Turning Manure Into Power

By Gregory Mone Posted 12.19.2007 at 4:47 pm 3 Comments

A company called Environmental Power is building the country's largest facility for converting cow manure into natural gas. The company is constructing eight enormous tanks outside Stephensville, Texas, that will each be able to hold 916,000 gallons of manure. The plan: Add high-carb materials, cook to above 130 degrees Fahrenheit, and let the bacteria start converting all that refuse into methane. There's a great, detailed piece on the company's plans for turning poop into profit on Xconomy.—Gregory Mone

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3 Comments

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popsci

12/19/07 at 7:09 pm

methane digester?
if so its a great idea.
burn methane
dry manuer
use still as fertalizer or even bedding.

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popsci

12/30/07 at 2:25 am

Sure, it will abate the green house gas emissions by burning CH4 into CO2, although CO2 is still released into the air. Drying this kind of 'biosolids' is very costly and technicially challenging. Agriculture application may have its potential in the future.

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