Economic Opportunity Mailing List Archive

["James BISCOE" <<address removed>>]

There have been various contributions about water.

There is I believe, in the developing world as well as the developed world, 
great scope for closing the water cycle.
Presently large amounts of water get flushed (literally) down the sewage 
systems daily and nightly and result in pollution of waterways, seas, lakes and 
land.

Known technologies using anaerobic digestion of sewage on an industrial scale 
are known and tested. Using such technologies allows the sewage to be 
reprocessed such that gas is produced which can be used as fuel for running 
pumps and generators or even motor vehicles, or preferably in the not too 
distant future fuel cells.
The sludge is clean enough bacteriologically to allow its use as fertiliser on 
food crops, and it does not smell or attract flies.
The water, once treated with Ultra Violet light can be returned to the 
reticulaton. 
Urban areas are expanding everywhere.
Populations are expanding everywhere.
Fertiliser is ever more expensive.
Water is in short supply and expensive
Gas as fuel is in short supply and imported in most cases.
Using sewage to produce gas, sludge and recycled water (I believe Thames water 
is recycled 10 times along its length from source to the sea) is a serious 
economic opportunity whereby the waste problem of sewage can generate revenue 
particularly as an import substitute  for some fuel and some fertiliser. Can 
DfID not seek ways and means to promote the best use of this widely available 
natural resource?

LAND FILL    

Technologies using thermophillic composting are being promoted to utilise 
municipal waste as a source of recycled products such as glass, tin cans and, 
most importantly, fertiliser.
Can DfID take a role in promoting these technologies such that waste is put to 
productive use?
Thank you
James Biscoe
1/5/04
1715hrs