A system that generates energy from rubbish is being sent by defence firm Qinetiq to the US army.
The PyTEC system heats mixed waste, releasing a gas that can be burned to produce five times more energy than is required to drive the system.
Qinetiq say that the system, already in use on British navy ship HMS Ocean, has been "containerised" for US army use.
The approach could see use in urban areas, reducing municipal waste volume by 95% while producing energy.
The process hinges on pyrolysis, in which waste subjected to high temperatures releases combustible gases.
In essence it is the same process that happens above a match; heating of the wood releases gases that burn in the presence of oxygen, producing the visible flame.
In pyrolysis, the heating occurs in the absence of oxygen, and the released gases are gathered and stored for later use.
This is in contrast to simple incineration or gasification - another energy-from-waste approach that heats particular kinds of waste in the presence of oxygen to create combustible gases.
Typically, such systems require that the waste be of a singular type, and diced up before entering the gasification chamber.
source/full story: news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8290130 .stm
