One man's trash ...
3rd December 2012
Transforming what ends up in rubbish dumps into energy has the potential to turn a problem into a solution
 | Turning refuse into power could help Poland meet EU regulations on waste
Shutterstock |
Kostrzyca, a small village in southwestern Poland, is home to an innovative installation that in a few months is set to begin transforming waste into high-energy liquid fuel. The product is targeted at petrol stations as a biocomponent added to traditionally produced diesel oil. Rubber and car tires, all kinds of plastic and PVC, as well as trash from households will be turned into fuel there. The site will accept any material of organic and mineral origin containing hydrocarbons, in order to make synthetic diesel, kerosene and benzene.
A prototype technology that facilitates this process is known as catalytic pressureless depolymerization. So far only four such installations have been built in the world – in Germany, where the technology comes from, Spain, Canada and Mexico. Each one of them is able to manufacture 1,000 liters of fuel from three and a half metric tons of straw.
The investor, Alphakat Diesel, estimates that one liter of such fuel will cost zl.3, including excise. And the product’s purity is up to 2.5 percent higher than what cars are usually refueled with.
wbj.pl |
