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Vaporizing Garbage to Create Electricity

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the sounds-like-a-plan dept.

CaroKann writes "Geoplasma is planning to build a power plant in St. Lucie County, Florida that will generate electricity by vaporizing landfill trash and sewage treatment plant sludge with plasma arcs. It will be the first plant of its kind in the USA and the largest in the world. The power plant is expected to destroy 3000 tons of garbage, generating about 120 megawatts of electricity per day. The plant will also supply steam to a nearby Tropicana juice plant. The landfill is expected to be depleted in about 18 years. In addition, up to 600 tons of melted, hardened sludge will be produced each day and will be sold for road construction."

6 of 492 comments (clear)

  1. How many AOL CD's? by phatvw · · Score: 5, Funny

    Let me try to brush up on my yank-math...

    3000 tons = 6,000,000 pounds
    120,megawatts = 120,000,000 watts
    A CDROM weighs 1/2 oz.

    So you'd need approx 96 AOL CDs per hour to run a 60W lightbulb. I think I have just enough of those to get me through the end of the year...

    1. Re:How many AOL CD's? by GungaDan · · Score: 5, Funny

      "Using 'plasma arcs' to 'vaporize' garbage sounds vaguely dangerous."

      It's perfectly safe, provided you never cross the streams.

      --
      Eloi are stupid, throw morlocks at them!
    2. Re:How many AOL CD's? by Nutcase · · Score: 5, Funny

      It would be bad.

  2. Downsides by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Okay, who is the shit-head who threw away a barrel of sodium!"

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  3. Re:Energy / time^2? by CaffeineJedi · · Score: 5, Funny
    My first guess was that it's probably generating 120 megawatt-hours per day, or what those of us who know physics would call "5 megawatts".

    Um... no. I think they actually meant 120 megawatts. Because you see:
    120 megawatts * 24 hours = 2880 megawatt-hours.
    If the price of a megawatt-hour is about $35 dollars (we'll just use the median value of your estimate), then they are making $100 800 a day .
    Multiply that by 365, and you get: $36 792 000 dollars a year.
    Which means... that if they sell back 2/3 of the energy over the course of 20 years, they will make: $490 560 000 dollars (gross, in today's dollars)

    Just FYI, some of us also "know physics" and can actually use Google calculator to make an estimate ;)
  4. Re:Mr. Fusion! by nuttzy · · Score: 5, Funny
    The landfill is expected to be depleted in about 18 years.
    Once again, using up all of natural resources!