Physics:Home Energy Resources Unit
The Home Energy Resources Unit or Home Energy Recovery Unit (HERU) is a prototype kitchen appliance which is claimed to use household waste to generate energy.[1]
Operation
Household waste, both organic and inorganic, is placed into a main chamber. Plastic and cardboard packaging as well as food waste can be inserted as fuel, and the waste does not need to be sorted or separated.[2] It then goes through an eight-hour cycle. The chamber containing the waste is heated to 100° celsius to evaporate water and remove oxygen. The temperature is then increased and pyrolysis takes place. Oxygen is then re-introduced to allow incineration of the pyrolised waste for water heating. After eight hours, a tankful of stored hot water is produced, and all plastic, cardboard and organic waste is reduced to gas and ash. The gas is then used in a domestic boiler, and the ash can be flushed safely into an ordinary sewage system. Any glass or metal waste is left in a clean state.[3][4]
History
The invention won a grant from the UK Government's Innovate UK Energy Game Changer Fund.[5] The technology won the 2017 Environment and Sustainability Group Prize of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.[6]
References
- ↑ Gregory-Kumar, David (2018-04-04). "New gadget turning waste into hot water" (in en-GB). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-43643709.
- ↑ "Machine transforms household trash into fuel". Reuters video. 2 July 2018. https://uk.mobile.reuters.com/video/2018/07/02/machine-transforms-household-trash-into?videoId=441354971&videoChannel=82.
- ↑ "New kitchen appliance turning rubbish into hot water". 4 April 2018. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-43643709.
- ↑ "Personal Incinerators Are One Man's Vision of the Future". 4 April 2018. http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2018/04/personal-incinerators-are-one-mans-vision-of-the-future/.
- ↑ "World’s first EFW hybrid boiler gets government backing". 16 March 2017. https://utilityweek.co.uk/worlds-first-efw-hybrid-boiler-gets-government-backing/.
- ↑ "Energy, Environment and Sustainability Group Prize". 16 December 2016. https://www.imeche.org/careers-education/scholarships-and-awards/energy-environment-and-sustainability-group-prize.
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