This is very cool. The US Army has contracted for testing of a containerized gizmo that processes mixed trash into a combustable gas that powers the gizmo itself and then stores 4 times more than it uses to generate electricity.
The gizmo is called PyTEC(TM) by its friends, but to the rest of us it is a "Pyrolysis Waste Disposal System".
PyTEC runs 24/7 and processes up to 220 lbs (100kg) of mixed trash per hour. "Mixed trash" includes waste food, medical and sanitary materials, paper, plastics, tin, oil and glass. Pyrolysis doesn't burn the trash, but uses an entirely closed process to heat the materials and crack them down to a burnable gas. About 5% of the processed material is left in the form of a glass-like waste material. (That somebody needs to figure out how to use.)
Again; this isn't burning, and doesn't use oxygen and doesn't release the gas into the air. Instead the system generates about 500Kw of thermal energy per hour from the trash and stores 80% of it. The other 20% goes to back to heat and power the pyrolysis process.
The Army will get an efficient and green way to deal with mountains of trash and generate electricity to boot. This is just wins all around.
Go Army.
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