In a recent development, it has been discovered that the poop of humans, chickens, and turkey are a ‘sensible source of fuel‘. Hence, excreted products from human beings could be a substitute for coal, to be used, to generate electricity, on an industrial scale.
‘Energy-giving Powers of Human Poop’
According to Indian Times, recent, Ben-Gurion University scientists, in Israel, have established a field lavatory to test the ‘energy-giving powers of human poop’.
About the Research
The research had initially started with poultry waste, and then, took a turn to experiment with human excretory products or human poop.
According to sources, the human excreted product was first heated in autoclaves to neutralize germs and then ground in their dry or powdered form.
This form was mixed in with water, and then small batches were formed, transferred to lab reactors then cooked under high temperature and pressure.
All the ‘small batches’ were cooked using variant recipes and different temperatures (range: 180° Celsius to 240° Celsius), with water and in the absence of oxygen.
This process is named Hydrothermal Carbonization or HTC, the use of which produces a substance (in brown color) that is made out of the water and burnt biomass particles. The resulting substance is called ‘Hydrochar’.
Use of hydrochar
PopSci has brought to knowledge that ‘Hydrochar’ can be used as coal, with its combustion properties, or it may be fed to an industrial furnace of coal-powered electricity plant.
As stated by India Times, Hydrochar from poultry excrement is so similar to coal, that it is ready to be shipped to electricity-generating plants. Hydrochar, going beyond its powdery form, may be pressed into bricks that, may be used for cooking.
The research team has estimated that poultry dung could replace 10% of all coal used in industry generation to take the pressure off of fossil fuels.
It was also stated that human poop turned out to be more effective than bird poop, in terms of the generation of energy. The diverse diets of human beings create more oil, further leaving more scope of combustion.
