Is trash the solution to tackling climate change? or Where there's muck there's money?

"Where there's muck there's money" is an old adage in the UK.

Could the following report "Could trash be solution to tackling climate change?" be another twist to the the money game?

Quote:
"SINGAPORE -- September 2009 -- Converting the trash that fills the world's landfills into biofuel may be the answer to both the growing energy crisis and to tackling carbon emissions, claim scientists in Singapore and Switzerland. New research published in Global Change Biology: Bioenergy, reveals how replacing gasoline with biofuel from processed waste could cut global carbon emissions by 80%."

The team used the United Nation's Human Development Index to estimate the generation of waste in 173 countries. This data was then coupled to the Earthtrends database to estimate the amount of gasoline consumed in those same countries.

The team found that 82.93 billion litres of cellulosic ethanol could be produced from the world's landfill waste and that by substituting gasoline with the resulting biofuel, global carbon emissions could be cut by figures ranging from 29.2% to 86.1% for every unit of energy produced.

"If this technology continues to improve and mature these numbers are certain to increase," concluded co-author Dr. Lian Pin Koh from ETH Zürich. "This could make cellulosic ethanol an important component of our renewable energy future."

COMMENT STARTER:

How can burning gas for transportation reduce CO2 emissions substantially?
Lets get down to some of our own calculations.
Remember only every Big counts says Prof.David Mackay in Without Hot Air> not every little bit! (30 to 80% reductions) Is it 30% or is it 80% reduction.

Then waste must be disposed of in a healthy manner, and energy must be captured. Current manovers in such energy, water and waste management (EDF and Veolia here in France) may give a hint to likely directions in environmental interests, to the tune of 4_5 Million Euros in only one PDG's salary, that's strategic thinking. Will the planet and her citizens be better-off or "Debter-off?

More in (and from)
1. ScienceBlog

2. PHYSORG
September 29th, 2009

"Converting the trash that fills the world's landfills into biofuel may be the answer to both the growing energy crisis and to tackling carbon emissions, claim scientists in Singapore and Switzerland. New research published in Global Change Biology: Bioenergy, reveals how replacing gasoline with biofuel from processed waste could cut global carbon emissions by 80%."

3. Biofuels from urban waste

4. World of Renewables

Link_New Video Embeded: Mars "Explorer" Revolutionary Wind Power Generator shows Wind Power that is Good for the Neurons

This post link on my video dedicated weblog pages, "This-Above-All", is particularly relevent to "Conversations." Take a squint.

New Video Embeded: Mars "Explorer" Revolutionary Wind Power Generator shows Wind Power that is Good for the Neurons

Alternative Energy CO2-GHG reduction_BEAT 2_A Biomass Environmental Assessment Tool free software for UK and UK-based companies

This post results from following a lead on combined Coal and Biomass use in power generation. ref1.

Ground-breaking technology that enables companies and organisations to measure their greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) was unveiled for the first time (13 November 2008) at Drax Power Station, near Selby in North Yorkshire.

The BEAT2 – Biomass Environmental Assessment Tool – computer program funded by UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the UK, Environment Agency, measures the impact on the levels of greenhouse gas emissions when biomass is used in a variety of energy generating processes.

Drax is the first major industrial installation in the UK to pilot the software.

More...

Drax Power Limited ("Drax") has announced that it has signed a £10 million ($18 million) Engineering, Procurement and Construction ("EPC") contract with Doosan Babcock Energy Limited ("Doosan Babcock") to supply direct injection biomass co-firing systems to all six coal-fired generating units at the 4,000MW Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire.

Co-firing involves the mixing and burning of renewable biomass materials with coal and, given the carbon neutral status of biomass, is a recognised carbon abatement technology that has significant potential to reduce carbon dioxide ("CO2") emissions from coal-fired power stations. The direct injection firing systems represent a major component of the new co-firing facility at Drax and are designed to receive and transport processed biomass materials to the power station’s coal-fired boilers.

On completion, the biomass co-firing facility will be the largest of its type in the world, which alongside Drax’s existing co-firing capability will provide a total of 500MW of renewable electricity, or the equivalent output of over 600 wind turbines. The biomass co-firing facility will reduce Drax Power Station’s emissions of CO2 by over two and a half million tonnes per annum supporting Drax’s commitment to tackling climate change by reducing its CO2 emissions.

More...

Sources:
1. Materials World print edition Dec 2008.
2. The BEAT2 – Biomass Environmental Assessment Tool – computer program
3. Drax press release 13Nov. 08
4. Drax press release 1 Oct. 08

NB.1. BEST 2.

The aim of this tool is to provide the user with a means for assessing the potential benefits, as well as associated environmental impacts, of bioenergy technologies. It takes into account the diverse nature of possible bioenergy feedstocks and conversion technologies and also identifies a variety of potential environmental impacts. BEAT2 is a UK-based tool and cannot be used to assess bioenergy options outside the UK or to assess the impact of internationally sourced feedstocks.

NB2. Back-ground comment by Sophie Stammers