Monday, October 11, 2010

Human waste as a source of alternative energy


With all the latest buzz these days about renewable energies like solar and wind power, even harness the energy of the waves of the ocean, an often neglected energy source is right under our nose, so to speak: human waste. It may be not as appealing or pleasant as alternatives, but human waste energy generation could be the most important of all. World population is increasing every day with demand of energy and resources, and resources become scarcer and more AWE. The only potential resource which will increase proportionate to the population is our own waste. Stool and urine are abundant and available everywhere where there is human. Currently the huge amounts of energy from the combustion of fossil fuels, and clean water (often) are used to handle the products of such waste. New projects in toilets, harvest of biogas, creation of biofuels and fuel cells even microbial composting could help reverse the cycle and take advantage of this untapped resource.

Although sceptics think composting toilet will never succeeded in the Western world, new technologies as well as the former are used to solve two problems: how to deal with our waste and produce enough food without poisoning ourselves and our environment with expensive chemical fertilizers. The next generation of composting toilets, such as that made by S Multrum, these problems and make the system more attractive to consumers. Composting of low flow toilet they produce contain a compost basement level location and service is included with the product. A more rudimentary version of the composting toilet is used by the this NGO in Africa. Although the objectives of the Organization are to improve sanitation and reduce disease, their programs also help small farmers to earn a living.The organization offers free composting toilet and has greatly improved the quality of life for many families pauvres.Directeur organization, Feliciano dos Santos, just won the Goldman Environment Prize 2008 in eco-sanitation for this work.

Many countries have well-established capture methane programs that use animal waste, such as farms pork in Australia and cattle ranches in the United States. But what happens for the potential creation of human waste gas? Developing countries are innovative technology as a way to save money and create renewable energy sources. With the help of the International Foundation of heifers, farmers in the district of Uganda Mukono are mixing human excrement and urine with other biological waste such as water hyacinth and banana plisse to create biogas and using by-product to fertilize their fields. Product biogas contains 60-90% methane and is used for lighting, cooking and some engines, and many residents are improving their quality of life rising above the poverty level. Similarly, prison Cyangugu in Rwanda is creating biogas in the excrement of prisoners. Institute for science of Kigali and technology built the digester prison, who is with the resulting product to cook for 50% of inmate meals and the record of $ 22 million annually - lots of money in Rwanda. But developing countries are not the only ones to benefit human generated biogas.Lions Gate to Vancouver, British Columbia, once the subject of proceedings concerning a violation of Federal pollution, wastewater treatment plant operated by city wastewater methane harvest $ 1.1 million project and it feed directly into the system gas naturel.Le project, which should be operational in 2009, projects a reduction in emissions of greenhouse by 500 tonnes per year and enough energy to power 100 houses. A similar project is underway in San Antonio, Texas.

Current debates surrounding biofuels plant focus on competition between food and biofuels crops and many experts fear that strong demand for biofuels will exacerbate current problems of food shortage. Several projects have addressed this issue by creating biofuels algae grown on human waste. One of them is Aquaflow Bionomic Corporation, harvesting seaweed used in treatment of wastewater in Malborough, New Zealand ponds. "Raw green" they create in the algae can be used for all applications of crude oil as petrol, diesel and plastics. In a more direct process, a Canadian company called Dynamotive Energy Systems Corporation is responsible for human waste directly into a biofuel generation system on a "fast pyrolysis process". System reached 80% efficiency by regeneration process heat and waste gas, and the final product, bio-oil ®, can be used as a substitute for a variety of petroleum products.One of the technologies the highest technology, leading to the creation of waste energy human is the development of fuel cell microbiennes.DĂ©veloppĂ© by Dr. Bruce Logan of Penn State Engineering Department, system has been proposed as a means to take on grid waste treatment plants.Fuel still being refined to produce an acceptable result energy cell uses of waste water to generate hydrogen fuel, and water is produced as a by-product.While technology is not convenient for other applications such as hydrogen-fuelled cars fuel cell, it can be used anywhere, there is a large offer of organic waste.

Many people cringe at the thought of waste human energy systems and rather step would think on what is happening in the pipeline, but as humanity becomes more and more demanding energy, we must begin to adopt unconventional production.Avec ascending mentioned projects success methods, there is the possibility of eliminating pollution wastes human worldwide entier.Un day our wastewater can be called "brown gold" and could be more valuable than even of oil.








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