kg/h in | — |
| B3 Cleanup | HRSG | Heat rec | HRSG-01 | HRSG-STANDARD-01 | Heat-recovery steam gen | thermal | — |
| B3 Cleanup | Cond/OWS | Cond 1 | COND-01 | COND-STANDARD-01 | Condenser 200 → 40°C | vapor sep | — |
| B3 Cleanup | Cond/OWS | OWS 1 | OWS-01 | OWS-STANDARD-01 | Oil-water separator | 238 kg/h | — |
| B3 Cleanup | WGS | WGS 1 | WGS-01 | WGS-FeCr-01 | Water-gas shift · Fe/Cr | CO→CO2 | — |
| B3 Cleanup | PSA | PSA 1 | PSA-01 | PSA-ZEOLITE-01 | Zeolite 5A + AC cascade | H2 4-5N | — |
| B4 MAX | Water | MAX-WTR | WTR-01 | MAX-WTR-RC1-01 | Potable polish | 500 kg/h | RC1 |
| B4 MAX | Water | MAX-WTR | WTR-02 | MAX-WTR-RC2-01 | Industrial-DI | 468 kg/h | RC2 |
| B4 MAX | Water | MAX-WTR | WTR-03 | MAX-WTR-RC3-01 | Softened / distilled | 500 kg/h | RC3 |
| B4 MAX | Water | MAX-WTR | WTR-04 | MAX-WTR-RC4-01 | Semiconductor 18MΩ | 1,500 kg/h | RC4 |
| B4 MAX | Water | MAX-WTR | WTR-05 | MAX-WTR-RC5-01 | Pharma-WFI / ultra-pure | 500 kg/h | RC5 |
| B4 MAX | Water | MAX-WTR | WTR-06 | MAX-WTR-SALT-01 | Salt-cake crystallizer | 51 kg/h | — |
| B4 MAX | Gas | MAX-GAS | GAS-01 | MAX-GAS-CO2LIQ-01 | CO2 liquefaction | 2,118 kg/h | RC3 |
| B4 MAX | Gas | MAX-GAS | GAS-02 | MAX-GAS-N2-01 | N2 product | 15 kg/h | RC3 |
| B4 MAX | Gas | MAX-GAS | GAS-03 | MAX-GAS-COCH4-01 | CO/CH4 syngas | 653 kg/h | RC2 |
| B4 MAX | Carbon | MAX-CAR | CAR-01 | MAX-CAR-AC-01 | Activated carbon (self-produced) | 80 kg/h | RC1 |
| B4 MAX | Carbon | MAX-CAR | CAR-02 | MAX-CAR-TB-01 | Thermal black | 90 kg/h | RC2 |
| B4 MAX | Carbon | MAX-CAR | CAR-03 | MAX-CAR-GRAPHITE-01 | Synthetic graphite | 50 kg/h | RC3 |
| B4 MAX | Metal | MAX-MTL | MTL-01 | MAX-MTL-EAF-01 | Mini-EAF billet | 48 kg/h | RC2 |
| B4 MAX | Metal | MAX-MTL | MTL-02 | MAX-MTL-NFERR-01 | Hydromet non-ferrous | 30 kg/h | RC2 |
| B4 MAX | Metal | MAX-MTL | MTL-03 | MAX-MTL-TRACE-01 | Trace metals (Hg, As, Se, Tl) | 2 kg/h | RC3 |
| B4 MAX | Glass | MAX-GLS | GLS-01 | MAX-GLS-CONT-01 | Container-grade | 160 kg/h | RC1 |
| B4 MAX | Glass | MAX-GLS | GLS-02 | MAX-GLS-BORO-01 | Borosilicate | 85 kg/h | RC3 |
| B4 MAX | Aromatics | MAX-ARM | ARM-01 | MAX-ARM-BTX-01 | BTX aromatics | 60 kg/h | RC2 |
| B4 MAX | Aromatics | MAX-ARM | ARM-02 | MAX-ARM-HEAVY-01 | Heavy aromatics | 24 kg/h | RC2 |
| B5 Power | PEM | Stack 1 | PEM-01 | PEM-STACK-500-01 | PEM fuel-cell stack | 2,190 kWe | — |
| B5 Power | PEM | Stack 2 | PEM-02 | PEM-STACK-500-02 | PEM fuel-cell stack | 2,190 kWe | — |
| B5 Power | PEM | Stack 3 | PEM-03 | PEM-STACK-500-03 | PEM fuel-cell stack | 2,190 kWe | — |
| B5 Power | PEM | Stack 4 | PEM-04 | PEM-STACK-500-04 | PEM fuel-cell stack | 2,190 kWe | — |
| B7 Utilities | APS | APS 1 | APS-01 | APS-STANDARD-01 | Atmospheric Protection System | capture loop | — |
| B7 Utilities | N2 | PSA | N2-01 | N2-PSA-01 | On-site N2 PSA | 250 Nm³/h | — |
Note the “reserved” frame slots visible in the taxonomy tree (Frame R2c, R2d) are absent from the manifest table above — those slots exist physically but are unpopulated until a manifest update installs modules. That is what makes manifest-add possible without civil / structural work.
C · Manifest diff — adding Li-ion battery recycling
Illustrative diff: the same 100 TPD site adds Li-ion battery recycling as a new feedstock class (2 TPD ceiling). The change is 7 module installs + 1 salt-cake spec update + 1 national waste-management-regulation license amendment. No civil work. No plant shutdown. No custom engineering. CRSCU plasma already handles the fluorinated electrolyte destruction — no new destruction chain needed.
| Building | Zone | Line | Frame | Module part # | Function | Mass I/O | RC slot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADD | B1 Reception | Prep | Prep 2 (new) | PREP-04 | PREP-BATTDIS-01 | Li-ion battery discharge (safe SOC 0%) | 2 TPD in | — |
| ADD | B1 Reception | Prep | Prep 2 (new) | PREP-05 | PREP-BATTDIS-02 | Cell disassembly + electrolyte capture | 2 TPD | — |
| ADD | B4 MAX | Metal | MAX-MTL | MTL-04 | MAX-MTL-BATT-Li-01 | Li recovery (battery-metals train) | 0.15 kg/h | RC3 |
| ADD | B4 MAX | Metal | MAX-MTL | MTL-05 | MAX-MTL-BATT-CoNi-01 | Co/Ni recovery | 0.30 kg/h | RC3 |
| ADD | B4 MAX | Metal | MAX-MTL | MTL-06 | MAX-MTL-BATT-Cu-01 | Cu current-collector recovery | 0.20 kg/h | RC2 |
| ADD | B4 MAX | Metal | MAX-MTL | MTL-07 | MAX-MTL-BATT-Al-01 | Al current-collector recovery | 0.20 kg/h | RC2 |
| MOD | B4 MAX | Water | MAX-WTR | WTR-06 | MAX-WTR-SALT-02 | Salt-cake crystallizer (F− from LiPF6) | +2 kg/h | — |
| MOD | B3 Cleanup | CRSCU | V-Line 1 | CRSCU-1 | CRSCU-01 | CRSCU already handles fluorinated electrolyte destruction (no change) | unchanged | — |
| SCOPE | Site permit | — | — | — | Cat-2 amendment under the national waste-management regulation | Battery HAZMAT sub-class added to license | — | — |
What this diff would cost at a fixed-plant WTE: a bespoke battery-shredder line + acid-leach hydromet plant + dedicated waste-water treatment for HF from LiPF6 + full permit re-issuance + 12–36 month schedule + plant shutdown for tie-in. The ACM diff is a 7-module manifest update, a spec adjustment on a module already at the site, and a license amendment. This is the operational payoff of manufactured modularity.
Disclosed for completeness — the following are in design and are not part of the configuration assessed in this response: Generation 2 and Generation 3 Recyclotron™ modules (successors to the Gen-1 25 TPD modules assessed here; new generations enter the fleet through the same frame, manifest, and qualification system under the DFM / ERL doctrine), and a two-container packaged Regenesis™ node — 1–5 TPD MSW converted to OmniCrude™ on site, fully self-contained, for remote sites, resorts, warehouses, islands, and similar distributed applications. Each is subject to the same qualification, SIT, and acceptance pathway before commercial designation.
The ACM platform is engineered for an exceptionally broad feedstock envelope. Over the platform's development, Carbotura has tested more than 500 distinct waste streams. The representative short list below groups the major categories accepted at commercial deployment:
- Municipal & consumer waste: MSW (sorted & unsorted), plastics, glass, paper, cardboard, metals (aluminum, steel, copper), textiles, polystyrene
- Construction & demolition (C&D): concrete, bricks, asphalt, carpet, foam, insulation, mattresses
- WEEE & battery: cell phones, computers, batteries, light bulbs, ink and toner cartridges
- Industrial hydrocarbons & oil: petcoke, refinery sludge, petrochemical residues, oil sludge, oils, lubricants, grease
- Tire & rubber: tires, shredded tires, shredded rubber, tire-derived material (TDM)
- Wood, biomass & agricultural residues: wood, wood chips, sawdust, hay and straw (wheat, rice, barley, oat), corn cobs and stalks, sugarcane bagasse, oilseed residues (cotton, soy, sunflower, canola, flax, safflower, mustard, castor)
- Food-processing organics: cooking oil, fats and oils, milk, cheese, fish and meat scraps, eggshells, coffee grounds, tea leaves, sugar beet pulp, fruit and vegetable scraps
- Yard & landscape: leaves, grass clippings, tree branches, animal manure, biosolids
- Algae & microbial biomass: algae, algal biomass, seaweed, kelp, yeast, bacteria, fungi
- Biological / medical-adjacent: hair, leather, animal waste, blood, urine, feces (HAZMAT-classified handling)
- Chemical streams (case-by-case): solvents, adhesives, paints and coatings, medical waste, pharmaceuticals, asbestos
Every deployment is subject to a per-site Intake Study that characterizes actual feedstock composition against the design envelope. Streams outside envelope are flagged at intake and either routed to blend adjustment, augment-ratio recalibration, or (rare) rejected.
Engineering Detail
Typical operating envelope, subject to per-site Intake Study adjustment:
- Moisture content (as-received): 5–45%. Streams above 45% moisture routed through Pregenesis™ preconditioning.
- Ash content (dry basis): 5–35%. Higher-ash feedstocks route to Regenesis MAX™.
- Particle size (post-sizing): ≤ 50 mm. Larger streams pre-shredded.
- Chlorine content: managed via feedstock blending strategy and downstream cleanup (see Section 3).
- Sulfur content: managed via feedstock blending and dedicated guard bed.
- Alkali metals (Na, K): monitored to avoid alkali fouling in downstream stages.
- Heavy metals: tracked per WEEE and specialized streams; may route to critical-minerals recovery rather than primary conversion where economically justified.
Representative short list of tested feedstock streams (grouped by category — the full tested library exceeds 500 distinct streams):
- Municipal & consumer: plastics, glass, paper, shredded paper, cardboard, metals (aluminum, steel, copper), textiles, textile scraps, polystyrene (Styrofoam), light bulbs, ink and toner cartridges
- Construction & demolition: concrete, bricks, asphalt, carpet, foam, cellulose insulation, mattresses, asbestos
- WEEE & batteries: cell phones, computers, other electronic waste, batteries, light bulbs
- Industrial hydrocarbons: petcoke, refinery sludge, petrochemical residues, oil sludge, oil and lubricants, grease, sludge
- Tire & rubber: tires, shredded tires, shredded rubber, tire-derived material (TDM)
- Chemical / hazardous (case-by-case): solvents, adhesives, paints and coatings, medical waste, pharmaceuticals
- Wood & leather: wood, wood chips, sawdust, leather, hair
- Food-processing organics: cooking oil, vegetable oil, fats and oils, milk, cheese, fish scraps, meat scraps, eggshells, coffee grounds, tea leaves, sugar beet pulp, fruit and vegetable scraps, food scraps
- Grain & straw residues: hay and straw, wheat straw, rice straw, barley straw, oat straw, corn cobs, corn stalks, sugarcane bagasse, corn starch, potatoes
- Oilseed residues: cotton seeds & cottonseed oil, soybeans, peanuts & peanut oil, sunflower seeds & sunflower oil, canola seed & canola oil, flaxseed & flax oil, safflower seed & safflower oil, mustard seed & mustard oil, castor seed & castor oil
- Yard & landscape: yard waste, leaves, grass clippings, tree branches
- Biological / biosolid: bio-solids, sludge, animal waste, animal manure, blood, urine, feces
- Algae & microbial: algae, algal biomass, seaweed, kelp, yeast, bacteria, fungi, lichens, mosses, microorganisms, biomass
Hazardous streams (asbestos, medical waste, pharmaceuticals, certain solvents, radioactive-adjacent) accepted only under dedicated HAZMAT protocol at qualifying sites with containerized handling and regulator sign-off — not a default feedstock class at every deployment.