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home bio-gas generator

 use a home's organic waste to generate electricity
  (+1)
(+1) 		  [vote for,
against]

I know that pig farms in some parts of the world use huge, industrial bio-gas generators to turn pig poo into electricity to help run equipment on the farm. Scale this down to an urban home level and run it off septic tanks.

Probably won't generate much, but if your home already has the infrastructure - a septic tank - the generator may pay for itself.

—cljudge, Jan 13 2004

Build Your Own Biogas Generator http://www.re-energ...iomassbuild-1.shtml
[phoenix, Oct 21 2004]

U.S. Department of Energy Biopower page http://www.eere.ene.../biopower/main.html
[phoenix, Oct 21 2004]

[link]






       This idea stinks!   

       Sorry, couldn't resist. I do think that the smell might be a problem. The gas that is burned is really odorless, it is the other byproducts that create the smell. Also, I'd assume there would be some health regulations that would prevent having the bacterialogical process that normally goes on under the ground being moved somewhere you could tap the gas off of it.   

       Bun for you as I think these don't prevent the idea, but make it a bit harder.
—GenYus, Jan 13 2004
   

       Actually, the gas is "bled off" via the "candy cane" where the leach(sp?) field is (IIRC) located. At least what gets out of the tank. None of the "process" needs to be relocated or exposed (I would think). Once perfected, I would want to see a portable unit which I could attach to the backend of my dog and, at least, get some benefit from the gas which escapes *that*.
—DarkVengeance, Jan 13 2004
   

       Me too?
—phoenix, Jan 13 2004
   

       I wonder if septic tanks, landfills and other producers of biogas might be seeded with a bacterial culture optimized for biogas production. It seems to me that as these things usually are set up, they count on good luck to get the right microbes to do the job. Sort of like the Belgians opening the windows and hoping the right yeast blows in to inoculate the beer. Although actually I gather that works well for them.
—bungston, Dec 29 2006
   

       Not an invention, it's a [let's-all] scale down and use an existing technology. Even at home scale, it's not new.
—BunsenHoneydew, Dec 30 2006
   
      
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