In rec.arts.sf.science message <djdaq3d27uk2ivrbfsitf82sl5q4opd7iq@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>, Sat, 2 Feb 2008 22:28:05, Wildepad <noreplies@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> posted:
>The ultimate garbage disposer is built -- whatever is put into it is
>broken down to its component elements which are then separated by
>type.
>
>The inventor admits there are some minor problems with the process,
>and number 1,896 on his list of things to change is that the carbon
>comes out as flawless 36 pound crystals.
>
>It may be years before he gets around to fixing that. In the meantime,
>it's piling up at the rate of about 1000 tons a day.
>
>The powers that be, eager to have this landfill-alternative shown to
>be a practical process, put you in charge of disposing of it. (The
>power companies don't want it -- diamond dust plays havoc with the
>equipment.)
>
>What do you do with it?
A thousand tons a day does not seem nearly enough to represent the
carbon content of the world's garbage - it's about 150 mg / head. So
many more plants can be used.
Roughly, if the diamond output of 15000 of those plants were stored
permanently, that would use the amount of carbon currently added to the
atmosphere and providing global warming.
So, dump it in the deep oceans, away from subduction zones.
Of course, ignoring the subject line, ISTM that diamond is not the only
crystalline form of carbon - graphite could be more acceptable as
output, or buckytubes for use as an engineering material.
If all elements come out in pure form at that size, it may be necessary
to limit the lifetime of each unit. Modern garbage can contain all
stable and long-life isotopes, and assembling 30 pounds of U or Pu
sounds unwise.
--
(c) John Stockton, nr London UK.
*@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Web <URL:http://www.merlyn.demon.co.uk/>
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