Despite all the recent hype concerning H1N1 influenza, or swine flu, there may be some benefits to these critters after all, besides turning them into bacon and Christmas hams. It seems that pigs, like other hoofed animals (like cows and sheep) have highly concentrated amounts of methane gas in their excrement; and with a little processing this pig poop can be turned into an excellent power source for fueling electric power plants.
A study of this possibility is now underway in the Netherlands, where a number of large pig farms are situated. One such farm, near the Dutch town of Sterksel, and managed by John Horrevorts, has 2,700 porkers who have actually been trained to poop in certain places so the stuff will fall into special pits, and there mixed with waste grains and carrot refuse to make a thick smelly paste that then begins to release the gas, which is channeled into storage tanks very much like propane or butane gas is. Methane gas is very flammable and is therefore an excellent fuel source. Furthermore, by “siphoning off” the gas for use as a power source, Horrevorts says that it keeps the gas from being released into the atmosphere and contributing to global warming (methane gas contains high levels of carbon dioxide).
The experiment seems to be working, as Horrevorts has enough methane gas to not only provide his farm with ample electricity, but also surplus electricity to sell back to the national electricity grid. The “raw material” from his farm supplies all the power for Wageningen University’s Praktijkcentrum, or the Sterksel Research Center, that is doing the project, and produces around 5,000 megawatts of electricity per year (enough for about 1,500 homes).
Horrevorts says that his farm and four others produce enough methane to prevent about 40,000 tons of carbon from reaching the atmosphere, making the project very carbon friendly. About 50 “bio-gas” plants are now in operation in the Netherlands and the idea is spreading of other countries as well.
Setting up a “pig poop gas plant” is a bit expensive though, and costs about a million Euros ($1.4 million). But if it results in less carbon “footprints” and a cleaner environment, the cost appears worth it. In any event, the pigs don’t seem to mind.
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