Thursday, March 26, 2009

Could this really work in Mass? talk about recycling!

Bathroom time may not be wasted time after all: A year’s worth of your poop can be turned into 2.1 gallons of useable diesel. And the Norwegian capital of Oslo plans to put all that waste to work powering 80 of its buses with fuel made from the Bekkelaget sewage treatment plant, which houses the waste of 250,000 people.
If all goes as planned, the city’s other waste treatment plant, as well as biofuels made from food waste, will eventually contribute to the total supply—and with serious results: Fueling 400 or so buses this way would reduce 30,000 tons of carbon emissions a year.
While the idea certainly has an “ick factor,” it’s not like gas-station attendants will have to start shoveling sewage directly into a bus’ fuel tank.
The biofuel is actually made from methane that is collected by a sewage treatment plant after microorganisms break down the waste. While switching to this bathroom-friendly method will cost the city 15 percent more to pay for new buses and the added maintenance fees, the benefits still outweigh the negatives: The cost of fuel at the pump is cheaper and it’s carbon neutral. Lives might be saved with the lower emissions of nitrogen oxide and fine particle matter in the air. The buses aren’t as loud. And before you turn your nose at this just yet, consider this: The fuel doesn’t smell.


Ok.. all kidding aside folks... Discover Magazine... with their numbers as a base line, we could power over 6000 vehicles a year, (if we had 4 million hooked to waste water plants), in and around places like the MWRA treatment plants and any other waste treatment facilities. I presume, after breaking it down with microbs it would take on a reduced form and perhaps be harmless. But in the long run it could help stop the pollution of our oceans here in Mass, reduce air pollutants with less urban noise.

7 Comments:

At March 27, 2009 at 1:46 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

I don't care if this works or how cheap this is. It is disgusting!

 
At March 27, 2009 at 2:05 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

No way, no how, am I going to sign up for this. Imagine what you car exhaust would smell like???

 
At March 27, 2009 at 2:29 PM , Blogger Michael said...

With all the bull shi--t being passed by our politicians here in MA, I bet we could power 10 times as many cars.

 
At March 27, 2009 at 2:35 PM , Blogger Jim Pillsbury said...

ahhh the polictal connection.. I knew one of you would bring that up.

 
At March 27, 2009 at 4:34 PM , Blogger Michael said...

Do you disagree Jim. About the political connection? Just kidding, great blog, keep up the good work.

 
At March 27, 2009 at 5:03 PM , Blogger Jim Pillsbury said...

I do agree Michael...

that's what most people think. unfortunately.

 
At March 28, 2009 at 9:48 AM , Blogger Tarun Kumar said...

Nice Article. Keep it up. But I think this is copy of your topic recycling process

 

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