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]

New See-Saw Technology Harnesses The Power of Children

I’m into old-school devices re-engineered to create energy or somehow become more efficient. Take the newly released solar-powered vibrator. Now there’s something that finally has come into the 21 Century!

Today’s latest find is a See-Saw designed to harness the power of children (obese, sugar-fueled kids are probably best), which could then be used to power a school for an evening. The idea came from a 23-year-old consumer product design student who became inspired after helping build a school in Kenya. From the article,

He said: “The current need for electricity in sub-Saharan Africa is staggering. Without power development is extremely difficult. “The potential for this product is huge and the design could be of benefit to numerous communities in Africa and beyond.” He has calculated that five to 10 minutes use on the see-saw could generate enough electricity to light a classroom for an evening, for example. Many schools in Africa open their doors in the evening to much older pupils but are only able to light their classrooms with candles or kerosene lamps.

Later this year, a prototype sourced with locally made parts will be setup in a village in Uganda.

We’re jazzed over the See-saw idea — but would be equally enamored with an energy-generating spinnie-ride as well. Sure, they always made me sick, but at least I could feel better knowing my nausea was helping save the world.

via BBC