Turning trash into electricity
Posted: Thursday, May 25th, 2006 by damnHippyTags: Energy, Technology
This is nothing new, in fact last year there were 396 landfills in the US were doing just this. What is surprising is that they all aren't doing it. Basically when organic matter in trash decays, it produces methane gas, which is a greenhouse gas. Read about how a landfill works.
Methane is also highly flammable and it can be used as a fuel. It's also very dangerous, so it's important that it's managed in a responsible way. Leaking methane is heavier than the regular atmosphere so it can flow into low lying areas literally suffocating trees and animals that can't escape. So to manage the problem, landfills will install a network of pipes to collect the gas so that it can either be burned off or used to power electric generators.
One landfill on Long Island, NY simply uses retired locomotive engines which operate 24 hours a day burning fuel from the nearby landfill. It's a creative use of the byproduct of our waste, not exactly a renewable energy source, but it's better than not using it at all.
Read More» [CNN]
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