Israelis Developing Alternatives to Arab Oil

February 1, 2006

Another company, Genova Ltd., is also working on alternatives to Arab oil. The company has signed an agreement with an olive press in the village of Julis, in the Galilee, to establish a small facility to produce electricity from the waste from olive pressing. The facility is slated to produce an estimated 200 kilowatts of power, enough to provide 70 homes with power. It will also provide for the disposing of olive waste formed during oil production, which has posed an environmental hazard until now.

Genova’s method heats the waste to temperatures over 1500oF (816oC). The waste is transformed into a flammable gas, which when burned is environmentally friendly, releases no greenhouse gases, and causes no damage to the earth’s ozone layer. The gas operates an electricity-generating turbine. The company hopes to market the product, which will be small enough to fit on a countertop, to other olive-oil producing countries such as Spain and Italy.

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