The U.S. city of San Antonio unveiled a deal on Tuesday that will make it the first U.S. city to harvest methane gas from human waste on a commercial scale and turn it into clean-burning fuel.
San Antonio residents produce about 140,000 tons a year of a substance gently referred to as "biosolids," which can be reprocessed into natural gas, said Steve Clouse, chief operating officer of the city's water system.
"You may call it something else," Clouse said, but for area utilities, the main byproduct of human waste - methane gas - will soon be converted into natural gas to burn in their power plants.
The city approved a deal where Massachusetts-based Ameresco Inc will convert the city's biosolids into natural gas, which could generate about 1.5 million cubic feet per day, he said.
Methane gas, which is a byproduct of human and organic waste, is a principal component of the natural gas used to fuel furnaces, power plants, and other combustion-based generators.
"The private vendor will come onto the facility, construct some gas cleaning systems, remove the moisture, remove the carbon dioxide content, and then sell that gas on the open market," Clouse said.
The gas will be sold to power generators, he said.
Some communities are using methane gas harvested from solid waste to power smaller facilities like sewage treatment plants, but San Antonio is the first to see large-scale conversion of methane gas from sewage into fuel for power generation, he said.
Following the agreement, more than 90 percent of materials flushed down the toilets and sinks of San Antonio will be recycled, he said. Liquid is now used for irrigation, many of the solids are made into compost, and now the methane gas will be recycled for power generation.
23 comments:
I think it's an amazing advancement in the uphill battle of recycling wastes. With a large city such as San Antonio starting to "convert the city's biosolids into natural gas, which could generate about 1.5 million cubic feet per day", other big cities' excuses not to do the same become unjustified. If San Antonio is successful with it then what's stopping them? Regardless of what people believe about Global Warming and such, we only have this one planet and it's our job to take care of it. Simple procedures and ideas such as the one presented in this article are just stepping stones that are slowly, but surely progressing the way we take care of our planet and undo the damage already done.
Wow. That's kind of gross but kind of neat at the same time. I guess that it would save money and help the environment in a way. It's a very imaginative way of recycling. I wonder how much it costs.
At first, i wanted to say that this idea really stinks, but the more i took it in, the more i saw the green possibilities.
I love how it's "gently referred to" as biosolids...as if someone would take offense to being told that the stuff that comes out a while after you eat is called poo.
I think that this shows yet another Tier of "Political Correctness" in our society...
I think that this is a nice idea overall. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm having a really hard time picking out any cons to this.
In fact, i think that we should be very anal about getting this enforced in more places. Sure, it may start out like Potty Training, but, over time, i think it will become easier.
One pro is that, if it were to come to Lubbock, and we were running low on natural gas, Lubbock High could lift the 1-hour policy due to "Environmental Betterment."
In all seriousness, there is so much good i can see coming from this. Maybe in the search for an alternative form of fuel, we could make cars in which we "relieve." That way we don't have to buy gas, and were already buying the food, so why not?
We need another form of natural gas...i think weve got it!
Now, lets get off our fannies and show the good that can come from our keisters!
POOPY POWER!! (<--Scooby Doo Reference)
After all, Everybody Poops.
Thats a pretty smart idea on trying to make the world a greener place. I mean the thought of getting the sewage and converting it would suck, but its a start on reducing greenhouse gases. At least they are doing something and not just sitting around and complaing about global warming. So props to San Antonio in finding a way to become greener and recycling materials.
I wonder who came up with this idea. Even though it's a bit odd, I'm glad that they're looking for other ways to help our environment, especially in large cities such as San Antonio. If this works like planned, maybe it will start getting used all through the United States and we will be recycling even more. Regardless, I still think it's a bit gross.. but it's helping the environment and we might even be able to save money eventually.
When I first read this i laughed really hard...and then i started thinking of how they were actually going to pull this off. But in the end, i think that this is a really good idea. They are taking something that everyone does and just turns into waste, and using it to create something to make the world greener, or more efficient. If this is successful in San Antonio, theres nothing stopping the rest of the world in joining in the cause, and overall will benefit the world greatly.
Haha, this idea is quite...creative. If it works, i'm all for it. It's a never-ending supply of natural gas, what more can we ask for? How much does it cost to process it? Is it worth the amount it costs? How long does it take?
i'm so glad i read this article on an empty stomach! besides the eww factor, i think that this idea is pretty neat. the only thing though is how much is this going to cost? they didn't mention $$$ in the article at all. is it that i costs so much they just didn't want to state it or that they still don't know yet?...hmmm. another thing, who wants to be around "biosolids" for at least 8 hours a day. can u imagine having to tell ur 6 year old kid that you convert his poo to fuel?
I think this is very usefull.we have limit gas,we need find new source."Methane gas, which is a byproduct of human and organic waste, is a principal component of the natural gas used to fuel furnaces, power plants, and other combustion-based generators."Lf we need eat food,then we can make these gas.we have only one planet earth,we need protect this planet envirment.We aren't along in this planet,there are too many different animals in this planet.But only we have ability to change this planet envirment,so we need protect these.
l think this is very usefull for us."Methane gas, which is a byproduct of human and organic waste, is a principal component of the natural gas used to fuel furnaces, power plants, and other combustion-based generators"we have limit oil,but if we need eat food,we can have unlimit methane gas.We aren't along in this planet,there are too much different animals in this planet.But we are different from other animals,we have ability to protect this planet,then we need do it."With great power comes great responsibility".
I believe that this is a very smart way to recycle waste and at the same time using it to better the enviorment such as using it as burning fuel. Although, the thought is quite gross, it will better San Antonio and will hopefully spread to other cities to start using the same concept.
I think this is an amazing idea! Making gas out of ''recycled'' human waste. Who would have thought... And the best part of this is that we'll never run out of it (if we do, that would mean that everyone died...) The government should definitely try to promote this in more cities!
I believe this is a great breakthrough for our advancing to our independency of oil. Methane gas sounds like it is cheap and an easily acquired fuel. Now, as we pay for food, we also pay for our fuel. Recycling is a huge factor in cleaning our environment, and so the rest of the cities should follow San Antonio and help make the environment cleaner. Hoepfully more cities will find new ways of recycling what we have so we as a nation become more self-relient.
Finally, something everyone can contribute to - willingly or unwillingly- the good cause of this earth. This is way better than those disgusting - literally - "greenwashing" companies who portraits their concerns of the earth through crafty market strategies of their products. And almost none of them has lived up fully to their vaunt.
I think this is a great way to start to recycle waste! It helps the environment and it can also help us at the same time.
There is so much waste that can be used to turn into natural gas, and plenty of it to go around. If San Antonio is successful with this project, imagine all the states and cities this will have an effect on. People will see how much of an impact this will have on our planet and the communities and they will most certainly do this to.
POWER TO THE POO-POO!!!
I think that this idea is very interesting and very unusual. I never knew that our own wastes could also be recycled. In my opinion, this form of recycling could actually really help better our environment. It might even be able to aid us in the creation of other new and interesting ways of recycling other wastes and how they can also be used as energy. Hopefully this will be able to catch on in other major cities to help save money and possibly the environment.
I think this is a giant step for us as human beings to use alternative fuel to power our lives. Finding alternative energy is one thing, but turning crap into an usable, and reliable energy source is just out of this world. If this methane gas turning procedure is not very costly, I think we should build this commercial industry in every major city in the US. I'm glad that more people are taking energy management into consideration and coming up with ideas to better our energy spendings. I see a lot of good things that can come from this process. But the best thing about it is, unlike coal or petroleum, this resource does not need several million years to replenish itself.
When I first started reading the article, I thought it was a somewhat strange idea - if not a little gross...
But I can see the benefit that would come from it. I suppose it's another step to alternative fuel sources, which is always good. And it's putting something that would otherwise be waste to good use. I think it's a pretty innovative idea...but the article doesn't say how much it would cost for this to happen, it'd be terrible if any benefit of this would be offset because of the cost.
The term 'biosolids' made me laugh.
It sounds like a good if not disgusting idea. Any sort of technology that can help rid us of our dependence on foreign oil is ok by me. I have read elswhere in magazines and such about this sort of technology, and I hope it works out for everyone.
I think it gross but cool at the same time. I think its good that we are recycling our waste so we can use it. I wonder how effective it will be. I think this will lead to more effective ways to recycle things you wouldnt think of for our use.
I'd definitely be interested to know how much all of this is going to cost. But if this concept continues to be a reality, then i imagine that there will be a major profit. The idea is pretty crazy and out there, but if it works, i'm all for it. It's pretty amazing what the researchers/scientists are thinking of these days. 100 years ago, nobody would have thought this was even possible. impressive...
This will improve the the enviorment in san antoinio by a lot.I think it's great that there are doing this.This should inspire other big cities to do the same.it will help alot in the whole global warming thing
I think every city should have this POOO POWER!!! it is a great way of recycling and harnessing "Natural Gas" lol.
Think of it this way
the more you eat the more power u get.
We should make all major sewage systems into "Poo Power" Plants.
This might be be a huge investment in U.S. economy but it has many rewards on the long run.
This is very stable way of creating energy because of the unlimited availability of raw materials.
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