Saturday, November 15, 2008

A company called Geoplasma is building a plant in Florida that will vapourise garbage with a plasma torch, turning 1500 tonnes of waste into 60 megawatts of the good stuff. It may not be as clean as solar, but, America is the Saudi Arabia of trash.

Every year 130 million tonnes of America's trash ends up in landfills. Together the dumps emit more of the greenhouse gas methane than any other human-related source. But thanks to plasma technology, one city's rotting rubbish will soon release far less methane and provide power for 50,000 homes because of an innovation in plasma technology backed by Atlanta-based Geoplasma.

Engineers have developed an efficient torch for blasting garbage with a stream of superheated gas, known as plasma. When trash is dropped into a chamber and heated to 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, its organic components food, fluids, paper vapourise into a hot, pressurised gas, which turns a turbine to generate electricity. Steam, a by-product, can generate more. Inorganic refuse such as metals condense at the bottom and can be used in roadbeds and heavy construction.

The plant is scheduled to go online by 2011; it will process 1500 tonnes of garbage a day, sending 60 megawatts of electricity to the power grid (after using some to power itself).

Emissions are far lower than in standard incineration, and the process reduces landfill volume and methane release.

Power prices are projected to be on par with electricity from natural gas.

The difference, says Ron Roberts, St Lucie County's assistant director of solid waste, is that "you're getting rid of a problem and making it a positive."

Article reproduced courtesy of Fiji Times Online - http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=106305