[ExI] [hackers-l] LinkedIn weirdness

[Keith Henson]

"What happens to the waste after the sun as is extracted?"

It gets really dark.

Keith

On Sat, Mar 21, 2026 at 2:25 PM Guido van Rossum <guido at python.org> wrote:
>
> What happens to the waste after the sun as is extracted?
>
> --Guido (mobile)
>
>
> On Sat, Mar 21, 2026 at 13:59 Keith Henson <hkeithhenson at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> On Sat, Mar 21, 2026 at 8:13 AM Guido van Rossum <guido at python.org> wrote:
>> >
>> > Could it be that it looks like you are *burning* waste? (With toxic gases being produced,)
>> >
>> In Europe, they mostly do burn (incinerate) waste.  This makes dioxins
>> and other nasty stuff, which is hard to get out of the stack gas.
>> This process makes syngas out of the carbon in waste and steam.  The
>> gas it makes is toxic, being half CO, but after going through a power
>> turbine, the exhaust is the same as natural gas exhaust.
>>
>> Or you can run the gas through an F/T process and make liquid fuels.
>> It seems that LA trash could make about twice the fuel that LAX uses.
>> As a downside, I can see public campaigns to do your part and make
>> more trash. :-)
>>
>> Keith
>>
>> > --Guido (mobile)
>> >
>> >
>> > On Thu, Mar 19, 2026 at 15:47 Keith Henson via Hackers Discussion <hackers-l at lists.hackersconference.org> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> I posted this on LinkedIn.
>> >>
>> >> The biggest problem with renewable energy is large scale, long term storage.
>> >>
>> >> "A Victorian gas-making technology might solve this problem. About
>> >> 1860, they made gas by burning coke till it got white hot, then
>> >> shutting off the air and blowing steam through the mass of coke. This
>> >> made CO and hydrogen, which was distributed as town gas.
>> >>
>> >> "For carbon, we can use municipal waste, which is 40% carbon. For
>> >> heat, renewable electricity from wind or solar. 4 MWh will vaporize a
>> >> ton of carbon in steam, making about 11 MWh of syngas. The syngas can
>> >> be stored and then burned in a combined cycle turbine, giving over 6
>> >> MWh of electricity.
>> >>
>> >> "This scales to a rather large size. LA makes 100,000 tons per day, of
>> >> which 40% is carbon. Run 1/3rd of the day, the gasifiers could absorb
>> >> 20 GW, producing 240 GWh of syngas. This sounds like a lot until you
>> >> realize California is putting in 13 GW over the canals."
>> >>
>> >> According to LinkedIn, almost 1000 people read it, including people in
>> >> the utility industry.  There were no comments except my comment,
>> >> giving my email.  No emails.
>> >>
>> >> Is the idea so strange that people can't understand?  75 years ago,
>> >> the US made town gas from coke at a similar scale.  Is invoking
>> >> chemical reactions from the Victorian era simply rejected?
>> >>
>> >> Any thoughts on the results?  I am mystified.
>> >>
>> >> Keith
>> >>
>> >> PS March 24, I am giving a talk on this topic to the local IEEE
>> >> chapter.  If it is not closed, I will let you know.
>> >> --
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