Biogasifica Tion of Municipal Solid Wastes

This is a rather interesting and ingenious experi­ mental laboratory approach to handling the organic fraction of municipal solid waste. Since this organic fraction is the portion that is putrescible, it presents a special disposal problem. Once segregated, it might be usefully disposed in the manner sug­ gested. However, much separation and preparation are required to obtain the organic fraction, and the question is: "Will this be done on a large enough scale to make its adaptation practical?" These laboratory experiments seem to prove that the organic fraction of municipal solid waste can be anaerobically digested and produce energy in the form of methane gas. The only other question is: "What would the authors consider to be the probability of extrapolating these results up to a large scale, cost effective disposal means for this organic fraction with the production methane gas?" Once again, my congratulations to the authors on a well-presented paper.