Strange

The power of bananas revealed

by robinm | January 20, 2008 at 03:22 pm

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The thought of powering your house on banana waste may sound a little unrealistic, but, two years ago, UQ researcher, Associate Professor Bill Clarke, proved it was a possibility.

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cynthia yoo

at 15:27 on January 20th, 2008

The idea of a "bladder" reactor buried deep in the earth to create energy, geez...hilarity!

Further from the original source:

While extracting methane from bananas is technically possible, it is no simple task.
“Methane is produced by loading the bananas into an air tight reactor, with careful control of pH and, ideally, temperature.
“The Australian Banana Growers' Association have built a pilot scale bladder reactor which sits in an excavation in the ground.
“The bladder contains the bananas and biogas,” Dr Clarke said.
Biogas is the combination of methane and carbon dioxide and is the name given to fuel derived from organic matter.
It is the biogas produced from bananas which could potentially be used as an alternative energy source, Dr Clarke said.

Jordan Yerman

at 16:13 on January 20th, 2008

I just like the idea of a "banana drive" to power future vehicles. I know, I'm sort of making fun, but I'm also fascinated by the finding of fuel from the everyday things that surround us.