Talking (and burning) trash in the Army

[unixronin]

They call it Tiger — TGER, the Tactical Garbage-to-Energy Refinery — and it's being tested at Victory Base Camp in Baghdad.

The Army already incinerates its trash anyway.  Using Tiger, the trash is instead separated by the machine into wet and dry components.  The dry material — cardboard, plastic, etc — is crushed, pelletized, and heated to produce syngas.  The wet slop is enzyme-treated, then fermented into a mixture of about 85% ethanol and 15% water.  The water-ethanol mixture and the syngas are then blended and fed into the generator, where the water helps prevent overheating.

Garbage in; 55 kilowatts out.

The system takes about six hours to start up, but once operating, consumes only about a gallon of diesel per hour, a 95% reduction in diesel consumption.

It's about time we started realizing that garbage is too valuable a resource to just throw it away.  This is another step in the right direction.

Comments

[smandal.livejournal.com]

And the non-plastic stuff is carbon-neutral -- just have to make sure it burns hot enough, or you might get some sulphur/nitrous hazards downwind.

[elegantelbow.livejournal.com]

Wow!

This reminds me of an episode of the '70s Batman cartoon where a machine turns garbage into furs. Frankly, the energy output is more valuble.

[bbwoof.livejournal.com]

I want one! How much do they cost?

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

I suspect that at this point, if you have to ask, you can't afford it. But maybe a few years down the line....

[rosencrantz23.livejournal.com]

über-nifty device, that. It'll be nice when the tech can be distributed to cities and municipalities. The energy savings will be enormous.

(Oh, and I've just added you to my flist, in my desultory quest to add barflies when I find them)

[olafthunderfoot.livejournal.com]

how much can 55 kW do?

[wyrdling.livejournal.com]

about time. i just wonder about what's in the smoke....