Chicken poo power could be alternative to coal

Record ID: 945258

  • Title: Chicken poo power could be alternative to coal
  • Date: 4th January 2018
  • Summary: DERBYSHIRE, ENGLAND, UK (FILE - MARCH 4, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CHICKENS IN BARN
  • Embargoed: 18th January 2018 15:13
  • Keywords: chicken chicken waste chicken poo coal renewables Ben Gurion
  • Location: BEERSHEBA AND HADERA, ISRAEL / DERBYSHIRE, ENGLAND, UK
  • City: BEERSHEBA AND HADERA, ISRAEL / DERBYSHIRE, ENGLAND, UK
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Science
  • Reuters ID: LVA0027WP4HUD
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Chicken waste could be treated and burned to generate energy, potentially replacing 10 percent of the coal used in power stations, according to Israeli researchers.
    In the Israeli desert, a few solar panels power up a dust-covered digester to convert poultry excrement gathered from neighbouring coops into a combustible solid biomass fuel.
    The fuel, a dark brown powder resembling coffee in texture and smell, has a similar chemical make-up to coal and burns in the same way, says Professor Amit Gross from the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research at Israel's Ben-Gurion University.
    In a laboratory scale study carried out at the university in the southern city of Beersheba, Gross found that hydrochar - the solid residue produced by heating wet poultry litter to a low temperature of 250 degrees Celsius under pressure - mimics coal formation within several hours.
    This process, known as hydrothermal carbonisation, results in lower emissions of methane and ammonia, and increased emissions of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.
    The biomass fuel, Gross said, could replace approximately 10 percent of coal used in electricity generation, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and providing an alternative energy source.
    Researcher Vivian Mau said the research aimed to kill two birds with one stone: dealing with poultry waste and finding replacements for fossil fuels to generate energy.
    "Using waste is ideal because it's already being produced anyway, we consume a lot of meat, chicken meat for example and we are consuming more and more so this waste is going to be here and the amounts are going to be growing and we need a solution," she said.
    Gross hopes the findings could pave the way for research on the use of other animal or human waste as a source for a coal-like fuel that can be used for energy production. Collecting faeces for energy use could alleviate sanitation problems and also provide a source of fertiliser.
    The study was published in the Applied Energy journal in November.
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