Zoo Poo Power
Faculty Mentor Name
Karl Heine
Format Preference
Poster
Abstract
Animalian feces in United States agricultural production constitutes 60 million dry tons of usable biofuels annually which accounts for 31% of mass available for bioenergy from all sources. Organizations throughout the country have large quantities of animals in their care, sometimes referred to as “living collections,” which come accompanied by regular fecal production. Direct combustion of biofuels as a carbon neutral alternative to fossil fuels in power production occurs across the United States in Rankine cycle power plants, yet animal manures are an underutilized resource in this field. Animal waste could provide alternative methods of waste disposal for many organizations nationwide. Expansion of a market for fecal matter could be beneficial to both consumers and producers, however, little about the energetic and economic potential of animalian excretions is known. The proposition henceforth discussed is whether feces from zoological organizations is a veritable source of power. Within feces there is a significant disparity in the combustive properties from sample to sample, so animals are divided first into smaller groupings based on diet and classification so as to group animals with similar digestive circumstances. Within these categories individual species will be evaluated separately to divide the samples further, and within individual species the samples will be homogenized to eliminate error from inconsistency on a smaller scale than the species. Homogenization will result in the development of fecal pellets ideal for both storage and transportation. Bomb calorimetry will be conducted to gather data on the heating value of the biofuel.
Zoo Poo Power
Animalian feces in United States agricultural production constitutes 60 million dry tons of usable biofuels annually which accounts for 31% of mass available for bioenergy from all sources. Organizations throughout the country have large quantities of animals in their care, sometimes referred to as “living collections,” which come accompanied by regular fecal production. Direct combustion of biofuels as a carbon neutral alternative to fossil fuels in power production occurs across the United States in Rankine cycle power plants, yet animal manures are an underutilized resource in this field. Animal waste could provide alternative methods of waste disposal for many organizations nationwide. Expansion of a market for fecal matter could be beneficial to both consumers and producers, however, little about the energetic and economic potential of animalian excretions is known. The proposition henceforth discussed is whether feces from zoological organizations is a veritable source of power. Within feces there is a significant disparity in the combustive properties from sample to sample, so animals are divided first into smaller groupings based on diet and classification so as to group animals with similar digestive circumstances. Within these categories individual species will be evaluated separately to divide the samples further, and within individual species the samples will be homogenized to eliminate error from inconsistency on a smaller scale than the species. Homogenization will result in the development of fecal pellets ideal for both storage and transportation. Bomb calorimetry will be conducted to gather data on the heating value of the biofuel.