Operations Plan — Detailed Campaign Logistics

Draft Medium Research 6,286 words Created Mar 4, 2026

The Operations Plan — How This Ship Actually Works

> Status: Active research > Last updated: 2026-03-04 > Purpose: The literal engineering blueprint of The Claw's operation. Not strategy, not funding, not meta — this is what physically happens on this ship, hour by hour, system by system. Everything else derives from this document.

Core Design Decision

The Claw is a permanent station. It does not transit to port. It stays on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, processing plastic 24/7/365. A separate supply/crew vessel runs the ~1,000 nm Honolulu-GPGP shuttle, bringing crew, food, diesel, spare parts — and taking home whatever we produce.

This means:

No transit fuel budget for The Claw itself
Reactor stays hot — no cold-start cycles from port visits
The Claw's own propulsion is only for slow repositioning within the GPGP (following debris concentrations, avoiding weather)
The supply vessel is the logistics backbone and the product export vehicle
The Claw must be self-sustaining between supply visits (28-day cycles minimum)

1. The Power-Up Sequence — Cold Start 2. Steady-State Power Budget 3. The Energy Flow — From Plastic to Electricity 4. What Happens to Surplus Energy 5. The Methanol Question 6. Storage — What's On Board and Where 7. Shutdown and Restart Cycles 8. A Day on The Claw 9. The Supply Vessel — The Logistics Backbone 10. What We Produce and Sell 11. Repositioning Within the GPGP 12. Open Engineering Questions

1. The Power-Up Sequence — Cold Start

The reactor needs electricity to create a plasma arc before it produces any syngas. This is the bootstrap problem: the system that generates power needs power to start.

What Fires First

Step 0: Diesel genset starts.

The Claw carries a marine diesel generator (500 kW-1 MW class) specifically for startup and backup. This is standard equipment — a Caterpillar, Cummins, or MTU marine genset weighing 5-12 tonnes, occupying roughly 2.5m × 1.5m × 1.5m. Fuel consumption at full load: ~110-130 litres/hour.

This is the only system that needs external fuel (diesel). Everything after this step runs on ocean plastic.

Step 1: Plasma arc ignites (seconds).

The plasma torch strikes an electric arc between its electrodes. This is electromagnetic, not thermal — the arc ignites in milliseconds via high-frequency electrical discharge. The torch immediately draws its rated operating power:

System	Power Draw	Notes
PRRS primary arc (graphite arc furnace)	200-500 kW	Transferred DC arc through slag/feedstock
PRRS secondary torch (APT)	200 kW	Non-transferred air plasma torch
Auxiliaries (fans, pumps, controls)	50-100 kW	Gas cleaning, cooling water, instrumentation
Total startup power	450-800 kW	Supplied by diesel genset

Step 2: Chamber reaches operating temperature (5-30 minutes).

This is the critical advantage of PRRS/PAWDS over refractory-lined reactors. PyroGenesis uses no refractory brick lining — the reactor walls are water-cooled, and the slag itself forms a protective "skull" on the walls. There is no massive thermal mass to heat up.

PAWDS (proven at sea): PyroGenesis claims "one-button start in minutes." Without refractory, this is credible — 5-15 minutes to stable combustion temperature.
PRRS (graphite arc furnace): Slightly longer because the slag bath must form and become conductive. Estimated 15-30 minutes for the arc to establish a stable conductive path through the initial feedstock/flux charge.
Comparison — refractory-lined reactors: 3-6+ hours to heat refractory walls to operating temperature. This is why PRRS's no-refractory design matters so much.

Electric arc furnaces in steelmaking (similar principle to PRRS) reach tap temperature in ~37 minutes with a full 300-tonne charge. The Claw's reactor is much smaller.

Step 3: Feedstock begins (minutes 15-30).

Once the arc is stable and the chamber is at temperature, pre-processed plastic feedstock (shredded, dewatered, desalted) begins feeding into the reactor. The feedstock gasifies on contact with the plasma zone, producing syngas (CO + H₂).

Early syngas quality is poor — variable composition, high tar content, unstable flow. This gas is not sent to the engine. It is either flared (if we have a flare) or routed through the gas cleaning system and vented.

Step 4: Syngas stabilizes (minutes 30-60).

As the reactor reaches steady state, syngas composition and flow rate stabilize. Continuous gas chromatography monitoring confirms:

H₂ content > 30%
CO content > 20%
Syngas LHV > 8 MJ/Nm³ (minimum for gas engine operation)
Tar content below engine tolerance
HCl below scrubber outlet specification

Step 5: Gas engine starts (minutes 45-75).

The syngas-fueled gas engine (Jenbacher or equivalent, 1-2 MW class) starts on the now-clean syngas. Jenbacher engines running on low-calorific gas can reach rated load in 5-15 minutes from cold start. The engine begins generating electricity.

Initial load: engine powers auxiliaries (pumps, fans, gas cleaning, lighting)
Increasing load: engine takes over from diesel genset progressively
Full takeover: diesel genset offloads and shuts down

Step 6: Self-sustaining operation (minutes 60-90).

The Claw is now powering itself from ocean plastic. The diesel genset is off. Total time from cold diesel start to self-sustaining: approximately 60-90 minutes.

Startup Power Summary

Phase	Duration	Power Source	Fuel Consumed
Diesel genset start → arc ignition	0-5 min	Diesel	~10 litres
Arc heating → chamber at temp	5-30 min	Diesel	~50-65 litres
Feedstock start → syngas stabilization	30-60 min	Diesel	~55-65 litres
Gas engine start → diesel shutdown	60-90 min	Diesel → syngas transition	~30-35 litres
Total startup diesel consumption	~90 min		~145-175 litres

That's roughly one barrel of diesel per cold start. At one cold start per month (which is generous — the reactor should stay hot for weeks), diesel startup consumption is negligible.

Alternative: Battery-Assisted Startup

Instead of (or in addition to) the diesel genset, a containerized marine battery system could provide startup power:

Option	Spec	Cost (2025)
ABB Containerized ESS (small)	452 kWh, 20-foot container	~$150-300K installed
ABB Containerized ESS (large)	1,424 kWh, 20-foot container	~$300-500K installed

A 500 kWh battery bank covers ~45-60 minutes of 500 kW torch operation — enough for a full startup sequence. The battery recharges from the syngas engine during normal operation.

Recommendation: Carry both. The diesel genset is the primary startup source (proven, reliable, unlimited restarts as long as diesel is on board). The battery is backup and handles brief power dips during operation. The battery also provides instant power for torch restrike if the arc drops momentarily — faster than diesel genset response.

2. Steady-State Power Budget

Once self-sustaining, here's what the ship's electrical systems look like:

Power Generation

Source	Output	Status
Syngas gas engine (Jenbacher J320 or equivalent)	1,000-1,150 kW	Primary — runs 24/7
ORC waste heat recovery	50-100 kW	Captures waste heat from reactor + engine exhaust
Total generation	1,050-1,250 kW

Power Consumption — Processing Systems

System	Power Draw	Duty Cycle	Notes
PRRS primary arc (graphite furnace)	200-500 kW	Continuous	The big consumer. Scales with feedstock rate
PRRS secondary torch (APT)	200 kW	Continuous	Syngas polishing — cracks remaining tars
Syngas gas cleaning (scrubbers, filters, coolers)	30-50 kW	Continuous	Fans, pumps, chiller
Syngas compressor (if methanol synthesis)	100-300 kW	Continuous	Compresses syngas to 60-100 bar. Only if making methanol
Shredder/grinder	50-80 kW	Intermittent	Runs during collection periods
Dewatering (centrifuge/press)	20-40 kW	Intermittent	Runs during collection
Conveyors and material handling	10-20 kW	Intermittent	Feed system, slag conveyor
Feedstock dryer (waste heat powered)	5-10 kW	Continuous	Fans only — heat comes from reactor waste heat
Processing subtotal	615-1,200 kW		Range depends on methanol synthesis

Power Consumption — Ship Systems

System	Power Draw	Duty Cycle	Notes
Navigation, bridge instruments, comms	15-25 kW	Continuous	Radar, GPS, satellite, GMDSS
Lighting (accommodation + deck)	20-30 kW	Continuous	LED throughout
HVAC (accommodation, bridge)	40-60 kW	Continuous	Tropical climate, 28 crew
Galley (cooking, refrigeration, freezers)	30-50 kW	Intermittent	Peaks at meal times
Watermaker (reverse osmosis)	15-25 kW	Intermittent	15-20 m³/day capacity, runs ~12 hrs/day
Sewage treatment	5-10 kW	Continuous	Membrane bioreactor
Ballast pumps	20-40 kW	Intermittent	Active stability management
Workshop/machine shop	10-30 kW	Intermittent	When in use
Crane operations	40-80 kW	Intermittent	During collection operations
DP/propulsion (slow repositioning)	100-300 kW	Occasional	Only when repositioning within GPGP
Fire detection, safety systems	5-10 kW	Continuous
Ship systems subtotal	300-660 kW		Varies heavily with activity

Power Balance

Scenario A: Processing only (no methanol synthesis)

Item	kW
Generation	+1,050 to +1,250
Processing (no methanol compressor)	-515 to -900
Ship systems (typical, not repositioning)	-200 to -360
Net surplus	+50 to +475 kW

At 5 TPD processing, the torch draws less power (lower end of range), and the surplus is healthy. At 10 TPD, the torch draws more, but syngas production also increases, generating more engine power. The ratio stays favorable.

Scenario B: Processing + methanol synthesis

Item	kW
Generation	+1,050 to +1,250
Processing (with methanol compressor at 200 kW)	-715 to -1,100
Ship systems	-200 to -360
Net surplus/deficit	-210 to +135 kW

Methanol synthesis eats into the surplus significantly. At lower processing rates, the power budget goes negative — the ship can't simultaneously power itself AND make methanol at full capacity.

This is the fundamental trade-off: every kW going to the methanol compressor is a kW not available for ship operations. Options:

1. Larger gas engine — size the Jenbacher for 1.5-2 MW instead of 1 MW. Ocean plastic's high calorific value (35-46 MJ/kg) produces more syngas per tonne than MSW, which means more engine fuel. The energy balance from existing research says 5 TPD produces ~13,800 kWh/day (~575 kW average continuous). At 10 TPD: ~27,600 kWh/day (~1,150 kW).

2. Second gas engine — two smaller engines (e.g., 2× 600 kW Jenbacher) provide redundancy AND more total capacity. One powers the ship, the other powers methanol synthesis. If either fails, the ship still operates.

3. Split the syngas stream — route 60-70% to the engine for ship power, 30-40% to methanol synthesis. Methanol production is lower but the ship stays self-powered.

4. No methanol at Phase 1 — defer methanol synthesis to Phase 1.5 or Phase 2 when a larger reactor or second engine is installed. Phase 1 focuses on proving the core loop: collect plastic → gasify → self-power.

3. The Energy Flow — From Plastic to Electricity

Here's the complete energy flow, step by step:

OCEAN PLASTIC (35-46 MJ/kg energy content)
  │
  ├─ Dewatering (removes seawater, ~20 kWh/tonne)
  ├─ Shredding (size reduction, ~15 kWh/tonne)
  ├─ Desalting rinse (freshwater, ~5 kWh/tonne)
  ├─ Thermal drying (waste heat — free energy, ~0 kWh electrical)
  │
  ▼
REACTOR FEED (dry, shredded, <50mm chips, <5% moisture, <0.5% salt)
  │
  ├─ Energy content: ~35 MJ/kg × 5,000 kg/day = 175,000 MJ/day
  │
  ▼
PRRS PLASMA REACTOR
  │
  ├─ Input: electrical power for plasma arc (200-500 kW continuous)
  ├─ Input: electrical power for APT secondary torch (200 kW continuous)
  │
  ├─ Output: SYNGAS (CO + H₂, ~60-70% of input energy captured)
  │          ~105,000-122,500 MJ/day as syngas
  │          Syngas LHV: ~10-14 MJ/Nm³
  │          Composition: ~44% H₂, ~31% CO, ~10-15% CO₂, balance N₂
  │
  ├─ Output: SLAG (inert vitrified glass)
  │          ~20-60 kg/tonne of plastic (low ash content)
  │          ~100-300 kg/day at 5 TPD
  │          Tapped every few hours, cooled, stored below deck
  │
  ├─ Output: WASTE HEAT
  │          Torch cooling: ~35% of torch power input
  │          Chamber walls: ~15% of total energy
  │          Captured by ORC and feedstock dryer
  │
  ▼
SYNGAS CLEANING
  │
  ├─ Water quench (1,100°C → <100°C in <0.5 seconds — prevents dioxins)
  ├─ Acid gas scrubber (removes HCl from PVC, H₂S)
  ├─ Particulate filter (removes dust, heavy metal particles)
  ├─ Condensate separator (removes water)
  │
  ├─ Power consumption: ~30-50 kW
  │
  ▼
CLEAN SYNGAS
  │
  ├─ Route A (100% at Phase 1): → GAS ENGINE → ELECTRICITY
  │   Jenbacher J320: ~1,000-1,150 kW electrical output
  │   Efficiency: ~35-38% (syngas to electricity)
  │   Exhaust: CO₂ + H₂O (clean combustion products)
  │   Waste heat: → ORC → additional 50-100 kW electricity
  │
  ├─ Route B (Phase 1.5, split stream):
  │   60-70% → Gas engine (ship power)
  │   30-40% → WGS reactor → Methanol synthesis → Liquid methanol
  │
  ▼
ELECTRICITY (1,050-1,250 kW total)
  │
  ├─ → Plasma reactor (400-700 kW) — feeds back into the loop
  ├─ → Ship systems (200-400 kW)
  ├─ → Collection equipment (50-100 kW, intermittent)
  ├─ → Methanol compressor (100-300 kW, Phase 1.5 only)
  ├─ → Battery charging (50 kW, maintaining startup reserve)
  ├─ → Surplus: 0-475 kW depending on configuration
  │
  ▼
THE LOOP IS CLOSED.

Energy Conversion Efficiency

Stage	Input	Output	Efficiency
Plastic → Syngas (plasma gasification)	175,000 MJ/day	~115,000 MJ/day syngas	~66%
Syngas → Electricity (gas engine)	~115,000 MJ/day	~40,000-44,000 MJ/day electrical	~35-38%
Waste heat → Electricity (ORC)	~20,000 MJ/day waste heat	~2,000 MJ/day electrical	~10%
Overall: Plastic → Useful electricity	175,000 MJ/day	~42,000-46,000 MJ/day	~24-26%

In kW terms: 5 TPD of plastic produces approximately 490-530 kW of continuous electrical power (before reactor parasitic load).

After subtracting the reactor's own consumption (400-700 kW), the net available for the ship is roughly 0-130 kW at 5 TPD.

This is tight at 5 TPD. The ship systems alone need 200-400 kW. At 5 TPD, the energy loop may not fully close — diesel supplementation may be needed.

At 10 TPD: everything doubles. ~980-1,060 kW generated, minus 500-800 kW reactor load = 200-500 kW net surplus. The loop closes comfortably.

This is why Phase 1 targets 5-10 TPD, not 5 TPD as a hard number. The PoC bench test will determine the exact crossover point where the energy loop closes.

4. What Happens to Surplus Energy

At 10 TPD processing with no methanol synthesis, there's roughly 200-500 kW of surplus electricity. Options:

Option A: Nothing — Waste It

The simplest approach. Surplus electricity is dissipated as heat (dump load resistor banks, like a large electric water heater). This is standard practice on small power systems with variable load.

Pros: Zero additional equipment. Zero complexity. Cons: Wasted energy has zero revenue value. Investors will ask why.

Option B: Make Methanol

Route surplus syngas (before the engine) to a small methanol synthesis unit. This converts the surplus into a storable, sellable liquid product.

Pros: Revenue stream ($450-1,600/tonne for green methanol). Addresses the "what do you sell" question. Cons: Significant additional equipment ($5-15M CAPEX for synthesis unit). Methanol storage requires IMO-compliant tanks with inerting. Power budget may not support it at Phase 1 scale. H₂:CO ratio needs adjustment (WGS reactor adds complexity).

Detailed analysis in Section 5 below.

Option C: Charge Batteries

Store surplus in a battery bank for startup reserve, peak demand, and operational resilience.

Pros: Improves operational reliability. Enables diesel-free restarts. Handles power transients. Cons: Limited storage capacity (a 20-foot container holds ~450-1,400 kWh). At 200 kW surplus, the battery fills in 2-7 hours and then surplus must go elsewhere.

Option D: Electrolysis → Hydrogen → Store for Later

Use surplus electricity to electrolyze water into hydrogen. Store the hydrogen for later use (fuel cell backup, sell to supply vessel, etc.).

Pros: Hydrogen is valuable. Could be used as backup fuel. Cons: Hydrogen storage at sea is an enormous engineering and safety challenge. This was already deferred to Phase 2+ in the decision research. Cryogenic or high-pressure hydrogen on a processing vessel is a regulatory nightmare.

Recommendation for Phase 1: Option A (waste it) + Option C (battery reserve). Keep it simple. The Phase 1 mission is to prove the core loop works, not to maximize revenue. Methanol synthesis is a Phase 1.5 upgrade once the baseline is stable and the syngas composition is characterized from real operations.

5. The Methanol Question

Methanol synthesis is the most promising revenue upgrade for The Claw, but it comes with real engineering constraints. Here's the honest assessment.

The Good

Methanol is liquid at room temperature. No cryogenics, no high-pressure storage.
Green methanol market is exploding: Maersk and CMA CGM can't get enough supply. FuelEU Maritime creates mandatory demand.
Pacific region is underserved — zero green methanol production near the GPGP.
Plasma gasification syngas is literally the feedstock for methanol synthesis. It's a natural extension.
1 kg of ocean plastic yields approximately 1.0-1.2 kg of methanol (academic data). At 10 TPD plastic: ~10-12 TPD methanol, worth $1.6-8.6M/year.

The Bad

H₂:CO ratio mismatch: Syngas from plastic gasification has H₂:CO of ~1.4:1. Methanol needs 2.0:1+. Fixing this requires a Water-Gas Shift (WGS) reactor — additional equipment, complexity, and some CO is consumed in the process.
Power consumption: The syngas compressor (50-100 bar) draws 100-300 kW. This may eat the entire surplus at 5 TPD.
Capital cost: A small-scale methanol unit (5-15 TPD) costs $5-15M including WGS, compression, distillation, and storage.
Catalyst poisoning: The methanol catalyst (Cu/ZnO/Al₂O₃) is extremely sensitive to sulfur and chlorine. Syngas cleaning must be near-perfect (<0.1 ppm each). Ocean plastic contains PVC (chlorine source) and trace sulfur compounds.
Storage: Methanol tanks require inerting (nitrogen blanket), cofferdams, and IMO-compliant safety systems. Former cargo tanks could be repurposed but need conversion.

The Ugly

Not all syngas can go to methanol. The ship needs syngas to power itself. If 100% goes to methanol, the ship has no electricity. The split is approximately 60-70% to ship power, 30-40% to methanol. This means Phase 1 methanol production is 3-4 TPD, not 10-12 TPD.
At 5 TPD processing, there may be zero surplus syngas for methanol. The energy loop barely closes at 5 TPD. Methanol synthesis may only be viable at 7+ TPD processing.

Phase 1 Recommendation: Defer Methanol

Phase 1 should not include methanol synthesis equipment. Reasons:

1. The power budget at 5-10 TPD is too tight. Prove the energy loop first. 2. The syngas composition from real ocean plastic is unknown. The PoC will characterize it. Don't design a methanol unit for a syngas composition you haven't measured. 3. $5-15M for the methanol unit is better spent on the core vessel conversion. 4. Methanol synthesis can be retrofitted later — it's a modular, skid-mounted addition.

Phase 1.5 Recommendation: Add Methanol

Once Phase 1 demonstrates:

Stable syngas production at 8+ TPD
Characterized syngas composition (H₂:CO ratio, contaminants)
Confirmed energy surplus above ship needs

Then install a modular methanol unit during a scheduled maintenance port visit:

GasTechno or Maverick Synfuels containerized module (1-10 TPD)
WGS reactor matched to the actual syngas composition
Methanol storage in a converted below-deck cargo tank

Phase 1.5 timeline: 12-18 months after Phase 1 begins operations. Cost: $5-10M for the methanol module and installation.

6. Storage — What's On Board and Where

An Aframax tanker has ~90,000-115,000 m³ of former cargo tank volume. Here's what goes where:

Below Deck (Former Cargo Tanks)

Tank(s)	Contents	Volume	Notes
Center tanks (2-3)	Ballast water	15,000-25,000 m³	Active stability management
Wing tanks (4-6)	Ballast water (trim/heel)	10,000-15,000 m³	Port/starboard balance
1 center tank	Fresh water	2,000-3,000 m³	Fed by watermaker. Months of reserve
1 center tank	Feedstock buffer	2,000-4,000 m³	Shredded/dewatered plastic. 24-48 hours of reactor feed
1-2 tanks	Slag storage	3,000-6,000 m³	At 100-300 kg/day, this holds YEARS of slag
1 tank	Diesel fuel	500-1,000 m³	Startup backup. At 175 litres per startup, 500 m³ = 2,800+ cold starts
1 tank	Methanol storage (Phase 1.5)	1,000-2,000 m³	IMO-compliant, nitrogen-inerted. Holds ~800-1,600 tonnes
1 tank	Hazardous waste isolation	500-1,000 m³	Items that can't be plasma-processed
Slop tanks (aft)	Sewage treatment	500-1,000 m³	Grey/black water
1 wing tank	Aviation fuel (Jet A-1)	50-100 m³	For helipad (emergency medevac)
Void spaces	Remain void	Various	Structural inspection, emergency buoyancy

Key Storage Insight: Slag Is a Non-Problem

Ocean plastic has very low ash content (0.5-3% by mass) compared to MSW (20-30%). Even with marine contaminants (barnacles, sand, grit), slag production from ocean plastic is estimated at 20-60 kg per tonne of feedstock.

At 10 TPD processing: 200-600 kg of slag per day. That's roughly 0.1-0.25 m³/day (slag density ~2,500 kg/m³).

A single former cargo tank (3,000 m³) holds 12,000-30,000 days of slag — 33 to 82 years. Slag storage is effectively unlimited. It never needs to be offloaded unless we want to sell it as construction aggregate.

Key Storage Insight: Diesel Is a Non-Problem

The Claw consumes ~175 litres of diesel per cold start. Cold starts should be rare — the reactor stays hot between feedstock batches. Even one cold start per week (extremely conservative) = ~9,000 litres/year.

500 m³ of diesel storage = 500,000 litres = 55+ years of startup fuel at one start per week.

The diesel tank can be much smaller. Even 50 m³ (50,000 litres) provides 5+ years of startup fuel. The supply vessel tops it up annually.

Key Storage Insight: Feedstock Buffer Matters

The reactor wants continuous feed, but collection depends on weather, daylight, and debris density. The buffer decouples these:

Shredded, dewatered plastic bulk density: ~200-400 kg/m³
Reactor feed rate at 10 TPD: ~417 kg/hour
48-hour buffer at 10 TPD: 20,000 kg = 50-100 m³
A single former cargo tank (2,000 m³) holds 20-40 days of feedstock buffer

This is massive overkill, which is good — it means the reactor can keep running through extended periods of bad weather that prevent collection. The practical limit on processing isn't storage, it's collection rate.

7. Shutdown and Restart Cycles

Why Would the Reactor Shut Down?

Cause	Frequency	Duration
Severe weather	2-4 times/year	1-3 days
Scheduled maintenance (torch replacement, inspection)	Every 1,000-2,000 hours (~every 6-12 weeks)	4-24 hours
Feedstock exhaustion (buffer runs out)	Rare if buffer is managed	Hours
Equipment failure	Unpredictable	Hours to days
Supply vessel docking	Every 28 days	No shutdown needed — reactor runs during crew change

Hot Restart vs. Cold Restart

Hot restart (reactor off < 4 hours): Slag is still molten or semi-molten. Arc restrikes immediately. Feedstock can resume within minutes. No diesel needed if battery bank has charge.

Warm restart (reactor off 4-24 hours): Slag has solidified but chamber is still warm. Arc needs to remelt the slag surface to establish conductivity. Estimated 15-30 minutes on diesel/battery before syngas flow begins.

Cold restart (reactor off > 24 hours): Full startup sequence as described in Section 1. ~60-90 minutes, ~175 litres diesel.

Restart Energy Requirements

Restart Type	Power Source	Energy Required	Time to Self-Sustain
Hot	Battery (500 kWh)	~50-100 kWh	5-10 minutes
Warm	Battery or diesel	~100-250 kWh	15-30 minutes
Cold	Diesel genset	~350-500 kWh	60-90 minutes

Torch Replacement Procedure

Plasma torch electrodes are consumable. Estimated life: 1,000-2,000 hours per set (depending on feedstock). At continuous operation:

1,000 hours = ~42 days
2,000 hours = ~83 days

Torch replacement is designed to be done from outside the chamber — electrodes withdraw through ports. Estimated changeout time: 2-4 hours per torch with practiced crew.

Spare inventory: Carry 50-100 electrode sets on board. At 6-12 changeouts per year, this is 4-16 years of supply. The supply vessel brings fresh electrodes on its shuttle runs.

8. A Day on The Claw

0600 — Dawn

Reactor has been running all night on feedstock buffer
Night shift reports: processing rate 8 TPD, gas engine output 950 kW, all systems nominal
Feedstock buffer level: 35% (roughly 14 hours of feed remaining)
Day shift begins. Galley serves breakfast for 14 day-shift crew.

0700 — Collection Begins

Weather check: wind 12 knots NE, seas 1.2m, swell 1.5m — good collection conditions
Boom array deployed from stern A-frame
Vessel maintains slow headway (1-2 knots) across debris field
Two deck crew manage the boom recovery. Crane operator standing by for large debris.
Collected material feeds onto the dewatering conveyor

0700-1800 — Collection + Processing (Parallel)

Collection rate: highly variable. Target 500-1,000 kg/hour in good conditions
Pre-processing line running: dewater → rinse → shred → dry → buffer hopper
Reactor consuming ~417 kg/hour (10 TPD) from the buffer
Collection replenishes the buffer faster than the reactor consumes it (in good conditions)
Gas engine humming at ~1,000 kW
All ship systems powered. Surplus electricity: ~200 kW (dissipated to dump load)

1200 — Shift Change / Midday

Lunch in the mess hall
Engineering officer inspects reactor monitoring data: syngas composition, temperatures, electrode wear
If electrode life approaching 1,000 hours: schedule changeout for tonight

1800 — Collection Ends

Boom recovered and secured for night
Collection equipment washed down with seawater then freshwater
Day's collection total: ~8,000 kg (8 tonnes). Buffer level now at 60%.
Reactor continues processing from buffer through the night

2000 — Evening

Dinner. Crew recreation. Night watch begins.
Reactor runs unattended (automated feed system + monitoring)
Bridge watch monitors weather, vessel position, nearby traffic
Engineering watch monitors reactor, engine, electrical systems

0200 — Night (If Maintenance Scheduled)

Reactor feed paused. Remaining syngas burns through in engine.
Engine runs on decreasing syngas flow for 15-20 minutes, then auto-shuts.
Battery bank provides ship power (lighting, nav, bridge: ~100 kW for 4-5 hours from 500 kWh bank)
Torch electrode replacement: 2-4 hours
Hot restart after maintenance: 5-10 minutes
Reactor back online before dawn

0600 — Next Day

Repeat.

9. The Supply Vessel — The Logistics Backbone

Shuttle Specifications

The supply vessel makes the ~1,000 nm Honolulu-GPGP run every 28 days (aligned with crew rotation). At 12-15 knots, transit time is 3-4 days each way.

Vessel Type	Why
Offshore Supply Vessel (OSV) or Platform Supply Vessel (PSV)	Purpose-built for resupplying offshore installations. Carries cargo, fuel, water, provisions, personnel. 60-80m, DP-capable for alongside operations at sea.

What It Brings Out (Honolulu → GPGP)

Item	Quantity (per trip)	Notes
Fresh crew (rotation)	14 personnel	Half the crew rotates each trip
Food and provisions	~2 tonnes	28 days for 28 crew
Diesel fuel	5,000-10,000 litres	Tops up startup reserve (if needed)
Spare electrodes	2-4 sets	Plasma torch consumables
Spare parts	As needed	Pre-ordered based on maintenance reports
Fresh water (emergency)	Usually not needed	Watermaker produces 15-20 m³/day
Mail, personal items	Miscellaneous	Crew morale

What It Takes Home (GPGP → Honolulu)

Item	Quantity (per trip)	Notes
Departing crew	14 personnel	Returning from rotation
Methanol (Phase 1.5)	100-400 tonnes	Liquid, storable, sellable
Data/samples	Hard drives, slag samples, water samples	For analysis and verification
Hazardous waste (if any)	< 1 tonne	Items that couldn't be plasma-processed

Supply Vessel Options

Option	Cost	Notes
Charter PSV	$15,000-$30,000/day	Standard offshore market rate. 28-day charter = $420K-$840K. Annual (13 trips × 8 days round trip) = ~$1.6-$3.1M/year
Own a dedicated vessel	$5-15M purchase + $2-4M/year operating	More expensive upfront, cheaper long-term, reliable scheduling
Contract with shipping line	Negotiable	Maersk, for example, already partners with The Ocean Cleanup for logistics. Could provide supply vessel as in-kind contribution

Crew Rotation

28-day rotations (offshore industry standard)
28 crew total, split into 2 teams of 14
Team A on board for 28 days while Team B is on shore leave (and vice versa)
Rotation happens alongside the supply vessel — no helicopter required for routine transfers
Supply vessel stays alongside for 12-24 hours for cargo transfer, crew change, and any maintenance requiring shore support

10. What We Produce and Sell

Phase 1 Products (Year 1-2)

Product	How	Revenue Potential	Certainty
Plastic destruction verification	Certified tonnage of plastic removed and destroyed from GPGP	$500K-$1.5M/year (plastic credits at $200-800/tonne × 1,800-3,600 tonnes/year)	Medium — requires Verra methodology
Carbon credits	Avoided emissions from plastic not degrading in ocean + avoided transport emissions vs collect-and-ship	$200K-$800K/year (stacking on plastic credits)	Low-Medium — methodology needed
Research data	GPGP composition data, ocean plastic characterization, environmental monitoring	$500K-$2M/year (university partnerships, NOAA, government agencies)	Medium
Corporate sponsorship	Naming rights, brand partnerships, media access	$3-10M/year	Medium-High (depends on media profile)
Media/content	Documentary rights, footage, livestream	$500K-$2M/year	Medium

Phase 1 total estimated revenue: $4.7-$16.3M/year Phase 1 OPEX: ~$15-16M/year Phase 1 gap: $0 to -$11.3M/year (depends heavily on sponsorship and credit pricing)

Phase 1.5 Products (Year 2-3, after methanol unit installed)

All of the above, PLUS:

Product	How	Revenue Potential	Certainty
Green methanol	Syngas → WGS → methanol synthesis → liquid storage → supply vessel to Honolulu	$1.6-$8.6M/year (3,600-5,400 tonnes/year at $450-1,600/tonne)	Medium — depends on production rate and green premium certification

Phase 1.5 total estimated revenue: $6.3-$24.9M/year Phase 1.5 OPEX: ~$16-17M/year (slightly higher due to methanol unit maintenance) Phase 1.5 gap: +$7.9M surplus to -$10.7M deficit

At the optimistic end, methanol pushes The Claw past break-even. At the conservative end, the gap narrows but doesn't close. Reality will be somewhere in between.

What We Don't Sell

Hydrogen — deferred. Storage and transport at sea is too complex for Phase 1.
Slag — effectively worthless in the quantities produced from plastic (20-60 kg/tonne). Storage is effectively infinite on board. Could be sold as construction aggregate if offloaded, but the revenue is negligible and the logistics aren't worth it.
Electricity — there's nobody to sell it to in the middle of the Pacific. Surplus is used or wasted.
Recovered metals — trace amounts from fishing gear (hooks, sinkers). Negligible revenue.

11. Repositioning Within the GPGP

The Claw doesn't transit to port, but it does need to move within the GPGP to follow debris concentrations. The patch is 1.6 million km² — it's not a uniform field.

Movement Pattern

Drift with the gyre: The GPGP is a slow-rotating gyre. The Claw can drift passively at 0.1-0.5 knots with the current, following the debris.
Active repositioning: When local debris density drops, use the ship's own propulsion to relocate to a higher-concentration area. Speed: 2-5 knots. Distance: 10-100 nm typically.
No dynamic positioning needed: The reactor doesn't care about exact position. Free-drift is fine. DP would consume 500+ kW continuously — unacceptable power drain.

Propulsion Power for Repositioning

The Claw's existing propulsion system (from its tanker days) is massively oversized for slow repositioning within the GPGP. An Aframax's main engine is typically 10-15 MW — far more than needed.

Options:

Run the main engine at minimal load: Inefficient, but works. Burns diesel for repositioning periods.
Install auxiliary thrusters: 2× 500 kW azimuth thrusters provide 2-4 knots of speed with much lower fuel consumption. Powered by the syngas engine during repositioning.
Sail-assist: A Flettner rotor or rigid wing sail could provide 1-2 knots of free propulsion for slow repositioning with no power consumption. Several cargo vessels now use these.

Recommendation: Auxiliary thrusters powered by the syngas engine. The main engine stays as emergency backup (e.g., hurricane evasion — unlikely in the GPGP but possible). Repositioning at 3-4 knots using 500-1,000 kW from the syngas engine means repositioning runs on ocean plastic, not diesel.

12. Open Engineering Questions

These are the things we don't know yet. Each one affects the physical design of the ship.

Critical (Must Resolve Before Vessel Purchase)

Question	Why It Matters	How to Answer
Exact syngas composition from ocean plastic	Determines gas engine tuning, methanol feasibility, gas cleaning requirements	PoC bench test (Stage 2)
Net energy balance at 5 TPD	Determines minimum processing rate for self-sustaining operation	PoC bench test (Stage 2)
Electrode consumption rate	Determines spare inventory size, annual consumable cost, maintenance frequency	PoC extended campaign (Stage 3)
Salt impact on reactor	Determines whether pre-processing must include desalting, and how aggressive	PoC bench test (Stage 2)
Slag composition and leaching	Determines disposal pathway (ocean-safe or offload to port)	PoC bench test (Stage 2)

Important (Must Resolve During Vessel Conversion Design)

Question	Why It Matters	How to Answer
Collection rate vs. processing rate	If collection can't keep up with the reactor, processing rate drops and energy balance tightens	Pilot operations during first months at sea
Actual ship power consumption	The power budget in Section 2 is estimated. Real consumption determines feasibility	Engineering analysis + sea trials
H₂:CO ratio from real ocean plastic	Determines WGS reactor sizing for Phase 1.5 methanol	PoC data
Best collection interface (stern ramp vs. side vs. over-the-side)	Affects hull modification scope and cost	Marine engineering study
Classification society selection	Affects every structural and equipment decision	Decision needed during AiP process

Nice to Know (Can Resolve During Operations)

Question	Why It Matters
Optimal repositioning speed and pattern	Balances debris density against fuel/power consumption
Crew rotation schedule (28 vs. 21 vs. 42 days)	Affects crew morale, cost, supply vessel frequency
Methanol vs. other syngas products	Market conditions may favor different products by the time Phase 1.5 is ready
Weather shutdown frequency (actual vs. predicted)	Affects annual processing tonnage and revenue projections

Sources

Plasma Startup & Energy

PyroGenesis PAWDS — "one-button rapid start-up and shutdown capabilities, turned on and off in minutes" (pyrogenesis.com)
PyroGenesis APT torch: 200 kW DC operating power (pyrogenesis.com)
Westinghouse WPCT300: 80-300 kW; WPCT540: 280-530 kW (NETL/DOE)
EAF steelmaking: 300-tonne charge reaches tap temperature in ~37 minutes at 300 MVA (Wikipedia)
Cold plasma chamber: ~600°C at 60 min, ~800°C at 195 min (experimental data)

Gas Engines

Jenbacher J320: 1,000-1,150 kW, up to 43.2% efficiency on natural gas (INNIO/Clarke Energy)
Syngas-configured Jenbacher: requires stable syngas composition, 5-15 min to rated load (Clarke Energy)

Methanol Synthesis

GasTechno: 1-30 TPD containerized methanol modules
Maverick Synfuels: 10-30 TPD, 70% lower CAPEX than traditional
H₂:CO ratio requirement: ≥ 2.0 (NETL/DOE)
Methanol yield from plastic: 1.0-1.5 kg/kg (ACS Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research)
Small-scale methanol production cost: ~€846/tonne at 20 TPD (ADI Analytics)

Marine Battery Systems

ABB Containerized ESS: 452-1,424 kWh per 20-foot container (ABB Marine)
Marine BESS cost: $80-150/kWh hardware (2025 market)

Marine Diesel Generators

500 kW marine genset: 5-12 tonnes, ~110-130 L/hr at full load (Caterpillar, Cummins)

Methanol Market

Green methanol ships: 30 units in 2025, rising to 274 in 2035 (GlobeNewsWire)
Pacific region: 57.44% market share in green methanol ships (2024)
FuelEU Maritime effective January 1, 2025 (European Commission)
Maersk: 7 dual-fuel methanol vessels operating, 50%+ demand covered through 2027

Slag

Plastic-specific slag: 5-30 kg/tonne for clean plastic, 20-60 kg/tonne for ocean plastic (estimated from ash content data)
Vitrified slag density: ~2,500 kg/m³
MSW slag: 150-170 kg/tonne (Plasco Ottawa data)

This is the plan. Everything else — timeline, funding, org structure, risk register, pitch deck — is a derivative of what's written here. Change this document, and all of those change with it.