Turning municipal waste in to biofuel
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Changing World Technologies, a Manhattan based company, has developed a technology which can turn almost any waste into oil. The company has developed a process which mimics how the earth created some of its own oil reserves, applying intensive pressure and heat to organic matter to produce oil. The process, however, does not take the millions of years it took the earth to produce its oil reserves. The process operates at hyper-speed, and can convert anything carbon-based in to oil. A small experimental plant was built seven years ago at the old Navy Yard in Manhattan, and since then the company has built a plant in Carthage, Mo., next to a Butterball turkey rendering plant, where feathers, skin, meat, blood and bones get transformed into heavy oil, distilled water and minerals which can be used as fertilizers. While currently the fuel costs about 20 cents a gallon more to produce than traditional oil, the cost is expected to come down to at least 20 cents a gallon less. Even if there was no significant cost savings, reducing our waste piles should be an incentive. [Source: Philadelphia Daily News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Clint LeRoy 5:38PM (7/17/2006)
Unfortunately you Mr. Reporter misread the post as the Navy Yard where the plant exists is in Philadelphia PA, not Manhattan NY.
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Glenn A. 8:58AM (7/18/2006)
This technology has all the hallmarks of "what we all need". Getting rid of garbage, sewage and offal. Making fuel, fertilizer and clean water. The fuel is not even adding to the CO2 as it is recycling CO2, not pulling new CO2 out of the ground in the form of crude oil for burning.
It's a win, win, win, win situation and I've said for years (literally) that if we took our energy policy in this country seriously, we'd have started building 10,000 of these facilities nationwide. But, alas, we have not (yet).
Our ancestors did something similar in World War 2 - they built plants which normally would take months, in weeks. They retooled plants to make war materiel in days, not months.
We need to get as serious. But, it will take real leadership in our state and national capitals, not "the tow major parties" which by all accounts both appear to be tied to the status quo via donations.
Perhaps one answer would be to use tax-payer money ONLY to pay for elections instead of ANY donations from ANY source, large or small, personal fortunes included. This sure would level the playing field with 3rd parties, from which virtually ALL good ideas originated in this country. Such as abolition, ending child labor, for two examples.
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Glenn A. 9:01AM (7/18/2006)
Sorry, typo - too early in the morning - that should read "TWO major parties".
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