From Pig Poop to Crude Oil

Yet another alternative energy source makes the news.......

Put A Little Oink in the Tank?
By Miriah Meyer, The Chicago Tribune
August 13, 2006

U. of I. researchers learn to extract crude oil from pig manure

for full article:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...30329aug13,1,7098531.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Oh :poop: AA, it's a register only site.... How are we suppose to comment on the :poop: article, if we can't read about the :poop:

I'm a just a fooling around with ya..
But it is a register site, and I'm damn sure not registering with them to read the article. so could yu post the article.......Or not......
 
Oh :poop: AA, it's a register only site.... How are we suppose to comment on the :poop: article, if we can't read about the :poop:

I'm a just a fooling around with ya..
But it is a register site, and I'm damn sure not registering with them to read the article. so could yu post the article.......Or not......
Comes with my dead tree subscription:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0608130329aug13,1,7848373,print.story

Put a little oink in the tank?
U. of I. researchers learn to extract crude oil from pig manure

By Miriah Meyer
Tribune staff reporter

August 13, 2006

URBANA -- Yuanhui Zhang has smelled the future of oil, and it stinks.

The pungent, earthy scent emanates from swine pens that professor Zhang's graduate students visit regularly at the University of Illinois. Holding spades in gloved hands, they collect buckets of moist pig poop and carefully drive it to a lab on the edge of campus.

Inside a white metal building nestled among corn and soybean fields, the students pressure-cook the messy muck until it becomes thick, black, energy-dense crude oil remarkably similar to the stuff pumped from deep within the earth.

As oil and gas prices continue their steep climb, the dedicated crew of engineering researchers at the U. of I. is refining an economical process to transform smelly hog droppings into piggy petroleum that can be refined into industrial fuel.

Although experts say the oily end product is not likely to make a big dent in the U.S. energy shortage, the process may help relieve the odor and pollution problems that plague high-density animal farming by providing a use for porcine poop produced in vast quantities.

It's a promising technology, if sloppy and unpleasant at times.

"I have no choice," said graduate student Rong Dong of his waste-shoveling duties. "It's a part of my job; it's a part of my thesis."

Zhang had the idea 10 years ago of combating the mounting manure problems of dense hog farms with a technique called thermochemical conversion.

Updating Mother Nature

The process is a test-tube version of Mother Nature's recipe for crude oil, substituting pig manure for the prehistoric plant and animal substances that are the raw ingredients of petroleum, and a small metal reactor for nature's pressure-cooker of the planet's deep layers.

During the last decade Zhang's group perfected the process, finding they could break down the organic material into shorter petroleum molecules in less than an hour--a feat that naturally takes millions of years.

Although the technology can be modified to break down any type of organic material, the researchers focused on refining their method for the specific composition of swine manure.

"We wanted to take care of the waste material and take care of some of the environmental problems, and we found we can create some useful energy," said Zhang.

His work is just one of a growing number of experiments in renewable sources of power. Experts say President Bush's statement on America's "addiction to oil," along with the price hike of oil to more than $70 a barrel, has dramatically increased interest by investors in technologies that convert everything from corn to human waste into fuel.

At the U. of I., the accelerated version of the Earth's oil production pipeline begins with a machine that looks like a giant malt mixer, which blends the chunky raw swine manure into a thick brown slurry. The appliance sits on a table surrounded by rolls of toilet paper used to clean up any unfortunate messes, the remnants of which are splattered on the wall behind.

"We have to make sure there are no big chunks," said Dong, wearing a white lab coat smeared with dark brown stains.

The smooth slurry is carefully poured into an eight-gallon cylindrical tank and then creeps through metal pipes at a pace of just two tablespoons a minute. The mixture is pressurized to 100 times the normal atmospheric pressure before slowly draining into a reactor where it is heated to a broiling 575 degrees Fahrenheit.

The researchers were able to determine the precise balance between a temperature hot enough to break down the manure's molecular bonds and a pressure high enough to keep the super hot poop from turning into a gas. These conditions allow the pig excrement to emerge less than an hour later as thick, black, sludgy oil.

Along the way the product is stripped of its telltale scent--it smells like wet coffee grounds--and is only slightly less pure than the natural stuff, Zhang said. The only byproducts are a small puff of carbon dioxide, a few dribbles of water and a tiny bit of dirt.

"What's fascinating is that it's a relatively simple process," said Ted Funk, a researcher in Zhang's group. "Even though the process has complex chemistry, it's relatively short, requires almost no extra materials, and you get a nice energy output."

In fact, the researchers have found the sludge contains three times the energy used to produce it. This energy ratio, combined with a technical breakthrough earlier this year that allows continuous feeding of the system with fecal matter, has been noticed by entrepreneurs.

Zhang is "the only researcher that's been able to use animal waste and get oil in an economic way," said Otis Jessee, co-owner of Worldwide BioEnergy, a company based in Jefferson City, Mo., that has licensed the technology from the university.

"When oil was at $25 and $30 a barrel this was an economically feasible thing to do. Now with oil more than $70 a barrel, it's even more so," he said.

Jessee's company has sublicensed the technology to two engineering firms that are developing pilot plants. According to Jessee, both firms plan to be churning out barrels of crude oil within two months--one using swine manure processed in a mobile plant, the other using sewage in a Houston suburb.

With 43 million hogs in the Midwest, pig-based petroleum could eliminate 10 percent of the region's foreign oil imports, according to Zhang's estimates of the average hog's poop production. But experts say that swine manure is not likely to quench the nation's thirst for foreign fossil fuel any time soon.

At Changing World Technologies, a company in Carthage, Mo., that converts turkey offal into petroleum, Chief Executive Officer Brian Appel said getting renewable crude oil into the mainstream market is tough, in part because the nation's refineries aren't set up to accept the product.

Even if bio-fuel producers refine their crude oil into fuels that can be readily used to produce electricity in generators, getting the energy into the power system is a challenge, say experts in renewable energy.

Helping out hog farms

"One of the problems we have [with] producing electricity is that utilities are not standing there and saying, `Let me have your electricity,'" said William Holmberg, chair of the biomass committee at the American Council on Renewable Energy.

Illinois is among the majority of states that pay customers for self-generated power, although currently the state accepts only solar and wind electricity.

For Zhang, though, thermochemical conversion was never about the alchemy of black gold. It was an unconventional idea for easing the odor and water pollution problems associated with hog farms.

That idea smells sweet to pork producers like Chris Borrowman, whose western Illinois farm is slated to receive an oil-producing pilot plant this fall.

Most of the manure scents that waft over to his neighbors come from a gigantic lagoon that stores enough putrid pig poop to fill 23 swimming pools. Nearly every spring, an Environmental Protection Agency inspector pays a visit in response to the neighbors' complaints.

"When I first heard about [the technology], I was very excited," said Borrowman. "Reducing the odor coming off of our lagoons is a huge plus for us farmers." He speculated that neighboring grain farmers could benefit from using his cheap crude to run large diesel-guzzling equipment.

And that's good news for Zhang, who has green dreams of pig power being produced on sustainable swine farms.

"I see each swine farmer having a little plant," he said. "We could then raise the animal, produce the feed and process the waste locally. And then in the end, we can have a useful product. That would be a perfect world."
 

Thanks Kat....And thank you AA for bringing it to the board...

Well....I guess that theory about if you smelt it, ya dealt it?

Ok, on a more serious note...
If it can be used do it..

I'm all for recycling all of anything that can be....
But, it's still probably not enough to really make a diff. but anything will help I suppose......
 
Thanks Kat....And thank you AA for bringing it to the board...

Well....I guess that theory about if you smelt it, ya dealt it?

Ok, on a more serious note...
If it can be used do it..

I'm all for recycling all of anything that can be....
But, it's still probably not enough to really make a diff. but anything will help I suppose......

I think 'we' need to figure something out, soon:


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...ug27,0,2954646.story?coll=chi-newsopinion-hed
Squeezing Iran
Advertisement


August 27, 2006

Years of bargaining with Iran has yielded the exact opposite of what was sought: Iran now seems more determined than ever to join the nuclear club. The UN Security Council's deadline for Iran to freeze its uranium enrichment program passes on Thursday. Tehran has refused to comply. The U.S. and others have signaled they will push for sanctions right after the deadline.

Question: Can tough economic sanctions persuade Tehran to surrender its nuclear dreams?

Yes, strong sanctions might work. Applied to the right pressure points, economic leverage can squeeze a government where it hurts--in the economy. That pain can translate into political pressure, forcing leaders to change course.

But it is never easy.

History suggests that more often than not, such sanctions fail. They fail because politics, profits and corruption often trump the greater good. They fail because there are always profiteers waiting to smuggle goods into an embargoed country. And they fail because there are always countries willing to reap profits by doing business under the table.

The central questions now: How much economic pain are Iranians prepared to absorb for the sake of becoming a nuclear power? How much pain is the rest of the world willing to inflict--and suffer--to stop them?

Put another way, which is scarier: $4-a-gallon gas or a nuclear Iran?

The Security Council is likely to start with relatively mild actions, limiting travel visas for officials, for instance, or banning equipment that could be used in Iran's nuclear industry.

The U.S. has been working with European banks to curb financial activities in Iran, even in the absence of a Security Council resolution. In May, the Washington Post reported that a Treasury Department task force had developed a plan to "restrict the Tehran government's access to foreign currency and global markets, shut its overseas accounts and freeze assets held in Europe and Asia." A spooked Iranian government has reportedly been transferring funds out of some European banks, fearing a freeze.

Such sanctions often take years to work. Iran may be able to build a bomb by the end of the decade, if not sooner.

The fastest and most effective way to squeeze Iran is to target its oil and gas industries. Iran is the world's fourth leading oil producer, after Saudi Arabia, Russia and the U.S. It accounts for about 5 percent of the world market. It is believed to have earned about $49 billion selling oil and natural gas from March 2005 to March 2006--more than double its take of four years ago, the Wall Street Journal reported. Crimp that pipeline and Iran will notice immediately. Of course, so will everyone else. Some estimate that would send oil prices soaring to $100 or more a barrel.

The other sensitive Iranian target: gasoline. Iran has vast oil reserves but it lacks sufficient refinery capacity and must import more than a third of its gasoline, mainly from Europe and India. (It also subsidizes gasoline so that Iranians pay about 40 cents a gallon.) A gas embargo could cripple much of the country's industry, if it were stringently enforced.

But there's also a strong chance that such drastic actions would boomerang. Instead of undercutting the mullahs, harsh economic punishment could anger Iranians and help the regime rally the country. Many Iranians support the country's nuclear ambitions out of national pride.

Iran is flush with oil cash and swaggering on the world stage. But it is not invulnerable. Its economy, even with all that oil money, is shaky because it is under the stifling control of the central government. Inflation and unemployment are running in the double digits.

Anything less than the Security Council's complete resolve to stop Iran's nuclear program through tough sanctions is destined to fail. Russia and China, with billions of dollars in trade and investment with Iran, are likely to be reluctant to join the U.S. and its allies in placing a great deal of economic and diplomatic pressure on Tehran. They must be convinced to join the rest of the world on this.

The price of failure will be extraordinarily high. Failure will leave just two options, neither in the least appealing: living with a nuclear Iran or mounting a military strike to stop it.
 
Yet another alternative energy source makes the news.......

Put A Little Oink in the Tank?
By Miriah Meyer, The Chicago Tribune
August 13, 2006

U. of I. researchers learn to extract crude oil from pig manure

for full article:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...30329aug13,1,7098531.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

"Master Blaster Runs Barter Town"



Seriously there is a group of farmers who were not making any money with corn, so they put their life's savings into a company that converts corn into Ethinol...Right, in the first year they were so successful in their limited marketing abilities, they had to re-invest their profits into building a larger facility, and in the span of 3 or so years are wealthy, successful, and doing something great for America. Personally I'd pay the money to have my car retrofitted to accommodate burning Ethanol fuel if it were made available to me.
 
"Master Blaster Runs Barter Town"



Seriously there is a group of farmers who were not making any money with corn, so they put their life's savings into a company that converts corn into Ethinol...Right, in the first year they were so successful in their limited marketing abilities, they had to re-invest their profits into building a larger facility, and in the span of 3 or so years are wealthy, successful, and doing something great for America. Personally I'd pay the money to have my car retrofitted to accommodate burning Ethanol fuel if it were made available to me.

Well being a corn state, all Illinois fuels except diesel, are at least 10% ethanol. I'm not sure that it's all that effective though in the long run. We can't turn over all farm land for raising corn for cars. We gotta eat! :food1:

Popular Science has been researching and reporting on alternatives, second to none.
 
Well being a corn state, all Illinois fuels except diesel, are at least 10% ethanol. I'm not sure that it's all that effective though in the long run. We can't turn over all farm land for raising corn for cars. We gotta eat! :food1:

Popular Science has been researching and reporting on alternatives, second to none.

All we need do is have some serious effort put forth, imagine how nice it would be to not have to depend on anyone for fuel?? Secondly to pay less for it? Self sufficiency is always best!!
 
All we need do is have some serious effort put forth, imagine how nice it would be to not have to depend on anyone for fuel?? Secondly to pay less for it? Self sufficiency is always best!!

I agree. While normally against 'government incentives' in this case I'm all for incentives to oil companies, universities, whomever, if they will go for a Manhattan like laser focus on solutions and implementation.
 
Thermal depolymerization is a pretty cool process, and it's profitable without subsidies. There isn't enough waste to supply all our energy needs though of course. But it is a pretty good way to eliminate landfills, and it really makes recycling (well, sorting your trash into 10 different containers) a complete waste of time. The TDP sorts everything for you. We can all laugh at the hippies and their insistence on recycling now.

Ethanol sucks though. The only reason anyone makes money at it is because it's so heavily subsidized. And the reason it has to be subsidized is because you use up more petroleum creating it than you save. One step forward, two steps back is not the way to go. And then you'd have to plow under all of america, and instead of wild swings due to the middle east, we'd have wild swings in price due to droughts and crop failures.

I'm thoroughly amazed that we haven't gone to compressed natural gas yet. Throw in 5%~7% hydrogen for improved burn characteristics and you've got the perfect fuel. Yeah, your car would be somewhat heavier and you'd have less luggage room. That's assuming a 3,000 PSI tank which is commonly available now, you'd need 10,000 PSI tanks and filling stations to match the density of gasoline (which are available now, just not super cheap). Yeah, your car would cost more. But you'd pay half as much per mile or less, your engine would last far longer and use less oil (no carbon buildup), and smog would be a thing of the past. You wouldn't even need catalytic convertors and fancy computers and all that crap. We probably should have started making the transition during the 60's.
 
What a blow to middle-Easterners... not only would we NOT need as much of their oil, but, to be replaced by PIGS! What an insult! ;)
 
BaronVonBigmeat said:
Thermal depolymerization is a pretty cool process, and it's profitable without subsidies. There isn't enough waste to supply all our energy needs though of course. But it is a pretty good way to eliminate landfills, and it really makes recycling (well, sorting your trash into 10 different containers) a complete waste of time. The TDP sorts everything for you. We can all laugh at the hippies and their insistence on recycling now.

Ethanol sucks though. The only reason anyone makes money at it is because it's so heavily subsidized. And the reason it has to be subsidized is because you use up more petroleum creating it than you save. One step forward, two steps back is not the way to go. And then you'd have to plow under all of america, and instead of wild swings due to the middle east, we'd have wild swings in price due to droughts and crop failures.

I'm thoroughly amazed that we haven't gone to compressed natural gas yet. Throw in 5%~7% hydrogen for improved burn characteristics and you've got the perfect fuel. Yeah, your car would be somewhat heavier and you'd have less luggage room. That's assuming a 3,000 PSI tank which is commonly available now, you'd need 10,000 PSI tanks and filling stations to match the density of gasoline (which are available now, just not super cheap). Yeah, your car would cost more. But you'd pay half as much per mile or less, your engine would last far longer and use less oil (no carbon buildup), and smog would be a thing of the past. You wouldn't even need catalytic convertors and fancy computers and all that crap. We probably should have started making the transition during the 60's.
Maybe in an ideal world, but I don't see how we could possibly convert the auto fleet to NG while still using the stuff for all the heating and electricity generation we use it for. Our natural gas supplies aren't that high. Sure we could import some from Canada, but the only way to meet full demand would be to go to Russia, Qatar, and maybe Africa or Central Asia. None of those countries sounds like a particular step up from where we are either. Even in that case, transporting natural gas across the Atlantic or Pacific is riddiculous. We'd have to increase the size of our LNG ports at least 20 fold. Plus it'd take years, if not decades, to build all the LNG ships and ports and cost tens even hundreds or billions of dollars. I don't see it happening.
 
Plus I'd rather put all that pig manure back in the fields as fertilizer. Considering that most fertilizers are now derived from NG I'd imagine that we'd end up saving more petrochemicals reusing the manure as fertilizer then by converting it to NG.
 
What a blow to middle-Easterners... not only would we NOT need as much of their oil, but, to be replaced by PIGS! What an insult! ;)

HA! HA! Good one, Nienna. Maybe that should be the prod to pursue this further.
 

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