2014 Summer Intern Project Profile 2014 Summer Intern Austin Breunig’s project is a lot more than personal. He took his interest in sustainability to improve our practices in Panama City. This summer, Austin planned and built a bio-digester that is already working to provide energy for the Hispania house. As an intern, Austin developed a project that can be implemented at all venues, even on a larger scale in the valley. Austin states, Simply put, waste from one entity is another’s energy. To be able to harness this cyclical power, is the definition of sustainable practice and should be implemented in the infrastructure of how businesses, communities, and individual homes are built. The digester takes the biomass and captures biogas. This gas could be used to burn stovetops or power a generator to produce electricity. Anaerobic digestion is where microorganisms break down biodegradable material without the presence of oxygen. When the bacteria breakdown the organic material, gas is the waste product. This biogas is a mix between carbon dioxide and methane. This gas can be held and used as a natural and renewable source of energy. This is the epitome of zero-waste! By implementing a bio-digester in Hispania, we will not only be able to compost most if not all of our organic material, but also provide a stepping-stone for further implementation of this design in the valley. Austin notes, “The bio-digester will substantially reduce our carbon footprint and I hope that eventually we will be able to implement all of the other integral parts that go into zero-waste inside the Valley and divert all of our waste back into our “off-the-grid” community.”
Posted on: Mon, 28 Jul 2014 16:24:03 +0000
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