A heater that uses domestic waste to keep rooms warm

ABU DHABI — An Arab expatriate has developed a machine that converts domestic waste into energy to keep houses warm during winter and produce warm water for daily use.

by

Nissar Hoath

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Published: Sun 16 Jan 2011, 11:59 PM

Last updated: Thu 2 Apr 2015, 5:46 AM

“With this technology, you can save 90 per cent of the electricity used to heat the water for bath and washing or keep the room heat,” said Alex Bashara, who has been living in the UAE for 23 years, running his own businesses.

The 58-year-old Egyptian said the entire idea was conceived from gas-run home heater, barbecue grill and sheesha.

The businessman, who runs a wedding services company in the Capital, said: “It all began a year ago when I was having coffee in a Cairo cafe during a chilled winter when the waiter brought a gas-run heater to warm the cafe up.

“I realised the heat was far lower than that is generated by a nearby barbecue grill. The next day I went to my workshop and drew a plan, and within days developed the heater producing warm air with burning waste. But there was problem with the smoke. Then it struck me that I could use sheesha technology to reduce the smoke.”

Bashara, father of two university-going boys, said the technology was simple. The machine has a burning chamber, two tunnels – one supplying water and the other, air. The chamber is provided with oxygen through a third tunnel to keep the fire running. In addition, it also has several water chambers to filter the smoke to minimise the CO2 emission before it is released into the air. The self-taught scientist further added: “I call it an Arab World invention, and I’m introducing it to coincide with the future energy summit here in Abu Dhabi, where I wished to exhibit it but could not due to some circumstances. I have already patented the invention in Egypt,” he said.

Bashara said it was an environment-friendly machine converting waste into energy with almost no CO2 emission. He further added the model can provide both heat air and hot water for at least two apartments or a villa.

“The technology can be further enhanced to heat and provide warm water to an entire high-rise building with all the waste generated in the building used as fuel. All kinds of dry waste, except glass and metals can be used to convert them into energy. With additional chamber of drying wet wastes, all the other wastes like left-over food can be used as fuel,” the Egyptian businessman explained.

He has designed a plan where apartment building residents can throw their home-generated waste through especially designed chutes that go directly to the burning chamber. With specially-designed pipe networks, all the apartments can be provided with both hot air and hot water without using electricity.

Another good thing about the technology, Bashara added, was the end waste in the form of ashes would be only ten per cent of the waste used as fuel. “Even that end-waste or the ashes can be recycled for other products such as a kind of plaster.”

“The technology can also be re-modified to convert waste into electricity, run a vehicle or a desalination plant,” Bashara concluded.


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