The 'Cousins'

Ch 97(E)- Finishing Off At Ma Tooleys, Pt. 2

CHAPTER NINETY-SEVEN (Echo) Part 2

"Would that be stage three?" Greg interrupted drily.

"It would. But let's stay with stage two for now. I can see it's time I talked a bit about methane. Methane is the same gas as natural gas. That's the gas piped into our homes and was made under the earth's crust over millions of years by the very same bugs we use in our digesters. It's all perfectly natural. Only difference is our units let the bugs get the job done quicker."

Wayne paused to look around and make sure the group was still up with him as far as their understanding was concerned. He stepped away from the table and paced slowly up and down the room and resumed talking.

"Methane is a hydro-carbon, just like propane, butane and gasoline are hydro-carbons. Each of these compounds is made up of different ratios of hydrogen to carbon in their molecules and that's what makes them different products. Sometimes their chemical make-up is very similar, maybe only one atom more of carbon in one or one atom more of hydrogen in another, but the resulting product is very different from the others. Each molecule of methane is made up of one atom of carbon fused with four atoms o' hydrogen. Methane is also the gas given off by decomposition. ...Anytime anything biological rots down, methane is given off. And unless the gas is captured and used in a process, it rises in the atmosphere as one o' those greenhouse gases you hear about that's spoiling the climate. ...There are other bad greenhouse gases out there like nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulphide to name four and they buddy up together along with methane to give us the extremes of weather we are getting in recent years.

Methane is the most abundant and a most useful gas to us. If burned in a furnace or internal combustion engine it will give us power and heat."

"Pardon me, but I thought you said burnin' it gives off carbon dioxide, don't that make things worse fer the atmosphere?"

Greg intervened. "It does Walt, but not so much as if it was the pure methane that went directly into the atmosphere."

Walt looked from Wayne to Walt and back again and his face blossomed. "I see you know a bit about this already Greg. That's good, 'cos I can cut down this talk and let us get to our beds sooner." He stifled a mock yawn and turned towards Walt.

"Greg's right Walt, these gases are not equal in the damage they do to the environment. On its own, methane is one nasty gas and in its pure state does twenty-three times more damage to the environment than carbon dioxide when they're released into the atmosphere. ...By taking the energy out of the methane first and then releasing to atmosphere the carbon dioxide residue created in the process, we are being twenty-three times more beneficial to reducing climate change than just letting the methane go in the first place. Plus we get the energy and heat from it. As for what's left behind; it's a slurry we rake out of the digester at the end of the process. When dried it's a valuable soil enhancer and fertilizer selling to gardeners in 20lb plastic pails for ten bucks a throw."

Greg whistled in admiration. "That's $100 a short ton for what's left over after processing."

"And that's all profit, less the cost of the pails and the transport to market. " Wayne added with a warm smile.

Greg shook his head. "Doing this is a no-brainer." The enthusiasm in Greg's voice gave testimony to his growing enthusiasm for the project and it pleased Wayne. 'I do believe I have me my CEO.'

Ma cut in.

"Well diddle me doodahs an' there was me ah thinkin' all along these greenhouse gases wuz all the same in harmfulness. That there methane is twenty-three times more harmful you said Mr. Fisher."