Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Hog Heaven

Last week in class I was telling you all about the pleasantries of Hog farms in NC. One of the ideas I mentioned, in the context of our energy acquisition/dissipation model, was turning waste into an energy input. Well, check this out- Pig Poop Economics.

Enjoy your break. JC

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Sounds like a promising idea. It would be interesting to know how much energy could be produced from this waste and how much it would cost.

-Andrew Sims

Anonymous said...

Is a good idea therefore the ammonia nitrogen emissions to the air as the most contribute to the formation of fine particle pollution, and same disease to human.
The use of hog waste can be a lucrative markets so some byproducts can be produced from hog waste like Methane gas and organic fertilizer.

Anonymous said...

This sounds great if it isn't too expensive. It can solve two problems at once, eliminating waste and an alternative method for electricity.

Anonymous said...

Interestingly disgusting. I am sure that as people seek new ways (however nasty) to become more efficient with energy, we will find even more ridiculous yet cost effective ways to harness energy from by-products of various agricultural or industrial sectors.

George

Kris Brake said...

This is pure genius. Converting waste into energy! If we can do this, imagine the possibilities.

Anonymous said...

I actually have some first hand experience of the effects of pig waste in North Carolina from my times as a camper at Camp Seagull in Arapahoe North Carolina. the camp was situated on the Nuese (Sp?) river where we did alot of our activities. Sometimes the camp had to close all aquatic activities as a result of the high amount of bacteria in the water as a result of a large numbers of pig farms up-river from the camp. This bacteria was killing large numbers of fish and other river-dwelling creatures which added to the unsanitary nature of the river. This was quite disappointing as a young camper so this news about a potential solution is exciting and intriguing. Pig farming has replaced tobacco as the number one industry in North Carolina and without a solution the problem will only get worse. There have even been some accounts of the pig waste beginning to contaminate ground water and wells in nearby areas. This could have serious health implications. To read more about this check out this website.


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003
/06/19/60minutes/main559478.shtml