Cow power could
generate electricity for millions
Tim Lundeen
Feedstuffs
7/24/2008
Converting livestock manure into a domestic renewable fuel
source could generate enough electricity to meet up to 3% of North America's
entire consumption needs and lead to a significant reduction in greenhouse gas
emissions (GHGs), according to research published
July 24 in the Institute of Physics' Environmental Research Letters.
The journal paper, "Cow Power: The Energy &
Emissions Benefits of Converting Manure to Biogas," has implications for
all countries with livestock as it is the first attempt to outline a procedure
for quantifying the national amount of renewable energy that herds of cattle
and other livestock can generate and the concomitant GHG emission reductions.
Livestock manure, left to decompose naturally, emits two
particularly potent GHGs -- nitrous oxide and
methane. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, nitrous
oxide warms the atmosphere 310 times more than carbon dioxide; methane does so
21 times more.
Through anaerobic digestion, similar to the process by which
compost is created, manure can be turned into
energy-rich biogas, which standard microturbines can
use to produce electricity. The hundreds of millions of livestock inhabiting
the
Since manure left to decompose naturally can have a damaging
effect on the environment, this new waste management system has a net potential
GHG emissions reduction of 99 million metric tons, wiping out approximately 4%
of the country's GHG emissions from electricity production.
Authors of the paper, Dr. Michael E. Webber and Amanda D
Cuellar from the University of Texas at Austin, noted that the "logistics
of widespread biogas production, including feedstock and digestates
transportation, must be determined at the local level to produce the most
environmentally advantageous, economical, and energy efficient system."
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