Japan turns to adult diapers for fuel

Japan’s population is getting older.  Their birth rate has declined, and with that, a drop in production of baby diapers.  But conversely, the production of adult diapers has risen seven percent in just two years, hitting 5 billion units last year.  Leave it to Japan to turn an increase in adult diaper waste into a great fuel making opportunity.

Enter Japanese company Super Faiths who has created their SFD Recycle System machine that automatically shreds, dries and sterilizes dirty diapers from hospitals and nursing homes, and turns them into fuel pellets. These bacteria-free pellets can then be used in biomass boilers and stoves for home or water heating.

Unlike the diaper-recycling plants that exist in Europe, these machines can be installed directly at the source.  A hospital in Tokyo has two machines that process a total of 1,400 pounds of disposable diapers a day.  It takes a day for the diapers to become fuel material.

Super Faiths has three different sized models that can process from 330 to 1,102 pounds of diapers a day.

via CNET

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