SHC METHANE PROJECT
THE METHANE PROJECT
- If you take manure and put it in a tank without air at 95 to 110 decrees Fahrenheit, bacteria will grow that produce methane (natural gas). Natural gas can be burned for space heat, cooking, electricity and heating water. To the extent the self-help corporation can produce its own power, it saves resources for other investments.
- The basic principles of methane production are quite simple and there are several good web sites about it. I have listed some in [ Resources ]. The digestive track of a mammal is the model. Methane production is efficient (producing more energy than is required to produce it) where the manure is already close to optimum temperature when you begin. When you mix feces with cold water and flush it down the toilet, you must re-heat the slurry and methane production is not efficient. See [ Environmental Principles ].
- The design challenge is to figure out how people with little money but lots of labor can construct methane digesters from discarded or inexpensive components. There is also a need to design human and animal facilities for efficient collection and transportation of the manure to the digester.
- After the manure is digested, it is a potent fertilizer that can be used directly in the garden. It is also beneficial to first mix the effluent with organic matter and compost it. This method is preferable because it utilizes the organic matter and the end product is more easily handled. Compost is also useful in a wider range of circumstances.
- To the extent manure is collected and digested, it will not be releasing methane into the air. Methane is a greenhouse gas even more so than carbon dioxide. Methane production is important both to limit global warming and to ease our dependence on fossil fuels.
- I discuss how a self-help corporation might use methane production in the [ Urban Plan ] and in the [ Rural Plan ].
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