One Man’s Trash is Another Man’s… Fuel?

A sad fact of life and waste is that once trash is taken to the landfill, it is doomed to live out its days as a worthless mound of garbage until the end of time. Right? Perhaps in the past this was true, but today we have scientists working tirelessly to make that no longer the case. In one instance, they may even be on to something.

A new kind of waste treatment system has been developed by Viridis Waste Control LLC, that holds the potential to improve water quality, reduce landfill usage, and to provide a large supply of renewable fuel. The process is called Septage Bioreactor Landfill technology, and it does something that hasn’t been done before (in a way that is considered sustainable); blending sewage with garbage.

Septage Bioreactor Landfill Technology sounds so high-tech and incredible, doesn’t it? Tell us more!

Both sewage and the organic matter in garbage decompose and produce methane on their own, resources that are both already tapped for their energy potential at many waste facilities. This occurs because anaerobic microorganisms in the waste process the organic matter and produce methane as a by-product. The greater the amount of bacteria and organic matter, the faster the decomposition.

Landfill garbage breaks down relatively slowly due to the small amounts of bacteria and the separation of the organic matter by plastic bags and other non-degradable materials. While landfills do promote decomposition and the production of methane, this process is quite slow. With the Septage Bioreactor Landfill technology, septage is blended with ground garbage, allowing the organic matter to decompose much faster than it otherwise would. This creates large quantities of methane in a short period of time, which can be tapped for fuel. The other advantage of this technology as a fuel source, is it produces methane constantly as long as there is organic material fed into it. We have no shortage of garbage or sewage, so this will create a very plentiful and reliable source of energy.

Pretty excellent. In addition to being a wonderful fuel source, by its nature the technology also has the potential to make a significant dent in our landfills. Cleaning up our world with the power of methane gas? Who would have thought?

Monday, October 20th, 2008 at 11:43 am and is filed under The Daily. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.