4 ms·
> landfills are mountains of energy If you're talking about literally turning garbage into fuel, there's, as I understand it, very rapidly diminishing returns
by wool_gather 8y ago
> landfills are mountains of energy
If you're talking about literally turning garbage into fuel, there's, as I understand it, very rapidly diminishing returns unfortunately.
Even the apparently simple act of just burning garbage to generate electricity is complex, because you have to be concerned about what the heck is in there and what you're releasing into the air.
- CptFribble 8y agoIn principle, plasma gasification can be made to work net positive energy output, plus slag for whatever you want to use slag for. In practice, it's really expensive to set up and operate without a lot of throughput, so it doesn't happen that much. Though, I've read the US Navy is putting plasma gasifiers onto its newest generations of big ships.
- rapjr9 8y agoI asked a local waste handling company owner whether he'd be interested in plasma gasification. He told me that one plasma gasification plant would require all the trash from Vermont, plus parts of NY and NH and MA to keep it fed and economical. So that would require a lot of trucking. Still, that seems better than releasing all the toxins in the materials into the environment and means just one plant could service a large rural area. More plants would be needed in more densely populated areas. Still seems like a great solution.
- iandanforth 8y agoNo, think more "food for micro-organisms to do useful work" rather than "fuel for humans."