Krispy's Blog

ENN: Chinese Factory Turns Environmental Bane into Boon

China is beginning to take advantage of an unusual energy source: cow gas. Cows emit a significant amount of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, when they belch and flatulate. According to People’s Daily, the world’s largest cow-dung methane power plant started operation on January 21 in China’s Inner Mongolia region. With an investment of 45 million RMB (roughly $US5.7 million) from the country’s largest milk producer, Mengniu Dairy, the plant is able to supply 10 million kilowatt-hours of electricity to the national power grid.

Using equipment and technology from Germany, the plant processes the dung, urine, and waste water from some 10,000 cows on Mengniu’s farm. The facility is able to produce 12,000 cubic meters of methane and generate 30,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity daily.

The heat derived from the power generation will be used for daily heating at the farm, and the water will be recycled for irrigation. The facility also produces 200,000 tons of organic fertilizers a year, a practice that will save 5,000 tons of coal annually.

10.000 koeien op een boerderij, dat is pas een megastal… Voordeel is wel dat je het methaan kunt gebruiken voor stroomopwekking.