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Plasma Converters!

croxiscroxis I am the walrus
[url]http://www.sliceofscifi.com/2007/02/18/sci-fi-to-sci-fact-plasma-converter/[/url]

Comments

  • MessiahMessiah Failed Experiment
    Cool!
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    Actually, it's rather hot.



    It had to be said.
  • croxiscroxis I am the walrus
    *slaps biggles*
  • shadow boxershadow boxer The Finger Painter & Master Ranter
    Heh... Tesla, you are a god.
  • Random ChaosRandom Chaos Actually Carefully-selected Order in disguise
    Toasty!
  • Vorlons in my HeadVorlons in my Head The Vorlons told me to.
    Interesting, if it can vaporize any kind garbage then it should work just as well to dispose of a human bo.. uhm, never mind.

    Don't quite understand how its going to be very useful as an energy generating device given it seems like it requires some pretty high energy consumption simply to operate.
  • JackNJackN <font color=#99FF99>Lightwave Alien</font>
    One step closer to Mr. Fusion... :p
  • Vorlons in my HeadVorlons in my Head The Vorlons told me to.
    Still a little too big to fit into a Delorean. Maybe an 18 wheeler for now.
  • MessiahMessiah Failed Experiment
    Tesla was indeed a god. Anyone seen the Prestige? If not I can recommend it.
  • bobobobo (A monkey)
    Wait, why break complex molecules into their component elements when we're spending beau coup $$$ trying to pull complex hydrocarbons from the ground, especally in the middle east, and trying to mimic natural processes of producing what mother nature does, well, naturally?

    Why reduce a banana peel into carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, when you can mix it with a few microbes and bacteria to produce the perfect plant food? To take the basic elements and produce a fertilizer of the same effectiveness takes more energy than you get from breaking it down in the first place.

    Technically cool, but not very useful for most trash.
  • Entil'ZhaEntil'Zha I see famous people
    [QUOTE=Vorlons in my Head;156802]Still a little too big to fit into a Delorean. Maybe an 18 wheeler for now.[/QUOTE]


    You built a time machine? From a DELORIAN???
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    No, I built a [i]plasma converter[/i] from a Delorian. Time travel is just a side-effect.
  • FreejackFreejack Jake the Not-so-Wise
    Now someone needs to invent some plasma couplers. Then we can fix any problem we have just by reversing the polarity in the secondary power relay...

    Jake
  • ShadowDancerShadowDancer When I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie." London, UK
    ...and bypassing the main power conduit! Freejack you're a genius!!! :p
  • StingrayStingray Elite Ranger
    I think someone's been overdosing on ST Voyager...

    "Mon Capitaine..." :D
  • sataicallistasataicallista High Priestess of Squeee!
    This is awesome! It could solve so many problems!
    Though, you guys should read the full article here: [URL="http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/873aae7bf86c0110vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html"]Popular Science[/URL]
  • sataicallistasataicallista High Priestess of Squeee!
    [QUOTE=Vorlons in my Head;156799]Interesting, if it can vaporize any kind garbage then it should work just as well to dispose of a human bo.. uhm, never mind.

    Don't quite understand how its going to be very useful as an energy generating device given it seems like it requires some pretty high energy consumption simply to operate.[/QUOTE]

    Read the article again, it says right in there that they use most of the byproduct syngas the process creates to run the machine. All they need is the initial jolt of electrical energy to start the process and after that it runs itself, leaving a surplus of even that can be used to run heating and cooling systems for the rest of the building! So it gets rid of trash, creates two helpful and easily usable byproducts, and runs itself off of them. I'd say that's pretty frakkin awesome! Like the full article says, it sounds too good to be true, but it works.
  • FreejackFreejack Jake the Not-so-Wise
    The one part of the equation that must be considered is how much energy was expended making the garbage in the first place, from the original product, through its consumption and disposal.

    Let's say that 1 MJ of energy went into making 100 tonnes of garbage. Then using this process you are able to recover 1/3 of that energy (according to the article about 2/3 of the energy produced is required to operate the machine). That means we have a ratio of .6 of energy in versus energy out, that is only a slightly better energy balance than corn ethanol. Of course, you do have the added benefit of getting some utility from the consumption of the products before the become garbage [i]and[/i] stopping the flow of mass that today just ends in a landfill.

    Something this technology should also be compared with is recovering the methane from landfills, looking at the energy balance and investment required in that source.

    Jake
  • croxiscroxis I am the walrus
    Reduce is the best method :) Reuse and recycle are just the back-up plans
  • SanfamSanfam I like clocks.
    The only problem left is the seemingly insignificant issue of what to do with the potentially toxic obsidian slugs? Apparently, that's where the remainder of the particles which are unusable as a component of Syngas go to. While disposal on a small scale might work, it still leaves them as a problem on the large scale.

    Though I'm curious as to whether or not it would be possible to harvest raw heavy metals from these leftovers. People still want mobile phones and computers, and this requires cobalt, platinum, etc.
  • sataicallistasataicallista High Priestess of Squeee!
    [QUOTE=Sanfam;157181]The only problem left is the seemingly insignificant issue of what to do with the potentially toxic obsidian slugs? Apparently, that's where the remainder of the particles which are unusable as a component of Syngas go to. While disposal on a small scale might work, it still leaves them as a problem on the large scale.

    Though I'm curious as to whether or not it would be possible to harvest raw heavy metals from these leftovers. People still want mobile phones and computers, and this requires cobalt, platinum, etc.[/QUOTE]

    They don't have to dump any of it, according to the article.

    "The by-products are an obsidian-like glass used as a raw material for numerous applications, including bathroom tiles and high-strength asphalt..."
  • SanfamSanfam I like clocks.
    Well, the problem is that in some cases, it can. It all depends on the material put into the machine. If a substance containing few to no heavy metals is used, the product will be a slug that is safe for re-use. But if it is cellular phones or such which use cobalt and platinum, then these objects, which cannot be further broken down are deposited into the slug.
  • sataicallistasataicallista High Priestess of Squeee!
    Um...slag hon, the term is slag
  • SanfamSanfam I like clocks.
    That would work, too. :p (Though a source I started with referred to the final, solidified and cylindrically compacted product as an Impure Obsidian Slug, which I think stuck in my mind. heh. Slag is the proper word.)
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