Tactical Biorefineries Head To Iraq To Make Fuel From Trash

Remember Mr. Fusion from the Back To The Future movie? Doc Brown would throw cans, old shoes, banana peels, and anything else into the device which would then produce fuel to zoom around time and space. Well, the military isn’t quite pulling a Marty McFly on us yet, but their new “tactical biorefineries” are one step closer to producing a closed-loop system for waste. Specifically, the massive amounts of waste created by our armed forces. From the article,

The Army’s two prototypes of the Tactical Garbage to Energy Refinery, or TGER, are shipping out to Victory Base Camp in Baghdad today for a 90 day test of the units under extreme working conditions. The refineries, which can take in food slop, plastic, paper and styrofoam and output synthetic gas or hydrous ethanol, were developed by McLean, Va.-based defense contractor Defense Life Sciences, Purdue University and the Army’s Edgewood Chemical Biological Center in Maryland.

Instead of being burned, the items inside the machine (after being broken down) are heated and turned into a low-grad propane. Organic materials get converted into a hydrous ethanol. Both streams are then blended together to run a standard Army 60KW generator. Each machine can handle roughly one ton of garbage per day and fits into standard ISO containers for easy transport.

If these initial test prove successful, expect the “Tigers” to be mass-produced and become a standard accessory for military divisions around the globe. Doc would be proud.

Link [CleanTech]

High School Team Cruises To New Record Of 2,843 MPG!

At Eco-Marathon Americas — sponsored by none other than Shell (shoot me) — a team from Mater Dei High School out of Santa Ana, CA came in first place by motoring to a new record of 2,843.4 miles per gallon. Of course, the size of the vehicles don’t allow for such options as cup holders, but their form and technology are important in creating even greater efficiency for future commercial models. From the article,

Those top three vehicles, like most in the competition (25 out of 33 total), used internal combustion engines. The goal for all entrants was to travel as far as possible using as little fuel as possible. Vehicles–sans driver–couldn’t weigh more than 160 kilograms (352 pounds), while drivers had to weigh at least 50 kilograms. The lone diesel entry, from The College of the Redwoods in Eureka, Calif., achieved 304.5 mpg. The one vehicle to use liquid petroleum gasoline, from Schurr High School of Montebello, Calif., hit 163.5 mpg.

It’s worth noting that the Pulsar vehicle from Purdue University came in first in the solar power category with a 2,861.8 mpg finish. Not too shabby — plus, it would look cooler in your driveway than the Mater Dei winner.

For information on the rest of the entrants, hit Shell’s website (Oh, the horror!) for additional deets.