Hunk of burnin' love

The disposal of our waste here in Durham is currently the ‘hot’ subject and causes a lot of discussion and argument. Personally, the creation of some sort of clean incineration is preferable to creating bigger and bigger landfills. Many people seem to have the idea that incineration is just burning stuff in an open pit! According to recent studies, every year 130 million tons of America’s garbage ends up in landfills. Together the dumps emit more of the greenhouse gas methane than any other human-related source. A sobering figure indeed. However, a technology that was postulated many years ago may hold the answers to both the disposal of our waste and the creation of power. The Atlanta based company, Geoplasma, has a plan for one city’s garbage that will soon release far less methane and provide power for 50,000 homes. Their clever people have developed an efficient torch for blasting garbage with a stream of superheated gas, known as plasma. When trash is dropped into a chamber and heated to 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, its organic components - food, fluids, paper - vaporize into a hot, pressurized gas, which turns a turbine to generate electricity. Steam, a by-product, can generate even more power. Inorganic refuse such as metals condense at the bottom and can be used in roadbeds and heavy construction. Geoplasma is to construct the first US plasma refuse plant in St. Lucie County, Florida. The plant is to go online by 2011 and is scheduled to process 1,500 tons of garbage a day, sending 60 megawatts of electricity to the power grid. Emissions are far lower than in standard incineration, and the process reduces landfill volume and methane release. Power prices are projected to be on par with electricity from natural gas. Technology may yet be our best solution to a very smelly and divisive issue. Our local politicians and activists should be monitoring this installation closely. They won’t, of course.