Newest energy source: cow patties

[Fledermaus]

The covered lagoon, or "digester," is the size of nearly five football fields and about 33 feet deep. It is lined with plastic to protect the groundwater, and the cover, made of high density polyethylene, is held down at the edges by concrete. The digester's cover was sunken into the lagoon recently, and officials said it would be taut and raised in a few days as the gas collects underneath it.

Weights on top of the digester channel the gas to the small facility where it is "scrubbed" of hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide. The end product is "close to 99% pure methane" according to BioEnergy Chief Operating Officer Thomas Hintz.

Once it is treated, the gas is injected into PG&E's pipeline, where it will be shipped to a power plant in Northern California.

"With nearly 2 million dairy cows in California, the potential is great," said Roy Kuga, vice president of energy supply for San Francisco-based PG&E. The company has a partnership with another company, Microgy, which is setting up biogas projects at three California dairies.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cows10apr10,1,5732643.story

BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Puget Sound Energy (the utility subsidiary of Puget Energy (NYSE:PSD)) today announced the company has reached a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Farm Power Northwest, LLC, of Skagit County to develop a dairy digester facility to produce electric power from manure, a technology that holds the promise of both an environmentally friendly energy source and a benefit to local dairy farmers and the Skagit County economy.

PSE, in conjunction with Farm Power founders Kevin and Daryl Maas of Mount Vernon, signed the agreement as a first step toward generation of up to 1.5 megawatts (MW) of electric power – enough to meet the needs of 1,000 households or a city the size of La Conner. Under the agreement, PSE will purchase electricity generated by Farm Power as well as the associated renewable energy credits resulting from the renewable energy source.

In addition to the expected 1.5 MW of electricity, by-products will include sanitary bedding for use with dairy cattle and a more environmentally compatible liquid fertilizer to be stored in the farms’ holding lagoons. Compared with unprocessed manure, the nitrogen in this liquid is easier for plants to absorb and is less likely to mix with rain runoff.

http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080424005445&newsLang=en

Operating a successful dairy farm in America's Dairyland may not seem newsworthy to many Wisconsinites, but innovators tend to get noticed.

Last year the Crave Brothers -- Charles, George, Thomas and Mark -- installed an anaerobic digestion system that generates electricity from the farm's 750 Holsteins' organic waste.

That's right; the cows' manure produces enough energy to not only power the entire Waterloo farm, but also the neighboring cheese plant, Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese, and 20 area homes. The Craves' is only one of a few farms in Wisconsin utilizing this renewable source of clean and sustainable energy.

So far it's had a tremendous impact on the farm's productivity and carbon footprint.

"The main advantages for the farm is for the nutrient management of the manure, meaning that the manure is recycled to the fields as a higher quality fertilizer," says Debbie Crave, wife of George and Farmstead Cheese's vice president.

"There is also reduced odor, and the recycled manure waste fibers make an excellent bedding for the cows. Because we recycle the manure back to the land, we do not need to purchase outside commercial fertilizers."

http://onmilwaukee.com/visitors/articles/cravebrosfarm.html?15010

[MADem]

1. Why can't we do the same damn thing with PEOPLE shit? Really?

The Japanese use peopleshit as fertilizer all the time. Perhaps our waste treatment plants could be co-located with our energy distribution plants.

An old and beloved relative of mine used to say to anyone spinning a yarn: If bullshit were electricity, you'd be a powerhouse!!

Perhaps we all are, in our own way, powerhouses?

[Fledermaus]

3. I saw the same thing in germany.

I lived in a small rural village for two years. They had a small sewage treatment plant and once a year they drained the holding pond. People would come and shovel the dry sludge out and use it as fertilizer.

[MADem]

4. Well, I think it's a fine idea, and we ought to find a way to include the crap we humans shovel!

Another kick, I hope more folk see this! Thank you for posting it.

[izquierdista]

5. Have you visited your local turd farm?

Many cities are already using cogeneration. Call up your local sewage treatment plant and find out what they are doing.

[kristopher]

7. Be careful what you ask for.

First, a slight correction - Japan no longer uses human wastes on their fields.

The basic idea of creating methane is an old one and I believe it may be more widely used than we realize, even here in the US.

The problem with using the sludge from waste treatment plants is that there is too much stuff in there other than human waste and because of the way of processing, heavy metals tend to concentrate in the sludge. So using it for fields cultivated for human consumption is, in all cases I know of, specifically not recommended.

In fact, the sludge is often disposed of by spraying it on fields that aren't cultivated for human consumption. Such fields often are treated as a toxic dump site, although I think the designation is more precautionary that predictive. It requires soe fairly rigorous testing for contaminants before switching land use in a disposal area.

[Fledermaus]

9. "Dillo DirtTM" is a compost made by the City of Austin since 1989

If you know Austin, you will not be surprised to learn that it was the first program of it's kind in the state and one of the oldest in the nation. All yard trimmings collected curbside across the City as well as some of our treated sewage sludge are combined and composted to create Dillo DirtTM. The heat generated in composting (130 to 170 degrees fahrenheit) is sufficient to virtually eliminate human and plant pathogens. After active composting for over a month, our compost is "cured" for several months, then screened to produce finished Dillo DirtTM.

Dillo DirtTM easily meets all Texas and EPA requirements for "unrestricted" use, which even includes vegetable gardens, if you desire. Like many other composts, Dillo DirtTM has many benefits to the soil and plants. Composts add to the organic matter in the soil, reducing watering. Organic matter feeds the microbes in the soil as well as plants, making a more healthy environment. Dillo DirtTM is made from totally recycled materials, and this recycling is less expensive to citizens than landfilling these materials.

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/water/dillo.htm

[Fledermaus]

14. Recycling Biosolids and More

The key to recycling nutrients is to keep industrial contaminants out of the nutrient
stream. Don't ever flush paint thiner, oil or other stuff down your toilet.

If only every city in the US could do the same as Austin.

Austin’s stringent pretreatment program requires that local
industries and businesses treat or remove contaminants
from their wastewater before it is discharged into the City’s
wastewater treatment system. This program ensures that
Austin’s wastewater meets all state and EPA requirements for
safe recycling and reuse of treated biosolids. Biosolids are the
nutrient rich solids reclaimed from the millions of gallons of
wastewater that the Utility’s wastewater plants treat every day.
All biosolids are pumped to Hornsby Bend where they are
treated and recycled.

However,Hornsby Bend recycles more than just biosolids. All water from the
biosolids treatment process is recycled for irrigation of onsite farm hay
fields after treatment in a 185-acre pond system. Methane gas
produced in the biosolids treatment process is burned to
generate electricity, and heat from the generators is captured
and used for the anaerobic digestion process. All of Austin’s
yard trimmings are brought to Hornsby Bend rather than the
landfill, so that they can be recycled through composting
with the biosolids. This recycling results in cost savings for
the citizens of Austin.

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/water/downloads/hornsbybendbro.pdf

[MADem]

2. Oh, and here's my KICK to go with my REC! nt

[MelissaB]

6. Here's mine, but it needs one more.

:kick:

[MADem]

8. HELLO, anyone...BUEHLER?? One more? NT

[bananas]

11. #5 nt

[MADem]

12. Yay, your avatar would be proud...! nt

[LiberalEsto]

10. They could power the whole White House

and probably the entire DC area with the horseshit from Bushco.

[MADem]

13. If bullshit were electricity, it would be a powerhouse!! NT

[diane in sf]

15. Cow patties are a pretty classic source of energy--whole villages in India are

covered in drying cow patties which they use for cooking and heat. They are plastered all over the walls in the sun with little handprints all over them. Not the most efficient use though so hopefully they'll get technology to harvest the methane soon.