Cow Dung can be source of clean, renewable power.

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Cow Dung can be source of clean, renewable power

24 Jul, 2008, 1257 hrs IST, IANS

 

WASHINGTON: Cow dung can generate enough power to meet three per cent of North

America's entire energy needs and cut down greenhouse gas emissions. Cow dung,

left to decompose naturally, emits two particularly potent greenhouse gas

emissions (GHGs) - nitrous oxide and methane.

 

Nitrous oxide warms the atmosphere 310 times more than carbon dioxide, methane

does so 21 times more, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

Change (IPCC).

 

The study creates two hypothetical scenarios and quantifies them to compare

energy savings and GHG reducing benefits. The first is " business as usual " with

coal burnt for energy and with manure left to decompose naturally.

 

The second is one where manure is anaerobically digested to create biogas and

then burnt to offset coal.

 

Through anaerobic digestion, similar to the process by which compost is created,

manure can be turned into energy-rich biogas, which standard micro-turbines can

use to produce electricity.

 

Hundreds of millions of livestock inhabiting the US could produce approximately

100 billion KW 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 power production.

 

The burning of biogas would lead to the emission of some carbon dioxide but the

output from biogas-burning plants would be less than that from, for example,

coal.

 

Michael E. Webber and Amanda D. Cuellar from the University of Texas at Austin,

co-authors of the paper wrote that in light of the criticism levelled against

bio-fuels, biogas production from manure has the less-controversial benefit of

reusing an existing waste source and has the potential to improve the

environment.

 

These findings were published Thursday in the Institute of Physics'

Environmental Research Letters. 

 

 

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