Tweet
Manure Power Not A Load Of Crap
Published: Wednesday | February 29, 20123 Comments
Dennie Quill, Columnist
My attention was drawn to a news item that gardeners in South Carolina in the United States were being invited to order animal poop produced by elephants, giraffes and zebras at the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia.
For many hundreds of years, animal manure, whether from chicken, bat or horse, was an essential ingredient for soil conditioning and fertilising plants in Jamaica. Although the gardener of yore may not have known that animal manure contained nitrogen, potassium, phosphates and other nutrients, he knew it was good and helped to produce healthy blooms.
Back in 1898, New Yorkers were concerned about the amount of horse poop in their fair city where the only means of transportation was horse-drawn carriages, so they convened a 10-day conference to talk about manure. Needless to say, the conference ended in three days with no resolution. Ultimately, the horses were replaced by cars. Today, we are once again talking about poop.
And for me, it was very interesting to see that even with the abundance of synthetic fertilisers available on the market today, persons in the United States were not overlooking the potential of poop as a source of fertiliser.
Scoop poop to make dough
Over time, improved technology has seen manure being put to many other uses such as reclamation for landfill covers and for environmental uses, including biofilters and erosion control. Now with world spotlight on the demand for energy and the high cost of oil, poop, along with wind, solar and municipal waste, is being touted as an alternative source of energy.
I remember, on a visit to India, seeing loads of stuff being carted through the streets of Agra, and when I enquired about it, I was told that they were 'dung cakes'. This was cow poop dried to produce biogas to generate electricity and heat. Poor people also used the dried dung to insulate their homes and as an ingredient for mud bricks. The potential for transforming cow dung is enormous when one considers that a 1,000lb cow has the capacity to produce 15 tons of manure every year.
There is a power plant in Norfolk, England, which burns some 400,000 metric tons of chicken litter each year to generate as much as 38 megawatts of electricity. The experts say poultry litter is among the more promising animal energy sources.
Waste not, want not
It seems to me that our local livestock industry is sitting on piles of usable filth. Although the equine population in Jamaica may not be great, a horse typically produces nine tons of manure each year. It would be interesting to learn how Caymanas Park deals with its manure. Where does all the waste go? It is reasonable to assume that much of it ends up in the landfills where it becomes a threat to water sources. It also produces toxic gases.
Decades of research have provided massive information about how to manage manure and how it can be converted into viable energy, but our farmers and manufacturers need to be educated about producing biogas. They also need incentives to motivate them to adapt new methods of production.
Initial investment for the technology is expensive. For example, a farmer who decides to invest in a digester should be given incentives to assist him in plant design and installation. Let's exploit manure power
Published: Wednesday | February 29, 20123 Comments
Dennie Quill, Columnist
My attention was drawn to a news item that gardeners in South Carolina in the United States were being invited to order animal poop produced by elephants, giraffes and zebras at the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia.
For many hundreds of years, animal manure, whether from chicken, bat or horse, was an essential ingredient for soil conditioning and fertilising plants in Jamaica. Although the gardener of yore may not have known that animal manure contained nitrogen, potassium, phosphates and other nutrients, he knew it was good and helped to produce healthy blooms.
Back in 1898, New Yorkers were concerned about the amount of horse poop in their fair city where the only means of transportation was horse-drawn carriages, so they convened a 10-day conference to talk about manure. Needless to say, the conference ended in three days with no resolution. Ultimately, the horses were replaced by cars. Today, we are once again talking about poop.
And for me, it was very interesting to see that even with the abundance of synthetic fertilisers available on the market today, persons in the United States were not overlooking the potential of poop as a source of fertiliser.
Scoop poop to make dough
Over time, improved technology has seen manure being put to many other uses such as reclamation for landfill covers and for environmental uses, including biofilters and erosion control. Now with world spotlight on the demand for energy and the high cost of oil, poop, along with wind, solar and municipal waste, is being touted as an alternative source of energy.
I remember, on a visit to India, seeing loads of stuff being carted through the streets of Agra, and when I enquired about it, I was told that they were 'dung cakes'. This was cow poop dried to produce biogas to generate electricity and heat. Poor people also used the dried dung to insulate their homes and as an ingredient for mud bricks. The potential for transforming cow dung is enormous when one considers that a 1,000lb cow has the capacity to produce 15 tons of manure every year.
There is a power plant in Norfolk, England, which burns some 400,000 metric tons of chicken litter each year to generate as much as 38 megawatts of electricity. The experts say poultry litter is among the more promising animal energy sources.
Waste not, want not
It seems to me that our local livestock industry is sitting on piles of usable filth. Although the equine population in Jamaica may not be great, a horse typically produces nine tons of manure each year. It would be interesting to learn how Caymanas Park deals with its manure. Where does all the waste go? It is reasonable to assume that much of it ends up in the landfills where it becomes a threat to water sources. It also produces toxic gases.
Decades of research have provided massive information about how to manage manure and how it can be converted into viable energy, but our farmers and manufacturers need to be educated about producing biogas. They also need incentives to motivate them to adapt new methods of production.
Initial investment for the technology is expensive. For example, a farmer who decides to invest in a digester should be given incentives to assist him in plant design and installation. Let's exploit manure power
