Anyone here convert chicken waste to methane???

[gogoalie]

I saw a town in China powers a grid from chicken waste, & wonderin' if that would be a nice viable alt fuel since bein' out in the middle of nowwhere, fuel prices are gunna sky rocket...anyone else, with tips & advice?

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

It's not hard to produce, but it takes a LOT of manure to produce enough to truly be useful

 

[redhen]

Methane?? Isnt that what Meth heads make?
No?? Sorry... i'm totally clueless....

 

[gogoalie]

Methheads make and or smoke METHANPHETAMINES...it's just hydroxal compound off of Mah huang, or Ephedrine...very easy to make, but very dangerous as well...

METHANE, is a gas that is produced by bacteria & solid animal wastes...one reason you don't wanna light a smoke on an outhouse...it's a clean burning fuel, giving off four carbons per every hydrogen burnt, unlike propane, which has 1.5-2 carbons givin' off per every hydrogen burnt. 'Bout the only thing cleaner than methane, is hydrogen itself...

& yes, it would take quite some chickens to be worthwhile, however, chicken reproduction is pertty fast, so somone with a lil' gumption could easily grow enough chickens to produce to enough methane, but still, its a viable source of free reusable energy...once yer methane production is done, you can use the left over sludge as fertilizer...

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Weighing the cost of digestor and holding tank with release valve to cost of cheap grid electricity would prove far too many years to bear a return. The practicality of that many chickens makes for a return to battery cage conditions to harness the supply of raw material. Larger animals makes it practical. More and more farms are converting to methane powered generators, my only question to that is if they are exempt from the recent ridiculous poo tax as they are harnessing the methane.

Another animal that produces large quantities of waste is us humans. It's astounding that in the current frenzy for renewable energy there are very few sewage treatment plants that harness methane. Again, it's a cost effect calculation. What's ludicrous is Montpelier, VT received federal funds to install solar panels on it's sewage treatment plant yet there is a constant 30 foot flame of pure clean burning methane coming from it's digestors. Silly.