Manalo Redeemyrrh Ysrael S.A.

10-David

New Technology Turns Food Leftovers

Into Electricity, Vehicle Fuels
By Kat Kerlin on October 24, 2006 in
UC Davis Professor Ruihong Zhang shovels fresh table scraps from San Francisco
restaurants into the biogas energy plant.
Starting today, tons of table scraps from the Bay Area's finest restaurants will be turned into
clean, renewable energy at a new UC Davis research and technology demonstration facility.
The Biogas Energy Project will process eight tons of leftovers weekly (and later as much as
eight tons daily) from premier restaurants such as San Francisco's Slanted Door, Jardiniere,
Scoma's, Boulevard and Zuni Cafe, and Oakland's Oliveto and Scott's Seafood.
If all goes well, each ton of broccoli spears, cantaloupe rinds and fish bones will produce
enough energy to provide electricity to power 10 average California homes for one day.
The Biogas Energy Project is the first large-scale demonstration in the United States of a new
technology developed in the past eight years by Ruihong Zhang, a UC Davis professor of
biological and agricultural engineering. The technology, called an "anaerobic phased solids
digester," has been licensed from the university and adapted for commercial use by Onsite
Power Systems Inc.
The goal of this innovative public-private alliance is to divert organic matter -- stuff made from
plants and animals, such as food waste and yard clippings -- away from landfills and into the
energy grid. That reduces greenhouse gas emissions from landfills and turns trash into a
substantial source of clean energy.
"The new Biogas Energy facility at UC Davis allows us to conduct innovative research on
renewable energy sources. By utilizing agricultural and food waste as alternatives to fossil fuels,
UC Davis continues the tradition of protecting California's environment," said Neal Van Alfen,
dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
"The College of Engineering is leading a campuswide initiative that emphasizes renewable
energy, energy efficiency and transportation," added Engineering Dean Enrique Lavernia. "The
opening of the Biogas Energy Project marks a significant step, and we're delighted that we were

able to partner with industry in addressing this important problem for the state and for the
nation."
Zhang's system differs from other anaerobic digesters, most of which are in use on municipal
wastewater treatment plants and livestock farms, in three key ways:

It processes a wider variety of wastes -- both solid and liquid -- including food scraps,
yard trimmings, animal manure and rice straw. More than 5 million tons of food scraps go
into California landfills each year.

It works faster, turning waste into energy in half the time of other digesters.

It produces two clean energy gases -- hydrogen and methane. Other digesters produce
only methane. The gases can be burned to produce electricity and heat, or to propel
cars, trucks and buses.

Zhang has proved in the laboratory on a small scale that in anaerobic, or oxygen-free,
conditions, naturally occurring bacteria can quickly convert food and green wastes into hydrogen
and methane gases.
Now the challenge is to make the gases in consistently high quality and large volumes over the
long term.
Zhang believes it can be done. "My UC Davis students and I have determined the efficient
bacterial species and their favorite environmental conditions for turning various wastes into
gases," Zhang said.
"We know what happens with bacteria in 10 to 5,000 gallons of water and waste. Now we expect
to see those bacteria perform as well, if not better, when they are in 50,000 to 300,000 gallons."
If they do, Onsite Power Systems CEO Dave Konwinski will be closer to his goal of selling
similar power-production facilities to waste-generating businesses, such as food processors,
farms and dairies, and municipal green-waste collection programs.
"Onsite will actually scale the digester to fit the customer's operations, then build it on their
property. We will take the customer's waste stream in and send the energy it produces right
back out to their plant," Konwinski said.
"This technology will make a substantial dent in both our landfill needs and our use of petroleum
and coal for fuels and electricity. It also will reduce our greenhouse gas emissions."
Onsite Power Systems has invested almost $2 million in helping Zhang refine the technology
and prepare it for transfer to the commercial market.

The other major funding source for Zhang's ongoing research has been the California Energy
Commission's Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program, which has awarded the
university grants of nearly $1 million. The PIER program supports innovative energy research,
development and demonstration projects that improve the quality of life in California by bringing
environmentally safe, affordable and reliable energy services and products to the marketplace.
Other supporters include:

California Integrated Waste Management Board, with research grants of $125,000;

Graybar, which donated computer controls for plant operations, valued at $50,000;

Propane Education & Research Council (PERC), which contributed to the purchase of
two propane-fueled boilers, a low-emission, California Air Resources Board-certified
propane engine, and a generator for the project, valued at $32,000;

Norcal Waste Systems Inc., which is supplying the restaurant leftovers and yard
clippings ("green wastes"), valued at $50,000.

Norcal Waste Systems of San Francisco is supplying the waste for the project because it already
collects restaurant leftovers for its composting operation near Vacaville. Every day, Norcal
collects 300 tons of food scraps from 2,000 restaurants in San Francisco and 150 more
restaurants in Oakland, said Chris Choate, the firm's vice president of sustainability.
"Of the waste-collection companies in the U.S., Norcal is the most aggressive recycler," Choate
said. "We pioneered collecting restaurant food scraps separately from other garbage and turning
food scraps into nutrient-rich compost that is applied to vineyards and farms as an alternative to
chemical fertilizers.
"New technology like UC Davis' offers California opportunities to harvest energy out of
approximately 50 percent of the waste material that the state currently sends to landfills and to
significantly reduce landfill disposal."
The Biogas Energy Project is one of several recent milestones in energy research and
technology transfer at UC Davis.
Ang nakasaad dito sa balita ko ay tunkol sa teknolohiyang makakapag gawa ng
enerhiya gamit ang mga kalat, lalo na ang mga tira tirang pagkain. Ang Biogas
Energy Project ay magpoproseso ng umaabot na walong toneladang kalat sa isang linggo, at
kung maaari ay magiging kasa araw ang pagproseso ng walong toneladang kalat. Ang
proyektong ito naman ay may layuning magamit ang mga kalat na nabubulok upang maging
isang pinagkukunan ng maayos na enerhiya, mapa kuryente or gasulina, at upang mabawasan

ang mga kalat sa landfills. At ang financial support ng proyekto na ito ay nakukuha galing sa
mga ilang kumpanya, upang makatulong narin na mas maging maayos ang produkto
Kinalaman sa ekonomiya: Kemistry, dahil sa nasabing proseso ay maaring maglabas ng
Oxygen pati Methane na kung saan ito ang mga ginagawang o ito mismo ang enerhiyang
ginagamit sa mga bagay bagay.
Reaksyon: Ako ay natutuwa dahil magkakaroon ng silbi ang mga nasabing mga basurang
nabubulok, sa kadahilanan naring kapag nakapag gawa na sila ng marami ng ganitong
teknolohiya, malaki ang magiging tulong nito sa ating kapaligiran at sa mataas na bayarin ng
kuryente.

1 Peter 4:10 ESV

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good

stewards of God's varied grace:
Nakasaad dito na ang mga meron tayo (maaring talento o kaalaman, kayaman) gamitin natin para
makatulong hindi lang saatin kundi para rin sa mga tao sa paligid natin, tulad ng nasa balita. Ginamit ni
Zhang ang kanyang talent at kaalaman upang makagawa ng isang teknolohiya kung saan pangkalahatan
ang epekto