40 



Mr. Emery. Do you expect that the economics of scale is going to 

 have something to do with the cost? 



Dr. Flowers. Yes, sir. 



Mr. Emery. Do you think when you have a commercial scale that 

 the cost will drop commercially? 



Dr. Flowers. We believe that a larger scale is certainly more 

 cost effective than a smaller one. A small one would not be cost 

 effective, and an integrated system is the most cost effective. 



Mr. Emery. You have testified about a very interesting project 

 and I wish you all success. I do want to ask you a couple of other 

 questions relating to other terminologies to determine whether you 

 have looked at them or if you have any interest or desire of 

 pursuing them. 



Specifically using municipal solid waste, or any solid waste or 

 gas recovery or sewage. 



Have you looked at those alternatives? 



Dr. Flowers. Yes, we have to consider doing that as a separate 

 individual project. We have elected at this time to put the majority 

 of our dollars, of course, in the marine farm program. 



However, there is a project currently underway at Disney World 

 which is funded by EPA and Walt E. Disney Productions. We have 

 looked at that. We have given a proposal to WED for involvement 

 of GRI in that program, of which we would first take the sewage 

 sludge that is produced at Disney World and optimize its conver- 

 sion to methane. 



We would take the water hyacinths that they are presently using 

 to clean up the secondary effluent of that system and convert that 

 to methane, and then we would try mixtures of those two to try to 

 optimize it. 



Also, the University of Arizona is enriching the water hyacinth 

 using CO2. So we would plan then to look at the CO2 product 

 coming out of the digester along with the methane to check its 

 recycle value to the water hyacinth to increase productivity. 



So, yes, we have given them a proposal on that. We hope it will 

 be acted on favorably and that we will be involved in that by as 

 early as next month. 



Mr. Emery. Just as an editorial comment, I would say, as I am 

 sure you are very much aware, we have a massive problem in this 

 country with waste disposal, whether it is liquid waste from a 

 sewer system or solid municipal waste. 



It has just occurred to me that if we could ever find a way to 

 utilize that tremendous waste material as a resource, find a way to 

 recover potable drinking water from it, or to recover useful energy, 

 or industrial chemicals or whatever we would find that our ability 

 to handle the waste problem and ability to supply some of our 

 other needs would be very much enhanced; I personally would 

 encourage you and others who are interested in this particular 

 arena to spend a lot of time studying the feasibility of various 

 alternatives. I hope to see you here sometime in the not too distant 

 future with another project wherein you solve some of our ocean 

 dumping problems and waste disposal problems for us. I think that 

 would be welcomed with open arms. 



I thank you very much for a fine presentation and appreciate 

 your coming here today. 



