A Japanese company has developed a system that can generate almost twice as
much energy from compressed pellets of pulverised household waste as previous
systems. The Electric Power Development company says its experimental power
plant in Kitakyushu has a generating efficiency of 35 per cent, far better than
the 20 per cent achieved by other waste-burning plants and as good as an
oil-fired plant. EPD’s trick is to use sand as the heat-exchange substance,
using it to create steam and drive a turbine.
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