Turning Waste into Energy
Recently there have been reports about various projects working to turn otherwise unusable products into energy sources. Many of the reports have involved one or two companies who are working on ways to do this overseas with promising results.
There is now a report out regarding a U.S. company that is using municipal solid waste to convert to fuel. Sustainable Power Corporation, located in Baytown, Texas has announced that it tested Municipal Solid Waste in its reactors and the results have been excellent. The company was able to produce biofuels by using this process, and achieved an added bonus. They exceeded their projections as to what they would be able to accomplish by the process they are using. The process also exceeded the results that the company had achieved when using other sources of fuel.
There were three trial studies performed, with a yield of over 19 pounds of biofuels produced for every 25 pounds of waste used. This is an exceptional yield, leaving very little waste compared to other methods of fuel production.
There is a truly innovative and exciting benefit to what Sustainable Power Corporation has achieved. The three-fold benefit is that in this one type of fuel production will help alleviate the petroleum shortage, create sustainable and environmentally friendly fuel and manage waste products by using them for fuel rather than adding to existing landfills or other waste depositories. Another plus for the company and all involved is that instead of the company having to pay for fuel stocks, they can receive waste, possibly being paid to collect it, and drive the prices of fuel downward instead of upward, since waste should always be plentiful.
This is an exciting development in the race to find viable, affordable, environmentally friendly, renewable fuels to replace dependence on fossil fuels. Because of its ability to help in all these areas, development of ways to turn waste into energy could truly be a big part of the long-term energy solution.