Newsgroup: italia.genova.discussioni
Titolo: OT- LG :  leggeranno i nostri eroi quel che succerde nel mondo ?

Cronache
28 set 09:47 
 Energia: rifiuti, pirolisi e' la tecnica del futuro 
ROMA - Dopo gli esperimenti in Germania e Islanda anche in Italia si
sta facendo strada la pirolisi, tecnica che dovrebbe sostituire gli
inceneritori nello smaltimento dei rifiuti urbani in modo pulito, con
un impatto ambientale minimo e producendo eco-energia. A proporla e'
l'Enea, che sta vagliando le varie ipotesi possibili per rendere la
questione ambientale una risorsa che trasforma i rifiuti in energia
termica ed elettrica. ''Penso proprio che possiamo cominciare a
pensare che in un futuro molto prossimo i termo-valorizzatori saranno
messi al bando perche' troppo inquinanti - spiega Angelo Moreno,
ricercatore dell'Enea della Casaccia -. La pirolisi sembra avere un
futuro molto promettente''. Secondo Moreno ''con particolari
accorgimenti tecnici come l'utilizzo di un particolare tipo di forno e
l'assenza totale di ossigeno, la pirolisi puo' raggiungere punti di
eccellenza, quali la totale assenza di diossine e furani, oltre ai
fumi con le polveri''. (Agr) 
Benedetto Zaccaria

Benedetto Zaccaria:
Io sì. Sull'Economist, come sempre. Come i giornalisti che citi.
Ti traduco solo l'ultima frase [con miei commenti]:
Anche se questo settore industriale ha una storia di fallimenti dice "ora
ci sono nuove tecnologie, che vediamo applicate". Quindi, anche se in
questo settore è difficile i profitti [quindi una vera efficienza
energetica] sono difficili da trovare, l'ottimismo è sempre abbondante
[epperforza, con tutti i soldi pubblici che vi vengono buttati...].
WHERE there is muck, goes the old saying, there is brass. Several firms
have taken that idea to heart and are seeking profitable ways to turn
rubbish into fuel. Startech Environmental, for instance, based in Wilton,
Connecticut, uses plasma conversion, superheating rubbish to break down its
molecular bonds and create a “synthesis gas” which is then converted into
ethanol or biodiesel. “We get 3.7 gallons of ethanol per 20lb tyre. That's
serious output,” says Joseph Longo, Startech's chief executive.
The idea might sound far-fetched, but there are several ways to convert
organic waste into various grades of fuel, at least in the laboratory. You
can gasify rubbish by heating it and turning it into synthesis fuel, which
is then fed into a reaction called the Fischer-Tropsch process. This
technique for converting carbon monoxide and hydrogen into liquid
hydrocarbons using a catalyst was invented in Germany in the 1920s and was
used by the Nazis to convert coal into fuel during the second world war. An
alternative method involves breaking down cellulose using various catalysts
to accelerate the decomposition of organic plant residues into ethanol.
Household rubbish presents special problems, since it is an unpredictable
mishmash of all sorts of stuff. Allen Hershkowitz, director of the
solid-waste programme at the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC), says
that no technology can take large amounts of mixed household waste and
profitably convert it into ethanol or any other kind of fuel. He also notes
that, although the country's landfills seem to be overflowing, America in
fact produces only about 230m tonnes of municipal solid waste a year,
compared with more than 2 billion tonnes of farm waste. The NRDC reports
that much of the solid waste in landfills is made up of recyclables like
plastic, or food waste that could be used as compost. Burning such things
for fuel may not count as a gain for the environment.
By contrast, Startech's Mr Longo says he can produce fuel with almost no
emissions and using only 10% of the resulting energy to power the process.
Mr Longo is primarily a rubbish man—Startech was formed in the 1990s as a
low-emission alternative to landfills and incinerators. Now he is hoping
the ethanol craze will convince cities to strike deals with him.
Theoretically, a plant using Startech's process to vaporise 25 tonnes of
tyres a day could create more than 8,500 gallons of fuel (the number would
be less if it processed other forms of waste). True, America alone consumes
more than 20m gallons of fuel a day, but some lucky cities could run their
fleets of dustcarts from such a plant with fuel to spare. However, all the
74-year-old Mr Longo has to show for his efforts so far is a small
demonstration plant in Bristol, Connecticut. No backer has been prepared to
provide the $6m for a Startech system that could convert 10 tonnes of waste
a day.
At least Mr Longo has his demonstration plant, though. Not so Masada
Resource Group, which in 2004 signed a contract with Middletown, New York,
to build a $300m plant to convert waste to fuel. Although the scheme
promised 90% efficiency using a vaguely defined “OxyNol” process, the firm
has yet to lay the plant's foundations. In July Green Power, a start-up
from Issaquah, Washington, showed off of a technology for converting waste
to oil. The company says it can process any waste that is not glass, metal
or radioactive and, using a catalyst, convert it to fuel, with an
efficiency of 90%. But the firm's claims were met with scepticism, partly
because of a past conviction of Michael Spitzauer, its chief executive, for
fraud in his native Austria.
The one American company that has succeeded in building and running a
commercial plant to convert waste to fuel is Changing World Technologies.
Even then, the company says that, although it can convert solid waste to
fuel, the process is not yet economical. “People's waste material is
unpredictable,” says Brian Appel, who heads the company.
His firm's first plant processes waste from a turkey slaughterhouse and pig
fats, using “thermal conversion”—heat and friction—to break down the
chemical bonds, followed by heat and water to hydrolyse the material. This
mainly yields liquid and solid fertiliser, but also makes gas that is used
to power an industrial plant, but could be refined into biodiesel. One
problem is that it costs Changing World about $80 a barrel to make the
fuel. Another is that the company has had to spend heavily to reduce the
smell from the plant, which was briefly shut down because of it.
With oil prices high, Mr Appel and his fellow entrepreneurs must hope that
their timing is good. Nancy Floyd, co-founder and managing director of Nth
Power, a pioneering energy investor, says that her firm is close to
investing in a company that converts waste to ethanol—though she declined
to name it. Although the industry has a record of failure, she says, “there
is new technology now, and we are seeing it applied.” So although profits
are hard to come by, optimism is in plentiful supply.
-- 
"Quella troia di tua sorella" (c)
Sistema testato per eliminare le teste di cazzo.

pirolisi 
Anche nei Comitati anti-incenerimento c'e' qualcuno che guarda di buon
occhio la pirolisi. E' un ingegnere molto competente (anche se corri
il rischio - se t'agguanta in un discorso - di farci notte :-)).
Pero', c'e' una semplice obiezione che gli fanno: cos'e' questa smania
tecnologica di cercare sempre nuovi dispositivi e perfezioni tecniche
futuribili se gia' oggi esiste la soluzione, semplice e pure
educativa, che puo' ottenere lo stesso risultato? Raccolta
differenziata porta a porta, riuso, riciclo, biotrasformazione
dell'umido... L'intoppo che sconsiglia un siccesso poco costoso e'
sempre il solito: il business.
Ora seguo un odorino di funghi in tavola e ti saluto. Grazie della
segnalazione. 
LG

 Ora seguo un odorino di funghi in tavola e ti saluto.
Te lo dico sempre di non appoggiare i piedi sul tavolo, cafone.
