Using a process called Catalytic Depolymerization, Green Power Inc. a company from Issaquah, Washington can transform everyday landfill waste into diesel fuel.
“We really can convert regular household waste, medical waste, anything that is not radioactive, metal, glass or porcelain, into diesel fuel,� said Michael Spitzauer, CEO of Green Power, Inc.Hundreds of million years ago the hydrocarbon compounds within biological materials were transformed into an undecayable and environmentally friendly form by the catalytic process of natural crude oil production. This only allowed the release of oxygen into the atmosphere.
Today the same process, now based on new developed Diesel building catalysts, again allows us to turn the decayable hydrocarbons contained in residuals into undecayable, environmentally friendly "NanoDiesel" TM fuel and thus preserve nature.
Link to read more about the company's process. http://www.cleanenergyprojects.com/
A typical 500 ton-per-day plant will yield approximately 75,000 gallons of very high grade diesel fuel in the same period, with zero pollution, using Green Power’s patented, low-temperature process. The cost to produce the fuel will be extremely competitive, estimated at .52 to .58 USD per gallon. http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2006/08/02/016912.html
From the U. S. Patent office defining Catalytic Depolymerization:
A method of producing diesel oil from a feed oil containing hydrocarbon-containing residues, the method comprising the following sequential steps: producing a flow of feed oil, the flow having a flow energy; inputting hydrocarbon-containing residues into the feed oil; heating the residue-containing feed oil, at least some of said heating being accomplished by converting at least some of the flow energy into heat; separating solids from the residue-containing feed oil; distilling the residue-containing feed oil to produce a distillate; and producing diesel oil from the distillate.
One advantage of making diesel from garbage over other bio fuels is that garbage is not a publicly traded commodity (yet... I am having a foreshadowing vision/flashback to a Mad Max flick.) Using soy and corn for fuel production is placing a demand on a publicly traded commodity that is a widely used source of food.
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Kudos on the Mad Max reference! In the last Mad Max movie they made fuel from pig crap.