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[cdn-nucl-l] Zoo eyes elephant poo as energy source

"This would be just such a good idea on so many levels,"
More reliable than windmills?

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Gene
To: mbrexchange@list.ans.org
Sent: Friday, April 29, 2005 3:22 PM
Subject: [MbrExchange] EnLG 2005apr29 Zoo eyes elephant poo as energy source

  MSNBC.com  April 29, 2005

Zoo eyes elephant poo as energy source
Idea is to get 'the whole picture' of conservation
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7678134/

Michele Delperuto / Rosamond Gifford Zoo
These Asian elephants at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo could some day be
contributing to the zoo's power supply.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Rosamond Gifford Zoo is looking to become the first in
the nation to be powered by its own animal waste ­ particularly the
prodigious piles produced by its pachyderms.

The zoo ­ world prominent for its Asian elephant breeding program ­ is
studying how feasible it would be to switch to animal waste as an
alternative energy source to reduce its $400,000 annual heating and
electricity bill.

The zoo's six elephants produce more than 1,000 pounds of dung per day, said
Zoo Director Anne Baker.

"Zoos are about conservation and stemming the loss of animals and habitat,"
Baker said. "But conservation also is about how people use natural
resources. This is an opportunity to give visitors the whole picture."

Depending on the process, the zoo animal waste could be used to produce
methane or hydrogen for powering a fuel cell or generator.

$10,000 a year for disposal
The zoo sends most of its animal waste to a local farm, where it is
composted. The zoo spends about $10,000 a year on animal-waste disposal, but
Baker noted that method also requires the use of additional fossil fuels for
transportation.

"This would be just such a good idea on so many levels," she said.

Although other zoos have come up with creative ways to reuse their elephant
manure ­ including using it to make stationery ­ Rosamond Gifford appears to
be the first to propose using it for power, according to Jane Ballentine, a
spokeswoman for the American Zoo and Aquarium Association.

Baker said the idea of using animal waste for energy first arose several
years ago when she was talking to local officials about the potential for
creating a more environmentally friendly and self-sustaining zoo.

Because the elephants eat mostly hay, they are the ideal waste producers for
the project, Baker said. Additionally, they are inefficient digesters, which
makes their feces higher in energy content, she said.

The zoo also will look at using the manure from its domestic farm animals,
its other hoof stock, such as its bison and caribou, and even its lions and
tigers, she said.

Animal BTUs to be measured
In the United States, a number of farms have used animal waste to produce
power, so the technology is available to apply at the zoo, said John Fox of
Homeland Energy Resources Development, a New York City-based renewable
energy developer assisting with the study.

But there are questions to be answered to know whether it can be worthwhile,
he said.

The study will start by evaluating elephant dung BTU, a measure of its
energy-producing potential as it decomposes or is burned. It will make the
same assessment for other animals, and then consider whether it can be mixed
with the elephant dung. Another important question, said Fox, is determining
just how much animal waste the zoo produces.

The study is being directed by agriculture waste and manure-management
specialists from Cornell University, Fox said. Engineers also will look at
which buildings, and how many, could be powered by the animal waste, he
said.


URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7678134/