Adult diapers in Japan turned into fuel

May 3, 2010 3:33 PM PDT

by Tim Hornyak 11 comments

Can older incontinent people be a source of new energy? Absolutely, says Japanese automation firm Super Faiths. In a society where elder care is a growth industry, the company has developed a series of recycling machines that turn used diapers--a bulk of them the adult variety--into fuel for biomass boilers and stoves.

(Credit: Super Faiths) We've seen machines that recycle office reports into toilet paper. Well, Super Faith's SFD Recycle System machines address the malodorous problem of tons of used diapers from hospitals and nursing homes going into landfills or being incinerated as waste.

The machines automatically shred, dry, and sterilize used disposable diapers and turn them into bacteria-free material for making fuel pellets.

At a hospital in western Tokyo's Machida area, Super Faiths installed two SFD machines that take in a combined 1,400 pounds of used paper diapers per day. Diapers in plastic bags are dumped into the machines (see them in action from about 5:45 in the video below), which produce material for the pellets about a day later.

The fibrous material is about one-third the weight and volume of the bags of diapers. It also contains about 5,000 kcal of heat per kilogram. The material must then be separately processed into fuel pellets, which can be used to help heat roads, home interiors, or water, Super Faiths suggests.

The firm has three SFD models that can handle 330, 661, and 1,102 pounds of diapers, respectively, per day. It's unclear how much they sell for.

Production of adult diapers in Japan topped 5 billion units for the first time last year, up nearly 7 percent from 2008, according to Kyodo News. Meanwhile, production of diapers for babies was down nearly 2 percent due to the country's low birth rate.

More machines, fewer people. All they need now is a robot nurse to collect the diapers.

Comments

by HeavyJim May 3, 2010 4:34 PM PDT

Adult diapers? They need to pass them out to politicians, collect them and there would be no energy problems.
Like this Reply to this comment 3 people like this comment
by Mr_fleabite May 4, 2010 9:35 AM PDT

But when they wore them over their mouths we wouldn't be able to understand them. Or we could find a way to capture all the hot air at every press event and use that too.

and since no one else said it yet....
Holy Crap.
Like this 3 people like this comment
by jpmays May 3, 2010 6:29 PM PDT

I take issue with the phrase "adult diapers!" I prefer the term "adult briefs".
Like this Reply to this comment by derek0198 May 4, 2010 7:39 PM PDT

Why take issue, they are what they are. Diapers
Like this 1 person likes this comment
by highlander2000 May 4, 2010 7:59 AM PDT

This is totally awesome news. My hospital needs two SFD machines. We could generate a s**t load of energy or at least a s**t load of pellets to sell.
Like this Reply to this comment 2 people like this comment
by retrogrades May 5, 2010 8:49 AM PDT

For a person residing in Japan, it is common knowledge that one has to pay to the government/local body to get rid of the daily waste one produces, i.e. garbage collection and disposal is a compulsary paid service. So, the proposed solution is, or seems that by installing an additional SFD system, the revenue generated by selling pellets balances the energy required to generate them using SFD plus the current costs of disposal. Here, price of pellets is a variable which can be decided by the hospital based on incurring costs. Basically, it replaces the (probably inefficient), "let-the-gov-take-care-of-your-waste" system by a yet-another-waste-recycling-system. Ofcourse, Co2 generation by burning pellets cannot be avoided in any case.
Like this by williambertram May 4, 2010 9:16 AM PDT

Why not baby diapers? You'd think there would be a lot more of those, since ALL babies wear diapers, and not all seniors do.
Like this Reply to this comment by allo1977 May 4, 2010 10:07 AM PDT

that stinks
Like this Reply to this comment 1 person likes this comment
by jabberwolf May 4, 2010 11:28 AM PDT

I'm both horrified but intrigued at the same time !!