By Clay Dillow Posted 03.28.2012 at 12:13 pm 8 Comments

The Denver Zoo's Poo-Powered Rickshaw Denver Zoo

Teddy Roosevelt famously said “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” The folks at the Denver Zoo must have thought he was talking crap. The zoo happens to have a lot of animal dung on hand where it is, and via its own patent-pending gasification tech it is doing what it can, introducing a poo-powered rickshaw that turns animal waste and human trash into mobility.

The rickshaw was purchased from Thailand and modified to run on gasified pellets created by the zoo’s own technology. Those pellets, composed of animal waste and garbage generated by human visitors and zoo staff, aren’t just powering the rickshaw, but will be used to generate power at the zoo’s upcoming 10-acre elephant exhibit. Eventually, the zoo thinks it will be able to turn 90 percent of its waste into energy, making use not only of the copious amounts of animal poo it has on hand but also eliminating some 1.5 million pounds of annual garbage waste that previously went into landfills.

The gasification technology was designed by three full-time zoo employees working with a little help here and there from the National Renewable Energy Lab in nearby Boulder, as well as a few other companies and agencies. So it’s a home-grown, DIY system that could presumably be exported to other zoos and anywhere else animal waste is in abundance and energy is needed. This particular rickshaw has already been exported, landing at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in Palm Desert, Calif., this week.

[HuffPo]

8 Comments

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rosen380
03/28/12 at 1:06 pm

The seats should be toilets... :)

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ZCXCD
03/28/12 at 1:36 pm

The vehicle in the picture is the ubiquitous tuk-tuk ... pronounced "took-took" in Thai. They are famous for killing tourists as well as Thais. The vehicle does NOT belong on our streets but it's a great idea for golf-cart type applications where traffic safety is less of an issue. I'm fascinated with the fuel technology and hope it can be adapted for larger vehicles.

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Space
03/28/12 at 3:51 pm

As this little car goes put put down the road, in reality it really is going put put down the road, lol.

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See life in all its beautiful colors, and
from different perspectives too!

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empjag
03/28/12 at 8:53 pm

@rosen380 I chuckled at that comment. Thanks for the laugh.

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quasi44
03/30/12 at 7:53 pm

Zoo operation in this country is usually even worse, if you can imagine that, than the average municipal or government project. Anything that can be done to bring down cost has to be done if we want to be able to save any of the newest creatures that have been 'selected for extinction' by man. BUT PLEASE!!! Don't mandate it, because that just ensures that any benefit we might have enjoyed be crushed under all-encompassing BS that always seems to leave us worse off than we were before the cost saving advance.

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Sciencegrl
04/02/12 at 11:26 am

@aroria and @Space I love your animated profile picture!!!

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tinbon434
05/28/12 at 8:58 pm

Solar panels and products should be more affordable. I found a really good web site that has variety of solar products for business, home and garden. soldonsolars.com



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