Flagship · Municipal Solid Waste
A city's waste stream, converted into commodities it can sell
Sealed, low-temperature processing recovers industrial carbon, fuel oil, potable water and mineral aggregate from municipal solid waste. No combustion. No landfill. No subsidy in the revenue model.
Four kinds of reader arrive at this page with four different questions. Go to yours.
Municipal solid waste is not one material
It is carbon, hydrocarbons, water and mineral matter in one stream. Each has a market when it is separated and retained. All of it is destroyed or stranded when the waste is burned or buried.
The process is a sealed, low-temperature depolymerization — the same principle applied on our coal and tire programmes. Material is separated under vacuum below combustion temperature, so every fraction leaves as a product rather than as flue gas and ash. The commercial consequence is that a project earns from several independent product markets off a single feedstock, and does not need tipping fees, subsidies or a renewable power tariff to close.
The Process
One feedstock in, five products out
For municipal authorities and host governments
What this removes from your balance sheet
The question behind the question: what happens if this fails publicly?
- No subsidy commitment. Revenue comes from product sales into several end-markets. The model does not require a feed-in tariff, a gate fee guarantee, or an offtake subsidy.
- No net increase in public debt. Project funding options are structured so the obligation does not land on the public balance sheet.
- A liability becomes an asset. An operating or closing landfill stops accruing methane, leachate and long-term monitoring cost, and starts producing sellable material.
- Local products from local waste. Carbon, fuel oil and aggregate produced in-country, usable in-country, exportable — a measurable step toward commodity independence.
- Jobs and skills. Commissioning includes training of operating personnel; the facility is permanently staffed, not a remote-run installation.
- Potable water returned. All moisture in the waste stream is captured and returned as potable water — 337 million litres a year on a six-unit facility.
- Sited where the waste already is. Modular and on-site, at one landfill or across several, which removes haulage rather than adding it.
Mass Balance
Where 1.22 million tonnes actually goes
- Carbon
- Fuel oil
- Syngas & minerals
- Water
View as table
| Stage | Stream | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Input | Raw municipal solid waste | 1,220,000 t |
| Drying | Moisture recovered as potable water | 337,000,000 L |
| Drying | Dry feedstock | 880,000 t |
| Product | Industrial carbon | 270,000 t |
| Product | Fuel oil | 231,000,000 L (61,000,000 US gal) |
| Product | Syngas and mineral residue | Balance — not separately stated |
For institutional capital
Why the revenue stack holds
The question behind the question: where does this break under diligence?
- Independent revenue lines, one feedstock. Carbon, fuel oil, syngas, water and minerals sell into unrelated markets. A price collapse in one does not take the project down.
- No subsidy dependency. Nothing in the model relies on a policy instrument that a future administration can withdraw.
- Collateral at 3×. At least three times the investment amount can be brought forward as collateral in top-rated securities.
- Feedstock is contracted, not bought. The input is a waste stream a city is already paying to dispose of, which inverts the usual commodity-input risk.
- Modular deployment. Units commission progressively, so revenue begins before the full facility is complete and the downside case is a smaller facility, not a stranded one.
| Total project CAPEX | $144M |
| Minimum investment | From $20M |
| Collateralization | 3×, top-rated securities |
| First revenue | Year 2 |
| Payback | End of Year 3 |
| Cumulative EBITDA, Year 5 | $453M |
| Cumulative EBITDA, Year 15 | $1.56B |
| Project IRR | 56.2% |
| Five-year ROIC | 70% |
| Status | Ready for funding and implementation |
Indicative Timeline
From commitment to payback
- Capital at risk
- Post-payback
What is proven, what is modelled, and what is site-specific
Every party who reads this page will eventually ask which numbers are evidence and which are projection. Stating it first is faster than being asked.
The conversion process itself, with over 10,000 hours at full scale across feedstocks including tires, coal and oil sands. Output specifications — carbon purity, aromatic content, syngas energy density — are measured, not derived.
All financial figures: CAPEX, EBITDA, IRR, ROIC and payback. These are projections built on stated assumptions about product pricing and operating cost. They are not guarantees of performance, and they move with commodity prices.
Yields. Municipal waste composition varies by an order of magnitude between regions, and it is the single largest determinant of project economics. Every project is modelled against a measured local waste profile before any figure here is relied upon.
Feedstock
What municipal solid waste actually contains
View as table
| Component | Share of raw MSW | Outcome | Commercial result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon | 15–35% | Retained, purified to >95% | Industrial carbon |
| Hydrocarbons | 8–20% | Retained and extracted | Fuel oil |
| Water | 15–55% | Captured | Potable water |
| Mineral ash | 10–30% | Separated or retained in carbon | Concrete, insulation, agriculture |
| Syngas | 8–18% | Captured | Powers the unit; surplus saleable |
For corporate and industrial operators
What it takes to run one
The question behind the question: does it actually operate, and what do I integrate?
- Self-powered after start-up. Captured syngas runs the unit. One grid connection to start, no external fuel thereafter, no power island required.
- Continuous, not batch. 24/7 feed at 23.2 t/hr per unit.
- Feedstock-tolerant. Over 10,000 hours at full scale across tires, coal and oil sands before municipal waste.
- Products to specification. Carbon purified above 95%, fuel oil at 85–95% aromatic content, syngas at 3.08 MMBtu/ton.
- Modular. Units add in increments rather than requiring a single large plant, and deploy at one site or several.
- Contained residue. Mineral ash stays contained, with cyclone separation available where a higher carbon grade is needed.
| Throughput, per unit | 557 t/day · 23.2 t/hr |
| Feed mode | Continuous, 24/7 |
| Process | Sealed, low-temperature depolymerization under vacuum |
| Combustion | None |
| Power | Self-powered on captured syngas after one-time grid start |
| Carbon purity | >95% |
| Fuel oil aromatic content | 85–95% |
| Syngas energy density | 3.08 MMBtu/ton |
| Electricity potential | From 500 kWh per tonne of MSW |
| Indicative carbon price | $0.10/lb |
| Waste to landfill | None |
| Deployment | Modular, on-site, one landfill or several |
Against the alternatives
What comes with the project
| Project funding | Funding options and financial guarantees. |
| Technical & regulatory | Support through permitting and into operation. |
| Commissioning | Commissioning and training of operating personnel. |
| Ongoing technical support | Continuing through the operating life of the facility. |
How we engage
What you get, and what it takes to get it
The question behind the question: is this a real project, or am I being worked?
- What is behind this page. A full technical brief, an introduction to the intellectual property owner, and the project financial model — not a longer version of what you have just read.
- What we do not do. Daisy chains, rumoured buyers, or documents that cannot survive a receiving bank's compliance desk. If a package cannot clear that gate, it will not be presented as though it can. That discipline is the reason the brief is worth having.
- Why the process is ordered this way. The same standard that decides what we send you is the standard that protects you from what we would otherwise be sending. It runs in both directions.
What we need from each party
| If you are | What establishes standing |
|---|---|
| A government or municipal authority | Confirmation of mandate and contracting authority over the waste stream or the site. No financial disclosure is asked of you — you are bringing the feedstock and the permitting, not the capital. |
| A utility, industrial operator or manufacturer | Corporate standing, the site or offtake you are bringing, and the authority to contract for it. |
| An investor, fund or collateral provider | Audited proof of funds confirmed by a licensed, certified external auditor; a documented ultimate beneficial owner; and a coherent KYC/AML package. Cash is preferred. |
| An intermediary acting for any of the above | Written authority from your principal, and your principal reachable. Introductions without a mandate cannot be progressed. |
Next Step
Start the conversation
Host-country governments, municipal authorities, utilities, industrial manufacturers, mining operators and investment funds are the parties this project is built for. Tell us which you are and what you are bringing, and we will tell you exactly what the next step looks like.
Magister Operis · 2751 Inglewood Drive, Gainesville, Georgia 30504 · +1 404.557.6049 ·
Indicative only. All figures on this page are subject to business case validation against country profile, measured municipal waste profile, selected application and operating assumptions. Financial figures are forward-looking projections, not a guarantee of performance. Nothing on this page is an offer or a solicitation.