An Indian company, Sintex, has developed a family-sized, self-contained digester that can turn food, animal, and human waste into enough biogas to satisfy a family's need for cooking and a a fertilizer as well.
Turning human waste into energy - Feb. 27, 2008
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
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6 comments:
This seems like a very interesting idea. The devil is in the details, though. Exactly how do you capture and utilize the gas? Do you have to feed the tank manually or is it attached to a septic system? Carring one's own waste by bucket probably won't be really popular in the US unless things start really getting bad. I also wonder if my neighbors would object to the smell.
Tragedy of the Commons
Those are some good points, Chief. But this appears to be a private, for-profit company, so if they are to succeed with this concept, they'll have to make it acceptable to their customers (in India, at least initially). In many more developed countries, biogas can be made as part of the waste treatment process at existing large waste treatment facilities. It really does make a lot of sense.
Yes, that is what I was thinking. It would have to be more efficient to produce it in one centralized location than many scattered all around. (I think I remember a story about this in Sweden) But for those places without great waste treatment facilities, this may really help clean up and provide a fuel source. Win-win.
Tragedy of the Commons
Absolutely. Areas in India and elswhere with human waste disposal problems and resultant disease problems would benefit greatly from a simple but effective biogas unit. It could reduce disease problems, provide fuel, and would be able to produce a valuable fertilizer as well. I understand that the leftovers from biogas production are much safer to use for fertilizer as compared to raw sewage or livestock manure.
Perhaps even in rural areas in the US, if things really start getting bad. Like you said, rather than 'wasting' it in a septic tank/field, it could be used for energy/fertilizer. I would be leery of the fertilizer part due to pathogens, of course, but if things really went bad...
Great site by the way, it's a great compliation of alternative energy. I am on a bit of an anti-anti ethanol crusade, so this is right up my alley.
Thanks for the compliment for my blog. I took a look at your "Tragedy of the Commons" blog and it is quite good--a common sense approach to energy and environment and other issues. I'm adding it to my links. I agree that we need to move beyond just corn ethanol. Cellulosic ethanol is one route. Large-scale biogas from waste and celluloic energy crops may have even greater potential than cellulosic ethanol. It could be upgraded and injected into our natural gas grid, then used in place of natural gas for power, heat, and transportation. Sweden and the UK are beginning to do this.
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