Dung Power: The ‘Smelling’ Way To Energy

Do you know that poop can light a rocket? Cook a meal? Power up a heavy-duty generator? As outrageous as it may sound, that repugnant piece of metabolic waste called poop has served several unbelievable purposes. I recently found out that in ancient China, human excrement was used in preparing a medicinal kind of dish called ‘’yellow soup’’. As unsavoury as it seems, this dish was recommended for guts infection due to certain bacteria of medicinal value found in it. Still, in recent times certain pharmaceutical manufacturing companies have sought healthy human donors for the production of certain tablets. Much more than ever before, we find that science and technology have exploited a vast plethora of possibilities with animal and plant waste.

When mankind thought we have seen and heard enough of man’s invention, we stumbled in an era of ‘’poop power” as a source and ideal alternative of energy. Interestingly, the energy and by-products from biomass have been proven as a better alternative compared to energy generated from fossil fuels. Mankind has evolved into an age in which climatic consciousness is imbibed. Our climatic conditions have largely depleted due to the colossal damages caused by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)     and other harmful Halocarbon been emitted to the ozone layer. There is an eerie uncertainty to what the vexed ozone layer is bound to unleash on planet earth. Unfortunately, man is helplessly bound by his very own inventions, and still, every millisecond that passes by, an immeasurable mass of dangerous substances from industries, automobiles, generators and other scientific creations are been transmitted to an already depleted ozone layer. Frantic efforts have been made and are still been made to save our planet from climatic depreciation and ozone depletion. Just when a man had gotten to the point of dire helplessness and hopelessness, Biogas like a neon light in the dark night has sprung up as prospective salvation.

Kinds Of Dung For Biogas Production

Research and experiments carried out have shown that cow dung, waste from poultry, piggery, horse and rabbit produce a more qualitative and quantitative mass of Biogas compared to animals such as cats, dogs, and even humans.  Furthermore, dung from the cow has gained so much popularity judging from its availability and suitability. Cow dung is a suitable animal waste readily available and also a substrate used for the production of Biogas. If the production of Biogas is carried out in an industrial scale in Nigeria, it would not just serve as a choicer alternative for energy but it would serve as an economical means of managing Nigerian waste. The bulky ton of waste of livestock from Nigerian farms if well utilized, could capably light up a federation.

Animal waste is not just collected from the farm and filled up in fuel tanks afterwards; they go through a series of process to get the desired products. When cow dung is being collected it is then dried for no less than 92 hours. After this, it is then ingested in a digester. A digester is a processing chamber constructed for regulating the slurry capacity of the bio content. Since methane production is largely dependent on the anaerobic condition of the Biomass, the biogas digester is typically built to maintain a regular temperature. In a nutshell, there are two key processes involved in processing Biogas, first the Mesophilic digestion and then the thermophilic digestion, both depend on a regular temperature.

Biogas For Automobiles 

In recent times over 600 plants around the globe which produce an estimated 50 peta joules per annum of upgraded biogas have been created. The promotion and consciousness of biogas-powered cars is been encouraged by the government of some countries by adding certain incentives. This includes incentives such as tax exemptions for Biogas vehicles and other forms of subsidies. This is because Biogas is a preferable alternative been that it is a renewable source of energy, free from dirt or other particulates. It is a clean and eco- friendly source of energy. Records have it that at the moment, countries in Europe are quickly embracing the use of biogas in their transportation sector. In Italy, an estimated 521 stations for gas refuelling has been established while in Germany there are over 600 of such stations. The automobile industry is not left out from the trailblazing phenomenon of Biogas. Biogas cars have been manufactured in companies such as Mercedes, Ford, Volvo and others.

Biogas For Electricity  

The use of biogas for producing electricity is not common as its use for domestic lighting in certain developing third world nation. The conversion of biogas to electricity is a standard in technology that is gaining quick acceptability. Biogas can be converted to carry out many functions. But its potentials as an electricity generating source is underutilized in areas where it is most needed. Small and medium scale generation of electricity has posed as a great challenge in developing countries with an unsteady supply of power. Biogas is a suitable kind of fuel for diesel and gas engines.

To convert biogas to electricity, a fuel cell is been used to process it. These fuel cells      must be free from dirt. Biogas for power generating is better than the use of natural gases for fuel because it has good compression rates and is ideal for combustion motors and engines. Furthermore, there are certain combustion engines that best suit the use of biogas, engines for Sterling motors, diesel engines, gas motors and gas turbines. It should be noted the use of biogas in gas and diesel engines for electricity requires specific gas qualities.

Conclusively, the subject of biogas is a very broad aspect of technology. Beyond reasonable doubt, it has proven as a revolutionary scientific discovery and if well maximized will serve humanity. Biogas is solely produced from waste, raw material dumps, agricultural waste, waste from municipal and sewage. The byproduct of Biogas generated afterwards is wealth for doing agriculture. Nigerian government should harness the large quantum of its waste that is almost becoming an epidemic.

Contributor: Juliet Ekwonwa