Electricity Generation in Anaerobic Digesters Using Pig Manure

There might come a time in the near future when someone asks you what color is pig poop, you answer right away… it’s green!

At least that’s what some Danish scientists have in mind…

The problem?

Stinking lagoons of pig manure created by thousands of animals in giant hog farms that pollute rivers, poison groundwater and pump out clouds of methane and carbon dioxide.

The solution?

Find an alternative use for the slurry… maybe like… the generation of electricity!

Tell me more…

A Danish team led by Trakarn Prapaspongsa at Aalborg University, has found that for high-efficiency energy production, anaerobic digestion is the answer. The team is now analyzing various ways in which firms in Denmark treat pig manure and use it to generate electricity in systems such as anaerobic digesters or incinerators.

In Anaerobic digestion…

Bacteria break down waste material by warming it in an oxygen-free vessel, releasing methane which is used in gas turbines. Anaerobic digestion reduces the emission of landfill gas into the atmosphere and is widely used as a renewable energy source because the methane and carbon dioxide rich biogas produced are suitable for energy production helping replace fossil fuels.