Startech Environmental Hydrogen System Added to 200 Ton-Per-Day Plasma Converter Facility in Panama

WILTON, Connecticut, October 3 --

Startech Environmental Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: STHK), a fully reporting company, announced today that Startech's system to produce hydrogen from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) will also be included in the 200 ton-per-day Las Tablas facility in the Republic of Panama. The Plasma Converter destroys MSW but in the process of destruction, it produces a clean synthesis gas rich in hydrogen that can be recovered for many valuable commercial uses including a pristine fuel.

Joseph F. Longo, Startech president said, "The interest in hydrogen produced from various wastes has been re-invigorated since Ford recently announced its new Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) Shuttle Bus program. It is important to know that this is not just another fuel-cell initiative. It is a reciprocal engine very much like the one in your car. As a matter of fact, you can see the Hydrogen ICE pick-up truck on our web site and in our DVD that we demonstrated and successfully road-tested using hydrogen at our Bristol, Connecticut facility a few years ago. The one you will see on our web site is a standard internal combustion engine that was modified to be fueled by hydrogen."

"It looks like we were a little early, but not too early."

American Recycler magazine recently wrote, "Ford kicked off production of dedicated hydrogen fueled V-10 engines, making it the first automaker in the world to do so. The supercharged 6.8 liter V-10 engine will power Ford's E-450 hydrogen fueled shuttle buses. Hydrogen fueled internal combustion engines have many advantages including high efficiency, all-weather capability, and near zero emissions of regulated pollutants and greenhouse gases."

According to the Ford web site, "The Ford Model U Concept is propelled by an internal combustion engine (ICE) that's optimized to run on hydrogen instead of gasoline ... and the engine is up to 25 percent more fuel-efficient than a typical gasoline engine.

The hydrogen ICE is a common-sense powerplant that uses existing, proven technology to develop the environmental benefits of a hydrogen fuel cell, but at a fraction of the complexity and cost.

Because hydrogen has a very wide combustion range (from 4 to 75 percent), hydrogen-fueled engines are able to use a wider range of air/fuel mixtures than gasoline engines, and can be run in the fuel-efficient 'lean' regime without the complications of pre-ignition or "knock." It can reach an overall efficiency of 38 percent, which is approximately 25 percent better than a gasoline engine.

And, because there are no carbon atoms in the fuel, combustion of hydrogen produces no hydrocarbon or carbon dioxide emissions. Even without aftertreatment, oxides of nitrogen are very low, and catalyst research may soon reduce tailpipe output of potentially smog-forming emissions to below ambient conditions in many cities. This means that the air leaving the Model U's tailpipe could actually be cleaner than the air coming into the engine.

Designing a gasoline engine to burn hydrogen fuel has typically resulted in significantly lower power output-until now. Ford researchers have shown that with supercharging, the hydrogen ICE can deliver the same power as its gasoline counterpart and still provide near-zero-emissions performance and high fuel economy."

About Startech - an Environment and Energy Company

Startech Environmental is an environment and energy industry company engaged in the production and sale of its innovative, proprietary plasma processing equipment known as the Plasma Converter System(TM).

The Plasma Converter System safely and economically destroys wastes, no matter how hazardous or lethal, and turns them into useful and valuable products. In doing so, the System protects the environment and helps to improve the public health and safety. The System achieves closed-loop elemental recycling to safely and irreversibly destroy Municipal Solid Waste, organics and inorganics, solids, liquids and gases, hazardous and non-hazardous waste, industrial by-products and also items such as "e-waste," medical waste, chemical industry waste and other specialty wastes while converting many of them into useful commodity products that can include metals and a synthesis-gas called Plasma Converted Gas (PCG)(TM).

Among the many commercial uses for PCG, it can be used to produce "green power electricity," Gas To Liquid (GTL) fuels such as ethanol, synthetic diesel fuel and other higher alcohol fuels. Hydrogen, for use and sale, can also be separated from the PCG synthesis gas mixture.

The Startech Plasma Converter is essentially a manufacturing system producing commodity products from feedstocks that were previously regarded as wastes. Startech regards all wastes, hazardous and non-hazardous, as valuable renewable resources.

Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the Company's plans and expectations regarding the development and commercialization of its Plasma Converter(TM) technology. All forward-looking statements are subject to risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Factors that could cause such a difference include, without limitation, failure of the customer to obtain appropriate financing for the project, general risks associated with product development, manufacturing, rapid technological change and competition as well as other risks set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statement to reflect any change in the Company's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Steve Landa, +1-888-807-9443, +1-203-762-2499, Ext. 7, sales@startech.net; Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/113537.html