QLD: Uni develops new rubbish eating technology

AAP General News (Australia)
12-08-1998
QLD: Uni develops new rubbish eating technology

BRISBANE, Dec 8 AAP - New technology developed by the University of Queensland can break
down rubbish 240 times faster than the conventional landfill method.

Mines and Energy Minister Tony McGrady launched a pilot project using the new technology
today, which will convert waste from 100 Brisbane households to methane, carbon dioxide and a
black compost-like substance within two months.

University researchers plan to build a miniature methanol plant to convert the gases to
liquid fuel.

Head researcher Associate Professor Victor Rudolph said the new method eliminated the
smells associated with the present system of burying rubbish in landfills.

Dr Rudolph said the system worked by transferring leachate, a micro-organism containing
moisture, between a tank containing fresh waste and a tank containing old sludgy waste once a
day for a week.

"After the first week, the fresh waste tank contains enough micro-organisms to continue the
decomposition process unaided," he said.

"Two months later, one-third of the mass has been harnessed as methane and carbon dioxide."

If unsorted waste was used, only non-degradable material such as glass, plastic and stones
would be left, he said.

But if sorted waste was used, there would be no unusable element at the end of the process
and the black compost material could be used as a soil conditioner.

"Most rubbish can also be broken down in a matter of months, rather than the 40 or so years
it takes using landfill," Dr Rudolph said.

AAP bja/kr

KEYWORD: RUBBISH

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