Poopmobile
Published by punkass marc May 29th, 2006 in Punkass!, EnvironmentRobin: Look, Batman! it’s the Joker!
Batman: Quick, Robin, into the batmobile!
[Robin slaps forehead]
Batman: What is it, lover old chum?
Robin: I forgot to fill it full of cow shit.
Okay, not technically cow shit, but the methane culled from it. This could be the future of alternative auto fuel, people.
I print the ABC story in its entirety, thanks to Raw Story:
May 29, 2006 — - The secret to cheaper gas could lie in cow dung.
The Vehicle Research Institute of Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash., has been turning cow manure into fuel that can power a natural-gas car. Researchers are not shoveling manure straight into the gas tank but pumping the methane — a gas created by the manure — into the car.
They have some hard-working cows at a dairy farm in Lyndon, Wash., to thank for this experiment, which could mean cheaper car fuel for many people.
“We are talking about dairy cows,” said Eric Leonhardt, an engineering technology professor and director of the Vehicle Research Institute. “So they are very well-trained. They go in one spot. They feed and do their business in one location. And then that material is pumped into a holding tank.”
For 21 days, the manure sits in an underground tank and stews. Then, using regular old garden hoses, researchers siphon floating methane out of the holding tank. They must purify the methane to remove other gases before pumping it into the car.
Every cow can produce enough manure in a day to make a car go about 15 miles. If you take 20 cows, you get 300 miles of gas in your car.
There are not enough cows in the United States to power every vehicle. But Vehicle Research Institute researchers say a natural-car powered by methane could be a great solution for certain rural communities.
The price of cow fuel will put some consumers, well, over the moon.
“The gas is currently being sold at one-fifth the pump price,” Leonhardt said.
Cheaper? Check. Renewable? Most definitely. Unbelievable stinky? You betcha. In the right places, this could work, and I’m all for it — until McDonald’s realizes its awful overpopulated feedlots make it the Iran of the cow shit industry.
Let’s hope the methane collectors stick to sweet old dairy cows.
Moo.
[Poo.]
Does it cut down on methane being released into the atmosphere, though? That’s the major greenhouse gas.
Brilliant! Now all the cowshit industry needs are a few good lobbyists!!
“Yes, Congressman, I stand behind my product….and occasionally, in it…”
“So they are very well-trained. They go in one spot. They feed and do their business in one location. And then that material is pumped into a holding tank.”
I read with growing horror until that last sentence, when I finally realized they weren’t suggesting that the animals weren’t being trained to defecate directly into my gas tank.
Littertank!