California Now Producing Natural Gas from Wastewater

Nathanael

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Tue Feb-08-11 04:19 PM
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California Now Producing Natural Gas from Wastewater

Continuing to barrel forward towards its renewable energy targets, California has added another state clean energy first.

Southern California Gas Co. and its partner, the city of Escondido, have announced they are successfully producing purified wastewater biogas.

The Hale Avenue Resource Recovery Facility, which converts raw methane gas produced in the treatment of wastewater into pipeline-quality natural gas is the first of its kind to come online in California.

Link: http://www.energyboom.com/biofuels/california-now-producing-natural-gas-from-wastewater

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Fearless

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Tue Feb-08-11 04:21 PM
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1. To be fair that's not a clean energy source, you still burn the gas.

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Jackpine Radical

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Tue Feb-08-11 04:25 PM
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3. But isn't it carbon-neutral?

I.e., the carbon in the garbage was pretty much already in circulation & putting in a landfill isn't exactly sequestering it.

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Fearless

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Tue Feb-08-11 06:19 PM
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4. No not at all.

It's the difference between a landfill and burning garbage. While landfills do release into the air they do so over decades, hundreds of years or even longer, incinerating it in a combustion engine is getting rid of it very quickly. Nothing ever leaves the carbon cycle. The problem is that we're unbalancing the cycle by putting much more into the air than should be there without human interference. Climate change... etc.

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OnlinePoker

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Tue Feb-08-11 06:37 PM
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6. If the gas is methane, then I'm all for it.

Methane is, if I remember right, 20x more potent as a green house gas. If you burn it, it breaks down (with the addition of 2 O2 molecules) into 1 CO2 and 2 H2O molecules so the methane atmospheric GHG potency is reduced by 20 times. At the same time, the burning produces electricity which would have to be sourced from somewhere else. The methane is produced no matter what is done (if it is left in the land fill to rot, for instance), so it should be harnessed to do some good.

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madokie

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Tue Feb-08-11 06:48 PM
Response to Reply #6

7. Yeah but that goes right over many heads around here

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joshcryer

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Tue Feb-08-11 10:35 PM
Response to Reply #6

8. 20x as potent but 12% of global warming. Why? Because it has a short life.

CO2 remains the largest contributor to warming, but the clathrates are the biggest concern. It's all about feedbacks.

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Fearless

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Tue Feb-08-11 11:31 PM
Response to Reply #6

9. The same thing is done at landfills that trap methane...

Edited on Tue Feb-08-11 11:35 PM by Fearless

However, in the landfills you then don't have CO2 emissions on the levels you're talking about. While neither is perfect for a variety of reasons, the landfill, some electricity, and little CO2 in the air is better than the electricity, the perpetuation of fossil fuel usage, and some electricity, and a lot of CO2 released.

Regardless, my point is it is not a CLEAN energy source like solar or wind for instance.

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xchrom

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Tue Feb-08-11 04:25 PM
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2. very cool. nt

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txlibdem

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Tue Feb-08-11 06:28 PM
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5. This story is a load of crap!

I'm not even going to read it. Nor post a reply. And I'm definitely am not going to K&R this crap!
:sarcasm:
(just kidding)

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Nihil

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Wed Feb-09-11 06:15 AM
Response to Original message

10. Good move California!

Here's hoping that it soon spreads to other cities.

:toast:

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