Brazilian town turning human waste into clean energy

[Judi Lynn]

Brazilian town turning human waste into clean energy
by Maria Vitoria Velez Maria Vitoria Velez – Tue Jun 23, 1:51 am ET

PETROPOLIS, Brazil (AFP) – High in the cool hills of eastern Brazil, this tourist hot spot also known as the Imperial City is attracting worldwide attention thanks an innovative scheme to recycle human sewage.

It has fostered a relatively simple idea now gaining traction in other parts of Latin America and as far afield as Spain, as nations struggle with the impact of burgeoning populations compounded by dwindling supplies of fuel and water.

Here bio-digesters -- specially designed organic enzymes and bacteria -- are used to break down waste water and turn it into an alternative energy sources such as gas.

During three fermentation processes, the bio-digesters are unleashed on human effluent and as they break it down they produce a bio-gas, a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide, which can then be piped into homes for use in heating or cooking.

"In fact this is a greenhouse gas, which is harmful to the atmosphere when it is unleashed, but can be collected to be useful," said Jorge Gaiofato, technical director at the Environmental Institute (OIA), the non-governmental organization behind the scheme.

More:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090623/sc_afp/brazilenvironmentsewage_20090623055219

[malaise]

1. Excellent

K & R

[mwb970]

2. Oh. For a moment, I thought they had discovered a use for cheney! /nt

[rurallib]

3. Jobs of the future: shit processor

couldn't help myself.

[hayu_lol]

4. This is a method of gas production that...

has been successfully used in Nepal for many years. The tank is outside the house and the gas, under pressure, is piped inside for cooking.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

5. I have joked for many years that the perfect vehicle would be one

that ran on human waste, collected and composted or processed in your own home, that you could them put into the tank of your car. The idea came from seeing native people use things like cow chips as cooking fuel and thinking that there must be a way to do the same thing, but make it cleaner and more efficient.

[jgraz]

6. That's nothing. We turned human waste into a two-term president.

[Vidar]

7. Excellent idea!