letters Methane from waste
DEARSIR: The individual problems of short supply of methane, organic waste disposal, and nonuse of solar energy mentioned by Mills, Perry, and Johnson (ES&T, January 1971, page 30) may together be their own solution. Organic wastes are the chemical form of solar energy. A small amount of that solar energy is now converted to methane in the anaerobic digestion of sewage. If the 1.5 billion tons (Mills, Perry, and Johnson’s article contains the misprint million) of agricultural and urban organic wastes was treated by anaerobic digestion, it would create 10l3 ft3 of methane annually. This amount is about half of the current U.S. consumption, is worth several billion dollars, and is a renewable energy source. An additional and not inconsequential advantage is that the mass of solid waste would be reduced by more than half, yet would be as biodegradable as the original solid waste. Anaerobic digestion is apparently a ticklish operation, but solid wastes could be fed so as to stabilize the feed rate and at least reduce that problem. Since solid organic waste is cellulose-rich but nutrient-poor, the sludge formed could have the effect of extracting nitrogen, phosphate, and other nutrients. Anaerobic digestion of solid organic wastes would involve no new technology and offers the possibility of making waste disposal pay. This sounds suspiciously like a panacea, but I believe that it bears some consideration. Hinrich Bohn Dept. of Agricultural Chemistry and Soils University of Arizona Tucson, Ariz. 85721 No credit for
NO monitor
DEARSIR: I am concerned about the Currents item on page 15 of the January 1971 issue of ES&T which appears to suggest that Ford has recently developed a nitric oxide (NO) and ozone ( O s ) monitor based on the homogeneous chemiluminescent reaction between these gases. Similar misinformation has appeared in a number of other leading scien-
tific news media and appears to originate with a public relations branch of the Ford Motor Co. In fact, this monitor was first developed a few years ago by my group at AeroChem under contract with the National Air Pollution Control Administration. Continuous air pollution monitors based on the NO/ O3 chemiluminescent gas reaction are available commercially. It should further be mentioned that, simultaneously with our work, Dr. Snyder’s group at Monsanto has been developing (also with NAPCA support) a monitor to measure total NO, (NO NO,) concentrations, based on the reactions of oxygen atoms with these compounds. Arthur Fontijn AeroChern Research Laboratories, Inc. P.O. Box 12 Princeton. N . J . 08540
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Environmental manpower needs
DEARSIR: I The article on “Manpower for environmental protection” (ES&T, April 1971, page 314) reminded me of an article in the March 1967 issue of Scientific Research entitled “Shortage of physicists threatens as demand rises.” Three years later, the New York Times (April 26, 1970, page 50) reported that “Young physicists find fewer jobs -a state of emergency for new Ph.D.’s reported.” I am therefore very skeptical of your predictions, particularly those in regard to the paraprofessional manpower needs. Last year we attempted to establish an Environmental Technology program at Corning Community College, but our survey of prospective employers (private companies and state and local health agencies) revealed, at the most, 10 possible openings. The coup de grace was delivered by a state agency that declared it had more applicants than jobs. Because of the lack of job opportunities, we postponed the establishment of the Environmen-
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The Chemviron plan works like this: 1. A Calgon environmental specialist works with your plant personnel to establish a water-sampling and fact-finding program. 2. Water samples are analyzed and data evaluated. 3. After all data have been correlated, the Calgon specialist visits the plant to review the findings. 4. Calgon recommends corrective measures where required. 5. You get additional periodic analyses and reports as needed. What is most important, you know the scope of your pollution problem, if one exists. You have a n order of priorities in correcting problems so you will be able to avoid costly crash programs. You have a record for future discussions with regulatory agencies. The Chemviron plan can start working in two weeks. Phone Lloyd Kline at (412) 923-2345 or write Environmental Engineering Department, Calgon Corporation, Calgon Center, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15230.
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Volume 5, Number 7, July 1971 573
