Landfill = Energy?
June 19th, 2007 by Daniel How do we go about eliminating the problem of having an over-abundance of garbage in landfills all over the country, while at the same time, filling demand for an ever-increasing need for energy? Geoplasma, an Atlanta based company that describes itself as a “waste destruction and energy company”, uses a process called plasma arc to heat garbage to extremely high temperatures (approximately as hot as the surface of the sun) and separate the different components of the waste and use what is known as syngas to produce electricity. The other byproducts can be used for a variety of different things from brick pavers to scrap metal.
Waste disposal is a huge problem in the world and here in the U.S. especially, so any environmentally friendly solution is a good one. But, one where it gets rid of the trash, while creating relatively clean energy sounds too good to be true! Geoplasma is currently building a new plant in Saint Lucie County, Florida that will destroy 3000 tons of waste, while producing 160 megawatts of electricity every day. If successful, these types of plants should become increasingly common and hopefully soon could not only make a big impact on the world’s waste disposal problem, but reduce our dependency on non-renewable energies.
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