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Cow Manure --> Electricity

Posted by michael on from the cow-power dept.

jmtpi writes "ABCNews has a story about a dairy farm in Minnesota that uses its cow manure to generate enough electricity to power the farm plus 80 homes and create fertilizer. There's also a more detailed story."

5 of 513 comments (clear)

  1. Re:pollution? by Kris+Warkentin · · Score: 5, Informative

    > I'm sure burning this stuff will be creating
    > lots of pollution, oh well earth has to end
    > some day

    No, this is BURNING the pollution. Methane is the pollution produced from rotting cow manure. Burning it reduces it to heat, water and carbon dioxide. Much less harmful to the environment.

    --

    In Soviet Russia, hot grits put YOU down THEIR pants.
  2. Re:This is supposed to be news? by vortmax(OU) · · Score: 5, Informative

    Not to mention Heifer Project International has been teaching folks in the Third World(tm) how to do this for years on a small scale, mostly for cooking and heating fuel. Some livestock manure, a metal barrel with a lid, some water, and a rubber hose to siphon off the gas. Cheap, and efficient!

    --


    Cole's Axiom: The sum of intelligence on the planet is a constant. The population is growing
  3. Biogas power generation around for decades. by jfisherwa · · Score: 5, Informative

    China and India have been at the forefront of biogas power production for decades.

    In 1979, China had an estimated 7.2 million biogas plants, fueled primarily by pig manure.

    In the same year, India had 80,000 of its own biogas plants fueled by the defecation of the sacred cow. (Holy Shit!)

    They've even been doing this in the US for quite some time. Here is another article that provides an excellent explanation of the process, costs, and capabilities of such a system.

  4. Re:Human waste by ax_johnson · · Score: 5, Informative

    Well, IAARCE (I am a Registered Civil Engineer), and yes, this does work with human waste. In fact, it's probably being used at your local wastewater treatment plant now to power their pumps and such. It's as very common way to reduce -or eliminate - electricity costs at treatment plants.

    It also works at landfills. Methane is extracted from the landfill, and used to turn generators. The electricity is fed into the power grid, and the power company pays the landfill operator (usually the county) for the juice. Here in Northern California, the power company (Pacific Graft & Extortion - AKA PG&E) is legally required to purchase the power.

    -Ax

  5. In India,this is not new.... by whazzy · · Score: 5, Informative
    ...at all...More than 2 million biogas plants have been built in India so far.This was more in line with Mahatma Gandhi's vision of self sufficient communities,sustaining their needs from the local environment.

    You can learn more about it here: BioGas in India