Written by Rima Youssif
Translated by Rasha Zantout
NNA - The dilemma of all types of waste is not only a Lebanese one, but also an international one. However, up till the present moment Lebanon has not been able to dispose of the environmental damage and health problems that waste causes, especially to those who live nearest to landfills. And despite their calls to officials, they have not been able to save themselves from the deadly effects of garbage.
Lebanon recently passed through a crisis concerning waste disposal that almost turned into an epidemic in Beirut and Mount Lebanon when the people of Nahmeh, whose health and environment suffered from the landfill in the region, closed off access to the dump to Sukleen Company. This crisis did not end with the agreement made to keep the landfill active only until 2015. The waste problem is a ticking time bomb expected to blow off again if promises made by the government were not kept.
The Lebanese will not stand by as their health is compromised, whether at their homes, streets or place of work.
From Garbage to Coal
Professor of chemical physics and environmental engineering, Dr. Jamil Rima, has possibly invented a new technique, patented and registered as RPC at the Ministry of Economy, that could transform garbage into coal - crude carbon- in fifteen minutes. This coal could then be used as fuel for factories. A smaller prototype of this machine will be tried tomorrow from nine in the morning till noon in Sassine Square.
Rima told the NNA that said technique depends on three elements: Heat, up to 400 degrees Celsius; BAR 10 pressure; and a catalyst.
"After 15 minutes of heating, it is possible to transform all organic material, except for glass and iron, to carbon. The fumes will then fly into the atmosphere without causing any environmental pollution and the material inside will disintegrate and allow all carbon linked matter to separate and turn into water and then coal," explained the professor.
"The result is guaranteed a 100% and is a 100% environmentally friendly. The importance of this invention is its ability to treat household garbage, hospital waste, expired medications, and slaughterhouse waste, all of which are issues of current contention."
Rima added to NNA that he might send a machine that can hold up to three and a half tons to south Lebanon. This machine can process the waste of a region inhabited by a hundred thousand people. And the price of this machine is very affordable value-wise. He estimated the amount of garbage Lebanon produces daily as four thousand tons. Thus, each region would require a hundred of his machines.
"Soil and concrete companies require 400 tons of fuel, but if they use 800 tons of coal they can save a lot of money. For instance, a company may need a thousand dollars worth of fuel a day for one ton; while the price of a ton of our coal will cause only fifty dollars. This is a massive saving economically and environmentally while saving us from waste."
This machine is going to be manufactured in Lebanon under Rima's supervision. Its length does not exceed six meters, with a width of a 160 cm which could be fitted into a 200 meter hangar.
The marketing director of the machine, General Manager at iMED Christian Cremona, considered this invention as pivotal and needed to be demonstrated to the general public so that they know about it. Though the machine works on diesel at the moment, it is expected to work later on on the very coal it produces.
"Three waste transforming operations will take place at the demonstration on Thursday, each will take between 40 and 45 minutes," said Cremona.
Innovation is the ability to look at the usual from an unusual perspective. An innovator from my country was able to transform black into white, as have many others with their personal initiatives. The question that remains is, where do officials stand from all that?
====================R.Z.
