Last lawsuit dropped in Carthage turkey plant odor case

[suziedemocrat]

Link: http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/15352930.htm

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The last lawsuit left from a dispute over odors from a plant that converts turkey waste into fuel oil was dismissed Thursday after the facility fixed its odor problems, the city of Carthage and Attorney General Jay Nixon's office said.

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The plant, which started operations in May 2004, uses extreme heat and pressure to turn agricultural waste into oil, gas and other materials. Renewable Environmental Solutions is a wholly owned subsidiary of Changing World Technologies.

[Tace]

1. I'm Glad They Got The Smell Problem Fixed

Thermal depolymerization is a very promising recycling technology that can produce lots of petroleum and useful basic chemicals. Anyone not familiar with this technology should check it out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_depolymerisation

[suziedemocrat]

2. Yeah - it's the poor step-child of renewable energy.

I guess no one likes the idea of oil from garbage.

[IrateCitizen]

3. The problem is a poor EROEI, not oil from garbage

Thermal depolymerization has an incredibly poor EROEI -- in fact, it is currently negative. I would be all for a process that converts garbage into fuel, but this one just ain't there yet.

The idea of utilizing renewable sources such as solar and wind for energy inputs in order to produce liquid fuels would also be promising, if there were a way to do it on a scale that would be worthwhile. But as it stands now, a plant like the one in Carthage produces so little oil it's hardly worth the trouble.

[suziedemocrat]

4. How do yo figure it is negative?

The energy the process uses is from the Natural Gas output from the TPD process. If you start with garbage or sewage, you are not growing or producing anything new to input into the process, so you can really only count the energy it uses during TDP, and that is supplied from the Natural Gas output from TDP.

Please explain why you the the energy return is negative?