Generatying Electricity from Cow Manure

Filed in archive Energy, Environment and Ecology on July 25, 2009

© pamzpix

According to US research paper "Cow Power: The Energy and Emissions Benefits of Converting Manure to Biogas" published in the Institute of Physics' Environmental Research Letters, livestock manure can be converted into a domestic renewable fuel source to generate up to three per cent of North America's electricity consumption needs.

Through anaerobic digestion, similar to the process by which you create compost, manure can be turned into energy-rich biogas, which standard microturbines can use to produce electricity. The hundreds of millions of livestock inhabiting the US could produce approximately 100 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, enough to power millions of homes and offices.

And, as manure left to decompose naturally has a very damaging effect on the environment, this new waste management system has a net potential GHG emissions reduction of 99 million metric tonnes, wiping out approximately four per cent of the country's GHG emissions from electricity production.