Garbage In - Fuel Out Power Plant

(Harnessing renewable energy out of wasteland, Caring for Mother Nature and Protecting the Well-Being of Mankind)

Introduction

Last Friday, April 08, 2011, I escorted to Cebu City the man whom I come to know very well just lately. I knew that he will be one of the KEY in our desperate search to ease the environmental and energy crisis in our midst.

He is in the league of our National Hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal, at least in his analytical and scientific mind, but more so, of their identical height.

I proudly walk along Eng'r. Alexis Belonio to meet with a young enterprising Agricultural Engineer based in Lapu-Lapu City, Eng'r. Victoriano Ocon.

They've got each other as a perfect match.

The former has a data bank of vast know-how on pratical technologies that we ordinary mortals can not readily comprehend, and the latter has an uncanny ability of adapting practical manufacturing processes on any job order at hand.

They are both good on their respective approaches on R&D.

Belonio employs a very conscientious methodology in his Research & Development (R&D), while Ocon efficiently and accurately executes his Review & Duplicate (R&D) technique.

Facts and Situation

For some rough statistics, Cebu City is churning-out 500 tons of garbage daily. Their dump-site of 15 hectares is now 40 feet high and already reached its maximum holding capacity.

In this case, the initial step done by the City Council was the passing of an ordinance meant to subdue the further building-up everyday of the mountainous wasteland.

And the concrete action done by the City Government to confront this garbage malady, is the commissioning of the expertise of Eng'r. V. Ocon in fabricating Material Recovery Facilities (Recycling Equipment).

At the Cebu dump-site, former scavengers are now machine operators, working on a 25 hour shift, feeding the ITDI-DOST BIOREACTOR ST1000 composting equipment. Some are engaged in the SHredder Machines where chopping and sorting of garbage materials is done.

The target number of BIOREACTORS to be installed is 20 sets. At 1 ton per batch per 24 hour capacity of converting garbage into organic fertilizing material, it would only be a 20 tons daily elimination and disposal of unsavory garbage odor; a far cry from the towering smokey mountain wastes waiting to be processed.

Swift Meeting of the Minds

Being an Agricultural engineer myself, like both of them, I have this propensity of regaling my colleagues in my profession about my readings, technological encounters, and little discoveries. One of this I shared to Ocon, is the gasification process that is taking place on a Rice Husk Gasifier Stove, which is a brainchild of Belonio, in that he won from this the Rolex Award for Enterprise given in Geneva, Switzerland in 2008 and subsequently won another for that related technology from The TECH Award in San Jose, California in November 2010.

Ocon, who is in the heap of great challenge in reducing the volume of waste in Cebu City, thought of summoning the technology of Belonio in gasification. He wasted no time in flying to Manila to meet Belonio.

I am the one in-charge of arranging their meeting. I picked-up Belonio in Nueva Ecija in the middle of the night. I meet Ocon at the Centennial Airport. Together we went to our meeting place at Mr. Poon's Kitchenette in Banawe, Quezon City.

Along the way, brainstorming began and immediately ended.

We just eat our meals at our meeting place. A little of pleasantries, then we parted ways with our calendar marked April 08, 2011, destination: Cebu City.

As Cebu Pacific plane touched down Cebu Airport runway, Ocon was already waiting for us at the exit gate. Again, brainstorming ensued until we disembarked at the manufacturing plant of Suki Trading Corporation, a growing venture in the fabrication of agri-industrial machines and livelihood equipment.

A stack of shredded garbage and plastics were already prepared, loaded them into the Rice Husk Gasifier Stove which I previously sold to Ocon. Belonio wanted to find-out if it will burst into flame when shredded garbage will be used as fuel medium in lieu of rice husk. And voila! It's flaming wildly and odorless. Alexis Belonio then declared, "gasification of garbage can be used to fuel an electric generator set!"

After that brief burning demonstration, we immediately proceed to the dump-site to conduct an ocular inspection. As it was said, there lie the sprawling wasteland of 15 hectares of 40 feet high garbage. Existing Bioreactor machines in operation become tiny processor, in stark contrast to the volume of variety of waste materials in waiting.

Planning stage was already done. There is an unwritten mutual agreement reached. It may be like a whirlwind marriage of gift and talents of both Agricultural Engineers, Alexis Belonio and Victoriano Ocon, with me as witness, I could see an expeditious and successful result of their union.

I will keep you posted on the development of this humble effort of ours to make a difference in our field of Agricultural Engineering.

Meantime, you may check some works and backgrounder of our subjects. Just goggle or wild search the name Alexis Belonio and you will find that name synonymous to "biomass gasification" and visit the website of Victoriano Ocon at www.sukitradingcorp.com to see his main enterprise.

Antonio H. Co
Central Luzon State University, BSAEn '85
Registered Professional Agricultural Engineer 0002831