08-16-2008, 01:17 PM
quote:
Originally posted by james weatherford
Hilo has how much rain fall?
It takes lots of heat just to dry green waste to the point it is burnable.
No, we simply do not need any kind of 'black box' technology for our wasteful problem. Common sense resourcefulness -- reduce, re-use, recycle. It works.
James Weatherford, Ph.D.
15-1888 Hialoa
Hawaiian Paradise Park
It's a sad fact but also true that some of the most difficult problems our modern society faces are the result of misguided opinions and dogma of well-intentioned individuals, and this is no exception.
You say we should rely on “common sense”. I say common sense for years was that the world is flat, we could turn rocks into Gold, the swaying trees made the wind blow, and that swallowing Tape Worms was a viable diet plan. Given the track record of “common sense” we finally invented what we call “The Scientific Method” so we could separate the wheat from the chaff in the area of how the physical world actually works. And, that Scientific Method has been remarkably accurate in providing a workable and reliable picture of our world. So, rather that implying sinister intent by calling things you don't like or don't understand “black box” solutions, maybe you should instead accept the science and “do the math”.
OK, with that off my chest, off the top of my head 2 things occur to me regarding your claim that green waste is too wet to burn in Hilo.
The first is that for about 100 years our economy in this rainy town was based on burning the green waste of sugarcane. In fact, for many years burning of that waste supplied all the energy required to process the sugarcane into sugar AND approximately 20% of the electrical energy consumed on this island. So, not only is your claim that it's too wet to burn green waste here theoretically wrong, we also have a long history of actually doing it.
The second is the physics. Assuming green waste at 50% moisture, an ambient temperature of 80F, and standard atmospheric pressure, it would take (212-80+970)/2 or, 551 btu input to completely dry 1 lb of green waste, leaving ½ lb of plant fiber. Almost all species of plants contain slightly over 8,000 btu/lb bone dry so the original 1 lb of green waste contains about 4,000 btu, or slightly less than 8 times the heat required to supply enough energy to allow it to burn. 50% was easy so I used that number, feel free to pick one more to you liking. However, keep in mind that simply storing he stuff under cover for a few days while allowing the water to run off will allow vegetable soup to get to 50% moisture.
Yes, as some argue that anthropogenic causes of global warming do not exist some will also argue that we should mulch green waste as opposed to burning it to displace hydrocarbon fuels because mulching is more "environmentally friendly". However, the science disagrees with both opinions. Man is a major contributor to global warming and burning renewable resources such as green waste in preference to hydrocarbons is tremendously better for our environment that mulching that same green waste. The only problem with burning green waste is it doesn't fit the dogma of some who believe they are environmentalists but have not done their homework.
Don't take my word for it, read the literature, and do the math.